Soldering for Dummies

[Bri w]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

Thanks for the tips YC and quiff, I will do all of that (i thought the iron might be a bit harsh, and far too direct heat for the shrink wrap)

I've used a soldering iron on heat shrink loads of times without any probs - prefer it to a heat gun. The heat gun heats anything in the direction its aimed whereas the iron heats what it touches. Just got to remember to keep moving the iron backwards and forwards along the heat shrink.

[embee]

In the US I think they say "souder" which is from the French, I believe. My French dictionary says it can mean either to solder or to weld, soudure is the noun for solder or the act of soldering. I guess it stems from soude (soda), probably the caustic variety used as a flux maybe?

[Richie]

thanks for all the tips... that why I really like this place.

and I believe the across the pond folk call it ..."Sod her"

[tigersaw]

Originally Posted by Richie

thanks for all the tips... that why I really like this place.

and I believe the across the pond folk call it ..."Sod her"

Good video, though the guy isnt a particually good sodderer.

Back in the 80's I had to take an exam in soddering. We were given 12 bits of copper wire and had to sodder it into a cube. If the instructor could pull it apart we failed.

[Bri w]

Originally Posted by tigersaw

Good video, though the guy isnt a particually good sodderer.

Back in the 80's I had to take an exam in soddering. We were given 12 bits of copper wire and had to sodder it into a cube. If the instructor could pull it apart we failed.

I did an advanced pcb repair course, with exam, back in the 80's. The course included x-raying multi-layer boards. Excavating down thro' the layers to a break in the track, then rebuilding the layers. Gold leaf etching, inserting new, through the board, lands. And surface mount soldering with a soldering iron that looked like a pair of pliers.

Also looked at soldered joints with a microscope. I thought i was decent until then - the joints looked like a cratered map of the moon. By the end of the course the joints looked a million times better.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Bri w

I did an advanced pcb repair course, with exam, back in the 80's.

PCB repair technique since the late 90s - bin it, get another.

Originally Posted by ophic

PCB repair technique since the late 90s - bin it, get another.

Herein lies the problem.

[Bri w]

Originally Posted by ophic

PCB repair technique since the late 90s - bin it, get another.

That's why i'm now doing something different - i became throw away technology.

I did a similar course back in the '80s.

On subject: My preference is to fan the bare ends, mesh the two ends to be joined, twist them together and solder with an iron in the 20W range for these sorts of jobs. The solder should not have to be worked, just wet the iron, bring it to the centre of the join and feed the solder onto the work (not the iron) but not to excess - the solder should not be allowed to wick up the insulated section of wire by more than ~2-3mm and there should not be a blob hanging of the bottom of the join when done. On such a short join the iron will not need to be moved and solder will flow quickly. Extra flux is not necessary. Some fluxes are corrosive so be sure to clean flux residues from the join with alcohol, acetone or trichloroethylene (?) depending on the flux type - use whichever works. Your lady's nail polish remover can be a good substitute for acetone. The finished join should be 10-12mm long for the gauges normally used in an MC and a good join is bright and shiny. A cold join will be dull and unreliable.
I don't think that I have ever cleaned a soldering iron used for general purpose work with anything more than solder and a damp sponge which should be handy while working. When at working temp wipe one side of the tip, then the other, wet the tip with solder and flick the excess. Wipe the tip regularly.

Cheers

Edits in italics

MattCo, thanks for that