soldering

[David Lyga]

Well, rosin core solder and 'tinning' are essential, as that 'thread' continually runs through this thread. For me, the endless annoyance is the large drops that will not become smaller and refuse to 'stick' to the object unless LARGE. I solder the tiny wires that come loose and once I soldered wires on the bottom of an OM-2 and it took about 60 minutes to get it right (and about 24 curse words). I use an old Radio Shack soldering iron that looks like a thick pen. NO adjustments. NO luxury.

Thank you for all the advice. This operation is harder than one would think but I will re-read your various bits of advice and see what gets repeated over and over again in order to prove the correct paths to follow. - David Lyga

 

[Steve Smith]

that was when "electronics" was Bakelite tube sockets with discrete components wired point to point between big solder lugs.

Still is for me. It's the only branch of electronics I'm interested in now.


Steve.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Well, rosin core solder and 'tinning' are essential, as that 'thread' continually runs through this thread. For me, the endless annoyance is the large drops that will not become smaller and refuse to 'stick' to the object unless LARGE. I solder the tiny wires that come loose and once I soldered wires on the bottom of an OM-2 and it took about 60 minutes to get it right (and about 24 curse words). I use an old Radio Shack soldering iron that looks like a thick pen. NO adjustments. NO luxury.

Thank you for all the advice. This operation is harder than one would think but I will re-read your various bits of advice and see what gets repeated over and over again in order to prove the correct paths to follow. - David Lyga

Your workpiece is not hot enough. Your soldering iron may not be properly tinned, workpieces dirty, wrong solder alloy, etc. 50/50 plumber's solder is inappropriate for electric/electronic work, because of the acid flux and the higher melting temperature. There must be a "heat bridge" of solder between the iron and the workpiece, when the workpiece is hot enough the solder will wet it, not "stick" to it.

 

[tkamiya]

Well, rosin core solder and 'tinning' are essential, as that 'thread' continually runs through this thread. For me, the endless annoyance is the large drops that will not become smaller and refuse to 'stick' to the object unless LARGE. I solder the tiny wires that come loose and once I soldered wires on the bottom of an OM-2 and it took about 60 minutes to get it right (and about 24 curse words). I use an old Radio Shack soldering iron that looks like a thick pen. NO adjustments. NO luxury.

Thank you for all the advice. This operation is harder than one would think but I will re-read your various bits of advice and see what gets repeated over and over again in order to prove the correct paths to follow. - David Lyga

If that is the case, part of the problem is your equipment. Radioshack type soldering irons have tips that do not tin well. So the heat transfer is very poor. It balls up on the tip. Also, if the solder does not "stick" to the object, then you have "wetting" problem. Also, at that point, flux, which is the resin core, has completely evaporated. So there's no wetting action. Solution to this is fairly simple actually.

First, get a good iron. It doesn't have to be adjustable but you have to get one that does NOT have a shiny tip. It needs to be dull silver color. These will wet well and tin well.

Second, if you end up in a situation where the solder does not flow to the object, then remove the existing solder by using "wick" type thing. Then use a thin rosin core solder and use just enough. It will flow nicely then.

Lastly, this has more to do with technique, than equipment. It's pretty much impossible to describe this in text other than to say you need practice and experience. (which doesn't help...)

Good luck.

 

[Paul Goutiere]

Well, rosin core solder and 'tinning' are essential, as that 'thread' continually runs through this thread. For me, the endless annoyance is the large drops that will not become smaller and refuse to 'stick' to the object unless LARGE. I solder the tiny wires that come loose and once I soldered wires on the bottom of an OM-2 and it took about 60 minutes to get it right (and about 24 curse words). I use an old Radio Shack soldering iron that looks like a thick pen. NO adjustments. NO luxury.

Thank you for all the advice. This operation is harder than one would think but I will re-read your various bits of advice and see what gets repeated over and over again in order to prove the correct paths to follow. - David Lyga

At least you are doing it. I believe this is 90% of the operation.

Practice! Practice on less important stuff, like pieces of wire old circuit boards etc.

 

[L Gebhardt]

It sounds like your technique is wrong. You should never put the solder to the iron (except to wet the iron), so you should never be in a position to have blobs of solder on the iron. Put the iron to the two parts to be soldered, then touch the solder wire to the parts (not the iron). Once the solder flows it should coat the two parts. Remove the iron and it should be a good solder joint. Wipe the extra solder off on a wet sponge or solder cleaning wire coil. Then apply a bit of solder to rewet the iron before putting it away.

Also, my guess is you need a better iron. I had one of those low powered non adjustable irons and it was very difficult to use since it couldn't heat up the wires and components fast enough. I replaced it with an adjustable Weller and then a thermostatically controlled Hakko. Both were a vast improvement, but the Hakko is really nice and well worth the bucks if you are going to solder frequently.

 

[NedL]

I think the advice contained in this thread is good. However I just thought of something nobody has mentioned. Occasionally in repairs, you will come across a component that was made using aluminum or steel wire. Both of these require special processes and are difficult or almost impossible to re-solder using normal rosin core solder. There are special fluxes for aluminum ( at high temperature, I think ), and steel I believe is soldered with silver. These materials can look like they have been soldered normally, but actually a special process was used at the factory.

My guess is that you are NOT running into this, but it is a possible explanation when you run across a wire that simply will not solder normally.

 

[BrianShaw]

Also not mentioned, but I have no idea if it matters or not, is the "new formulation" for solder to meet the lead-free initiatives. Personally, I do so little soldering so my spool of 1960's era 60/40 solder will probably last for the next 3 generations.

 

[AgX]

In the past the new alloys were characterized as being more difficult to handle than Sn40 alloys.
So far I have not used the new ones.

What are your experinces with them?