Share your Soldering Tips Here

[framitz]

Everything you said is great and useful information, although you should keep one thing in mind, your soldering station/pencil and tip are 30+ years old. At that time soldering tips were still being made with Lead Cores.

You assume too much. The Weller tip is iron clad copper with ferromagnetic temperature control and has been used for thousands of soldering jobs. Soldering hasn't changed that much since it was new. Replacement parts are still readily available if needed.

Reference to the age of the equipment was just to illustrate the effectiveness of coating the tip prior to shut down.

Filing and sanding followed by tinning are recommended for solid copper tips, but of course will ruin a clad tip in short order.

[mnealtx]

Reference to the age of the equipment was just to illustrate the effectiveness of coating the tip prior to shut down.

I still do that, even with clad tips. I've also lightly roughed a clad tip to get it to tin better - the operative word there is LIGHTLY, of course.

Filing and sanding followed by tinning are recommended for solid copper tips, but of course will ruin a clad tip in short order.

Yeah, but with filing/tinning you can get it JUST right...something not always possible with the clad tips.

Hmm...I think framitz and I might be giving away our ages, here....

[override]

You assume too much. The Weller tip is iron clad copper with ferromagnetic temperature control and has been used for thousands of soldering jobs. Soldering hasn't changed that much since it was new. Replacement parts are still readily available if needed.

Reference to the age of the equipment was just to illustrate the effectiveness of coating the tip prior to shut down.

Filing and sanding followed by tinning are recommended for solid copper tips, but of course will ruin a clad tip in short order.

First off I'd like to say that nothing I wrote or said was to put you down or demean you in anyway. I actually believe YOU are assuming to much....

I did not say that that the reason your tips last so long was because they were leaded tips, and surely didnt say that your methods were uneffective so why come back with a harsh comment? I was simply trying to state that "Tips of todays world are generally made with a copper core surrounded by iron." I was simply trying to give more helpful information on taking care of your more general (oh theres that word again) found iron clad tips.

With that said, I may be young but I do study up and try to do alot of research, everything in my post is factual and can be found on the internet or written in a book somewhere. I was merely stating the facts, and being that most people on here are probably going to be using an $8 iron from radioshack or maybe a walmart brand iron they are most likely going to have an iron clad tip. Which once again as I stated in my previous post a better or more typically used way of making those tips last a long time! Trust me when I say this, I burned up several tips from the first time I picked up a solder iron (cheapo from Radioshack) before I realized what I was doing wrong and why I was buying tips every other week.

[Dave Rickey]

Been a while since Tech School, our soldering training was so thorough before we were even allowed to touch real circuits, and the anal-retentive adherence to the standards at my PDS made them a complete reflex. But here's the important parts I can remember:

1) The smaller the contacts, the more important it is to have them completely clean. Flux *everything*, even if it's already tinned. The smoother the solder flows, the easier everything else is. You can (and should) always clean everything as the last step before mechanical reassembly, so throw that acid around freely.

2) When soldering IC's, even fairly simple ones with few contacts, clean thoroughly, flux carefully, completely, but with little excess (use a dry brush to remove globs), and if possible use solder paste (again, only a thin layer per pad). Toothpicks make good applicators, as long as they're clean.

3) Cold spray (aka "canned air" held upside down) is your friend. *Don't* spray liquid directly onto the point of contact, hold at least 12 inches back and wash the area with chilled air.

4) If it isn't smooth on the surface of the solder joint, it's not right. A little pitting/bubbling is okay if it's not a teeny little pad, but a clear seam means a cold joint, not a real bond.

5) If you need mechanical strength from a joint (for example, when making adapters), do that connection first, if possible, then cool the part before doing anything else.

6) Don't take the solder tip to a difficult location if you can help it, move the component or remove obstacles. If you're trying to see around your tip and avoid burning your fingers, you probably failed to properly plan your process.

7) Chunky crap on your tip is impurities with a melting temperature higher than that of your solder that have collected. Turn the heat all the way up, maybe add even more heat from a high-temp heat gun or propane torch, and get that stuff to melt. If you can't get it off before your tip core melts, the tip was terminally screwed, anyway.

--Dave

[MHR7331]

If you're at home soldering with your curious girlfriend watching and you bust a ..... and drip some on your hand, don't give in to macho B.S. and pretend it doesn't hurt and carry on soldering...

[Brazilleon]

On the topic of soldering, what would be the best way to solder connections to new 510 connectors? The centre pops out, but it it is difficult to get the solder to stick. Likewise the outer edge is also difficult to get solder to stick to it? I wiped a little flux on it and I think it has grabbed. But worried about it strength when I wiggle the mod into the casing. The 901 connectors have nice little wires ready to connect.
Cheers

[Kewtsquirrel]

Your iron isn't hot enough, when you get the connector hot enough you'll see the solder 'flow' around the wire into a little puddle. Using flux you'll get it to grab right away but theres a definite seam and it'll break off with the slightest tug.

[Brazilleon]

Ah, thanks!
I have been struggling with a cheap butane solder iron from home depot. Tomorrow I'll buy one from RS as it seems like my dealextreme goods are taking forever which includes the chargers I need to try these mods out.
Been a good practise run so far. 901 Nicostick sucess and now my 510 magnum.
Next time round the solder will be proper!!

[Brazilleon]

So I bought a bunch of soldering tools and bits from sears today. They also have a sweet deal on a $24.99 multimeter for $14.99. The one I bought from RS last week is going back.

Just completed a nice and neat 510 nicostick with one of nerfs awesome connectors. It looks so neat!!

Question in regards to soldering iron. Is it normal for the tips to melt away during a solder session? Brand new pointy tip is almost gone?
Got some others but maybe I am doing something wrong?

[Kewtsquirrel]

I haven't the irons sears carries, but your best bet is to return and it order a good adjustable soldering station - either a Hakko or a Weller. Should be able to find em online for $50-70, and the replacement tips for both are plentiful and quality. I got my hakko station at fry's for like $60, and it works amazingly well. Avoid an iron with an adjustable wheel on it, you want something with a standalone powersupply that your iron plugs into.