Why do I suck so bad at soldering?

[Woody Sound]

Can't get it to stick at all, little drops all over the place, melted shielding, etc. Disgusting. I feel completely inadequate and incompetent.

[pauln]

There are a lot of explanations and tutorials, etc., but the real only way to get it is to do a lot of it.
Collect up some junk electronic devices, doesn't matter what, and spend an hour a week unsoldering / resoldering the different components. As you destroy and screw things up, keep moving across the boards, moving to another device. One day you will make a perfect solder, then more.


Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

[SoftwareGuy]

Also, equipment makes a difference. Years ago I work at a place that built equipment for NASA. The technicians that did soldering were NASA certified and did clean and beautiful work. They had really nice equipment like controlled temperature irons. Using such equipment can make a world of difference.

Of course, as stated above, skill is also required. So knowing how to do it and practicing is necessary.

One final point. For years now, solder containing lead have been taken off the market. The replacement stuff is noticeable harder to work with.

And then there is the use of flux. This is needed to get the solder to bound to the metal.

[Peter C]

Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

Obviously, the stuffed mutant jerboa desert mouse in the background to the right of the woman's head. (The soldering iron is not plugged in).

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

The commonest cause of bad solder joints is failure to get the parts hot enough to melt the solder. You have to apply enough heat to the parts themselves and do it well enough (ie with the right tip at the right temperature for the right length of time) to rapidly heat the parts to be soldered. Then you touch the solder to the parts, not to the tip. If it doesn’t melt immediately when it touches the parts, they’re not hot enough.

Unless it flows freely onto the parts to wet their surfaces, it will not stick securely, the joint will be “cold” (ie it will have measurable resistance & will not conduct electricity very well) and it will look terrible. Most beginners touch the solder to the tip and let blobs of barely molten solder drop onto the intended joint, where the insufficiently heated metal cools and solidifies it before it can wet and bond to the surface.

There are several other common problems to be cured. The surfaces must be clean, so you have to wipe the parts with any oil solvent (eg contact cleaner or plain cheap rubbing alcohol without additives like scent or moisturizer) on a lint free cloth patch. Old solder should be heated up and removed unless it’s clean and has clearly flowed over the surface in a thin shiny layer that tapers at the edges rather than curling or balling up (a sign of insufficient cleaning and / or heating). The sometime exception to this is soldered connections on PCBs and old style boards with eyelets. You can often heat and “reflow” grungy looking joints in eyelets etc or wick out enough of the solder in them to replace a resistor, cap, or wire lead with a bit of fresh solder properly applied.

The parts to be soldered have to be stable and mechanically joined if possible. Use alligator clamps, hemostats etc or one of the many little devices with clips on flexible arms to hold the parts. Twist wire ends together securely. Fold wires through or around lugs firmly. Do not let the joint move at all or touch it until it has cooled. Any motion before the solder has cooled can crystallize it, causing a weak and/or cold joint. This usually makes the joint look a bit hazy rather than shiny.

Use the largest tip that will cover the joint without obscuring access or visibility and without touching adjacent parts. It doesn’t have to be wider than the wires you’re joining, but having at least a small flat on it helps transfer heat to the parts faster. A pointed tip is too small for almost anything but circuit board work etc where you’re soldering to or through eyelets.

You must clean and tin the tip for best and fastest heat transfer. Heat it until solder melts immediately on touching it. Wipe the hot tip with a clean cloth and flow a little solder onto it until it thinly coats the tip’s surface. Wipe it again and you’ll see a shiny tip that’s very thinly coated with solder.

Have the parts to be soldered ready before you heat the iron. They should be clean, securely held together, and stable. As soon as the tip is cleanly tinned and at working temperature (about 675F for lead free solder and 600-625 for leaded), firmly touch the tip to the joint and let the parts heat up until solder melts when you touch it to the parts. Do not touch it to the tip!

Once the solder melts on the parts it will flow quickly and freely. Only let enough flow into and around the parts to cover their surfaces. If all you see is a blob of solder, you used too much. Once the joint is wetted, withdraw the solder first and then the tip.

Follow the above procedure and you’ll avoid overheating most parts. Small resistors, caps etc can be damaged unless you use a heat sink between the joint and the component. A small alligator clip or hemostat (which are very handy, inexpensive, and readily available as tools - you don’t want or need medical grade instruments) will work fine. Just clip it to the lead between the joint and the body of the component. Flexible arm parts holders with clips on the arms are also heat sinks and are well worth their low cost.

Soldering a wire to a flat surface is a bit more challenging because it’s harder to secure the two together during soldering and impossible to put them in a secure mechanical joint before soldering. You can use a clamp to hold wire against the back of a pot - just clamp it gently at the edge with the bare tinned wire end firmly pressed against the pot. Do not dent or crush the pot’s back - use low pressure clamps. Tin the surface and the wire end before assembling, and the solder will melt and flow faster and with less heat transfer. The resistive element in the pot can be damaged from too much heat. So don’t hold the tip against it very long if the solder isn’t flowing well and quickly. Remove the heat and figure out why it’s not flowing. I use a fairly big chisel tip for fast heat transfer here. When in doubt, clean it all up and start again.

That’s soldering 101 in a nutshell. I use and highly recommend getting a “soldering station” rather than an old fashioned gun or iron. These digital devices have a direct dial temperature control to the degree, heat very fast, and come with an assortment of tips that will cover any need we have for guitar and amp work. They’re dirt cheap - I think mine cost $40 from Amazon, and they have many almost identical brands and models. Pick the one that looks nice to you, has at least 4 user stars, and only has a few one star rants about how it’s the worst thing on earth.

Good luck!

[AllanAllen]

Can't get it to stick at all, little drops all over the place, melted shielding, etc. Disgusting. I feel completely inadequate and incompetent.

Do you have a real iron, or old radio shack junk? I have old junk, and solder
so infrequently, I just deal with ugly joints.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

It might help if she had some solder.

[BBGuitar]

There are a lot of explanations and tutorials, etc., but the real only way to get it is to do a lot of it.
Collect up some junk electronic devices, doesn't matter what, and spend an hour a week unsoldering / resoldering the different components. As you destroy and screw things up, keep moving across the boards, moving to another device. One day you will make a perfect solder, then more.


Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

Come on people, She is holding the hot part of the iron.

[Gilpy]

In addition to the good advice above:

Solder will not flow without flux, or on a dirty soldering tip. So you must wipe the tip on a moist sponge and re-tin the tip for every single joint.

It is a good idea to have a de-soldering tool, a simple suction device that removes previous solder. Generally, you want to remove any old solder. When re-heating an old joint, touch the tip of the soldering iron with a tiny amount of solder to get some flux on there and improve heat conductivity.

It helps to "tin" wires (especially stranded wires) before soldering. Just flow a small amount of solder on to the stripped wire ends.

The key to soldering without frustration is to make sure everything is right before you apply the solder. Everything clean, wires stripped correctly and secured to the joint, all tools within reach. If you take your time, you'll save time.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

It is a good idea to have a de-soldering tool, a simple suction device that removes previous solder.

Now you’re starting Soldering 102

I far prefer solder wick for most removal. It’s just a roll of loosely braided copper wire. Lay the end on the solder you want to remove and press a hot iron tip on it just above the solder. When it heats up enough to melt the solder onto it, the molten solder will wick up the braided copper and away from the old joint or blob. This leaves a tinned surface than can be reused if it’s sound or cleaned to bare metal with a very fine file, rotary stone, rubber wheel etc.

I don’t like using abrasive paper (even emery cloth) to clean off solder because particles of the abrasive come off on the surface. This contaminates the area you want to resolder, so debris gets into the molten solder and weakens the joint.

Here’s a picture, which is worth many words. The video is informative, but you don’t really need to watch it. Just remember that you have to heat the wick enough to melt the solder. If you just heat the solder you want to remove, it will not travel up the wick. Like metal parts you want to solder, the wick must be hot enough to melt the solder onto it on contact.

[strumcat]

Can't get it to stick at all, little drops all over the place, melted shielding, etc. Disgusting. I feel completely inadequate and incompetent.

It sounds like you aren't getting the pieces you want to solder hot enough fast enough, which might be because your soldering iron isn't hot enough, or the pieces aren't mechanically stable enough, or they and the soldering iron tip aren't clean enough. I did computer/peripherals repair for while back in the days when you actually had to solder a few things. Everything nevershouldhavesoldit said in message #5 is perfect, especially the part about using alligator clips as heat sinks to avoid destroying sensitive parts or melting the insulation on wire. If everything is prepared well, you spend less time heating and soldering the pieces, so the heat has less time to spread and damage things.

[va3ux]

One final point. For years now, solder containing lead have been taken off the market. The replacement stuff is noticeable harder to work with.

And then there is the use of flux. This is needed to get the solder to bound to the metal.

Not so. Tin/lead solder with rosin-core flux is readily available. Plumbing solder is now lead-free; but lead solder for electronics is still here.

If the OP is using lead-free solder, he'll have a helluva time.

[pauln]

Come on people, She is holding the hot part of the iron.

Finally,
She's also not keeping one hand behind her back...
oh wait, that's for VOM measuring powered circuits.

[Peter C]

Come on people, She is holding the hot part of the iron.

Seriously, if it's not obvious in the photo that the protective sleeve around the tip "heater" would get hot like a car exhaust, just find your nearest repair shop? That's coming from the world's worst/most reluctant tinkerer. (The pots on my Strat are buried under great, amorphous blobs of solder but miraculously work ok). JMO

[John A.]

There are a lot of explanations and tutorials, etc., but the real only way to get it is to do a lot of it.
Collect up some junk electronic devices, doesn't matter what, and spend an hour a week unsoldering / resoldering the different components. As you destroy and screw things up, keep moving across the boards, moving to another device. One day you will make a perfect solder, then more.


Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

Nothing wrong if her fingers are made of a heat resistant material (or this is an elaborate self-harm ritual).

[Woody Sound]

Can't get it to stick at all, little drops all over the place, melted shielding, etc. Disgusting. I feel completely inadequate and incompetent.

OP here. I should probably ditch this thing huh? Besides being cumbersome, continually squeezing the non-locking trigger makes my arthritic thumb joint shake painfully after a couple of minutes.




Any recommendations for occasional work doing guitar harnesses, swapping pickups, etc?

[Peter C]

Search for "Solderless Guitar Wiring Kit". No personal experience yet

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

OP here. I should probable ditch this thing huh? Besides being cumbersome, continually squeezing the non-locking trigger makes my arthritic thumb joint shake painfully after a couple of minutes.




Any recommendations for occasional work doing guitar harnesses, swapping pickups, etc?

You want a "soldering station". These are digitally controlled and will do anything you could ever want to do with solder on a guitar or amp except maybe solder a wire directly to an amp chassis (which is often done but is both poor practice and unnecessary. - drill a hole and use a terminal for a chassis ground connection). Those "guns" from Weller, Wen etc still have some use if they're significantly more powerful than pens and stations. The big ones (150W and up) will deliver more heat for a longer period of time, so you can solder directly to heavy gauge metal and large items. But this is almost never necessary, and a $90 40W Weller soldering station will handle anything encountered in a busy instrument repair shop and do it for years.

There are many, many virtually identical ones available, all under $100. A high quality brand name unit will run about $50 to $60 and is worth it for an active hobbyist. But for most of us who will only work on a few guitars and amps over a lifetime, the less expensive imports are quite fine. I just randomly picked a few from the "4 star and up" review list on Amazon and chose the one whose design and appearance looked best to me - it was about $40. This one (under $30 on Amazon) is typical of these:



FWIW, I kept my decades old Weller dual heat soldering gun. But I haven't used it in a very long time.

[pauln]

OP here. I should probable ditch this thing huh? Besides being cumbersome, continually squeezing the non-locking trigger makes my arthritic thumb joint shake painfully after a couple of minutes.




Any recommendations for occasional work doing guitar harnesses, swapping pickups, etc?

All my work inside the guitar has been on my Strat.

Strats
For replacement of the pick guard and anything mounted to it, the best thing is to remove the whole thing completely from the guitar body. This means separating the thing from the output jack and the ground on the spring claw.
The main reason is that leaving it attached upside down over the body makes the body a target for solder drips, dropped screw drivers / soldering irons, pot cleaner over spray, etc.
For the connection / disconnection to the output jack, an insulated inline clip connector that you press to lock and squeeze to unlock makes it easy.
For the ground wire soldered to the spring claw, if you separate it from the spring claw you may never get it back on (the spring claw acts like a heat sink, the factory solder must have been done with an "industrial" iron). A fine solution is to separate it and divert the end of the wire under the springs up into one of the holes in the block that receives the "L" shaped end of a spring. Push in the wire and follow it with the end of the spring - easy to connect and disconnect. Allow slack if you use a trem bar.

Hollow Bodies
I have seen what looks like using multiple strings and "extended grip sticks?" to manipulate the parts in and out of the body for extraction, inspection, maintenance, and refitting / replacement. Looks like the kind of process that take knowledgeable planning, pro level experience, and patience. I'm sure some around here can advise.

[omphalopsychos]

I'm good at soldering. There are 2 things that beginners usually need to work on.

1: solder goes on the thing you're trying to solder, not the tip. Heat THAT up with the iron.

2: steady! I don't have a soldering station, but using something to hold things in place is super helpful. frequently you're soldering something that should require two hands. people will laugh but sometimes I hold the solder with my mouth why holding the iron in one hand and holding things in place with another.


and yes obviously get a good iron. high quality tip and ability to reach high temperatures is critical

[Woody Sound]

You want a "soldering station". These are digitally controlled and will do anything you could ever want to do with solder on a guitar or amp except maybe solder a wire directly to an amp chassis (which is often done but is both poor practice and unnecessary. - drill a hole and use a terminal for a chassis ground connection). Those "guns" from Weller, Wen etc still have some use if they're significantly more powerful than pens and stations. The big ones (150W and up) will deliver more heat for a longer period of time, so you can solder directly to heavy gauge metal and large items. But this is almost never necessary, and a $90 40W Weller soldering station will handle anything encountered in a busy instrument repair shop and do it for years.

There are many, many virtually identical ones available, all under $100. A high quality brand name unit will run about $50 to $60 and is worth it for an active hobbyist. But for most of us who will only work on a few guitars and amps over a lifetime, the less expensive imports are quite fine. I just randomly picked a few from the "4 star and up" review list on Amazon and chose the one whose design and appearance looked best to me - it was about $40. This one (under $30 on Amazon) is typical of these:

Thanks, I just ordered that exact piece. (But not in lime green ) Amzn has it listed as a best seller.

[Stevebol]

Who doesn't suck at soldering? I sure do. I just want to get it over with.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Who doesn't suck at soldering? I sure do. I just want to get it over with.

It’s cheaper and easier to do it right than it is to do it twice.

[JazzNote]

Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

The expression on her face is too relaxed for someone who is heating up the fingers .....

[Mick-7]

Yeah, what's wrong with this picture?

She's not a blonde.

"I'm not offended by all of the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb…. or blonde" - Dolly Parton