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It's "Learn to solder" Month!

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Great post! Good tips for beginners.

That 19 minute video was the most painful 19 minutes of my life.
 
Scorpion8 said:
There are some great projects and DIY stuff including some QuickTime 3-part how-to-solder videos at www.tangentsoft.net also.
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ahh you beat me too it! Warren has some great stuff on his site and that's what got me started build amps and making my own cables! I've had a lot of fun, and even got a Hakko 939 a couple months ago :D
 
Biggest points really are a decent iron[doesn't have to be expensive],never found a good one at rat shack.
Keep your tip clean and tinned. Use a very wet sponge and wipe that tip before you put it to your work[should be shiny].
Before you turn off your iron always melt a little solder on it before you turn it off. This will keep it from oxidizing when cooling.
The rest is just practice as you already know.
 
Detailman said:
Use a very wet sponge and wipe that tip before you put it to your work[should be shiny].
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I think the sponge should be just damp enough to be soft. The wetter it gets the bigger the thermal shock involved. Since the tip is an iron plated copper, it is a good idea *NOT* to shock it. The tip will live much longer( as in preserve the Iron ). Once the Iron plating is damaged, the Tin disolves the Cu tip and that is the end ov the story. Fortunately a file can repair things for long enough to get a new tip...:)
cheers,
Douglas
 
I also really liked the portable soldering "Kit" in the Altoides box. Made one up in about 10 min from stuff I have around. Little tricks like this are worth there weight sometimes...

I added to the kit:

I wrapped the solder dispenser (What a great Idea) with some 24 Ga speaker wire, I figure that there is around 18-24" of it.

I added half a dozen small Ty-Wraps.

I added an aluminum heat sink clamp I have that I never use but should.

A added a spring loaded Xacto holder that I figure is handier for this kit than being lost in my other tools all the time (I just recently 'Found" it, again...)

The different sizes of shrink wrap take less space if you nest then inside each other.

I'm going to make more of these and put one in each car, and in my camp gear. This is really a great little kit.
 
A useful and satifisfing skill to master.Nothing like seeing a good solder joint harden to a shiny finish :thmbsp:

Lefty
 
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