Learning to Solder [message #69745] |
Fri, 07 October 2011 11:01 ![Go to next message Go to next message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/down.png) |
Christy
Messages: 21 Registered: September 2011
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Chancellor |
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My dad bought me a small soldering iron, but I have yet to figure out how to use it. Everyone I know keeps telling me they will help teach me, yet no one has time. So, how did you learn to solder, and what did you practice on? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Re: Learning to Solder [message #69746 is a reply to message #69745] |
Fri, 07 October 2011 11:21 ![Go to previous message Go to previous message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/up.png) ![Go to next message Go to next message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/down.png) |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18751 Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Four tips:
1. Tin the soldering iron tip. What this means is to flow some solder onto the tip until it is completed coated with a shiny film of molten solder. Remove any excess with a damp towel. Keep the tip in this condition by periodically cleaning it with a damp towel.
2. Touch the hot iron tip to both surfaces to be soldered. Leave it in place long enough that the items to be soldered are hot enough to melt the solder. Flow the solder into the surfaces to be joined, not the solder tip. Hint: You can increase the surface area of the heated tip using a slight amount of molten solder, so sometimes you can flow a tiny bit into the iron tip near the surfaces to be joined - just to get started - then feed the rest into the joint, directly into the pool of solder flowing onto the surfaces to be joined.
3. Heat the surface(s) just long enough to flow solder as described, but not long enough to damage the devices being soldered. With large active components and most passive components, heat can be applied for several seconds without damage. But for smaller active devices, small transistors and chips, sometimes just a couple seconds is all they can take. Until you've soldered a while, use IC sockets instead of soldering ships directly. The sockets can usually handle the heat a little longer.
4. Practice, practice, practice.
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Re: Learning to Solder [message #89119 is a reply to message #69745] |
Thu, 08 November 2018 17:02 ![Go to previous message Go to previous message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/up.png) |
Jethro
Messages: 48 Registered: November 2018
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Baron |
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I tried soldering when I was in high school, which is ages ago. I cannot solder because my hands start to tremble when I focus on the part which I like to connect. Any tips for controlling a shaky hand?
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