soldering idiot needs help

Cew27

Cew27

Cew27

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8 Apr 2008
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706
hey guys, i suck at soldering, like really bad. i recently got a weller sp40l 40 watt soldering iron
and decided id practise on some old wires (banana plug wire things). and i heated it up, after about 1 min it started to melt the solder so i tinned it as best i could and started to try joining and tinning the copper wire, a few burns and failed attempts later my tip is oxidised to $h!7 and there is a cavity in it.
so i need some new tips (perferably a range from smaller to bigger) for this iron.
also i saw some tip tinner on the ******s website and got my self some but it came with no instructions and neither did the rosin flux pen (both tell me to read the instructions before use, but there not there)

thanks
 
Have a look at soldering tutorials or guides online. You will get better but it just takes practice until you learn how the solder flows, when it'll melt, how long you should heat a pad or wires you want to tin etc.

Here's somewhere I just found on google to help you for starters
http://www.solderinguide.com/

You will burn or toast things while you learn so don't worry about it too much.
 
Tin the wire & the connector/pad individually first, then place the two together and apply heat from the iron tip (no more solder) They will collapse into one and other for want of a better description. Immediately remove the iron holding the wire as still as possible for a second or two. Don't prod the joint, attempt to remake it etc etc, there is only enough flux for one successful joint (this is the puff of smoke) If you fail, part the joint, re-tin both components and repeat.

The cavity in the tip is due to the tin in the solder reacting with the copper, this always happens with exposed copper bits (tips) Try and get iron plated bits if poss.
 
A few points.

Irons like this usually have poor quality tips, changing it makes a huge difference! I had a £3.50 30W iron and the tip supplied was about useless, but when I changed it (and the new tip was only about £2) it improved drastically and I use it for any larger connections.

This iron will be too big for most PCB or stripboard work, anything with small components. Aside from the clumsy tip it might be too powerful for small semiconductors (unless you get very quick making joints). 18W is nice for stripboard work (2.54mm pitch, through hole).

I have found some bananna plugs and similar large connections won't readily take solder. Sanding them (with fine papaer) can help but you may never get a strong connection.

Additional flux is seldom required, sometimes for surface mount. The flux in the solder core should do.
 
Dr.EM said:
A few points.

Irons like this usually have poor quality tips, changing it makes a huge difference! I had a £3.50 30W iron and the tip supplied was about useless, but when I changed it (and the new tip was only about £2) it improved drastically and I use it for any larger connections.

This iron will be too big for most PCB or stripboard work, anything with small components. Aside from the clumsy tip it might be too powerful for small semiconductors (unless you get very quick making joints). 18W is nice for stripboard work (2.54mm pitch, through hole).

I have found some bananna plugs and similar large connections won't readily take solder. Sanding them (with fine papaer) can help but you may never get a strong connection.

Additional flux is seldom required, sometimes for surface mount. The flux in the solder core should do.
Click to expand...

i was soldering the wire not the plugs i cut the wire from the plugs.
so is this iron to powerfull for what i need or can i make do with a smaller tip?
also can someone reccomend somewhere to get a tip that will fit this iron
thanks
 
40w is a little high but it's mainly the bit (tip) size, that one's a little unwieldly, try and get a 2mm bit. Iron clad. Mines an Antec 24w, 2mm tip, iron clad and used to knock out upwards of 200 5 pin DIN plug wiring looms per day when I used to work from home :D

Mine now unused and dusty.....

IMG_9505.jpg
 
secret to soldering is...

- tin things first
- make sure tip of iron is clean and shiny
- wet tip of iron with solder
- bring objects together to join while applying heat to both and solder, hold until solder flows (if it doesn't flow chances are objects are not hot enough or not tinned)
- use solder with built in flux for electronics / wire
- 3 hands really needed, but don't wimp out and use tools to help, just learn to hold things with fingers, ie - hold two objects together, able to move a stick of solder towards them and apply iron at same time.. it becomes 2nd nature


the solder will only flow if both objects get hot...

if just joining wires then twist them together first to get a mechanical joint, stagger joints if soldering several wires

for electronic stuff you don't need much wattage on iron, but it's useful to have ability to boost up tip temp for soldering onto PCB ground pads that suck heat from tip...

final thing, it's less about what type of iron you use, and more about how your using it.. if your good at soldering you can be good with completely the wrong tip / iron for the job :)


i hate the new non-lead based solder, just doesn't flow as good as the old stuff :(
 
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qwerty said:
What do all of you solder? :confused:
Click to expand...

I used to do electronics prototyping for 8 years (even built a little something that OCUK used to sell :) ).. but now mainly use it to fix laptops and the odd bit of DIY

A man with a soldering iron seems very much in demand these days lol
 
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qwerty said:
What do all of you solder? :confused:
Click to expand...

Production work, leads, PCB's, lots of PCB's :) The correct equipment is important though, for speed mainly, odd bit of tinkering's OK with the wrong bit etc but production speed relies on everything being spot on, same with most production tooling - give me the wrong bit and I'll solder perfectly, but it'll be much slower if it's a horses hoof :D
 
DIY audio stuff (amps etc) and also effects processors, of which some is on stripboard.

For the crazyness, a genuine MiniMoog ladder filter built on stripboard:



I was building a custom designed decimator effect but the stripboard layout performed worse than the breadboarding and I kind of lost hope in it. I also have a full ananlogue synth on stripboard but that is messy beyond belief!
 
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They are good tips, but I don't think they are the right fixture for your iron :(

Does your iron have a screw to hold the tip in the end?
 
Dr.EM said:
DIY audio stuff (amps etc) and also effects processors, of which some is on stripboard.

For the crazyness, a genuine MiniMoog ladder filter built on stripboard:



I was building a custom designed decimator effect but the stripboard layout performed worse than the breadboarding and I kind of lost hope in it. I also have a full ananlogue synth on stripboard but that is messy beyond belief!
Click to expand...

love it :), is that a screened plastic box ? (you can get them with a conductive coating on)

what do you put through the filter ?, I used to own a moog, well it was not one of the goods ones as I think it was rebadged from another manu, a moog rogue.
 
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