Soldering - Getting Started Advice?

I'm toying with the idea of building my own partscaster as a hobby and as a cost effective way to get what I want in my price range.

So, I've never soldered before, which will be a key skill I'm betting.

1. Recommend a good soldering kit to do this sort of work?
2. Any advice about how to learn how to solder?
3. How doable is it for a complete noob to do this? Should I just give up and just save until I can afford something nice someone else built?

Thanks...

You need a soldering pen of about 35W. DO NOT GET A SOLDERING GUN! Those create magnetic fields that wreac havoc on your pickups.
You can get one for under $20

Get som 60/40 flux cored solder for electronics.

Buy or make a stand for the soldering iron, just laying it on the table will scar you for life, don't ask.

Keep the tip well tinned.

Do not overheat! When the solder begins to melt you've got one mississippi, two mississippi, three mississippi and the iron must be removed.

Heat the component you are about to solder, not the solder itself.

Clean the surfaces you are about to solder with a fine abrasive paper, the solder will flow much better.

Don't move the components while the solder cools down or cracks will form!

Wipe the tip on a moist sponge between solders and keep it clean, burned plastic will ruin your tip.

A good exersice is soldering the junctions in a copper net. Or start by just soldering wires together.

Soldering is pretty easy so just go ahead and do it.

The hard part is getting a blob to stick to the back of the pot. I struggled with this for years. I finally got a Weller soldering gun from Lowes. That instantly made a difference. I was using a pencil for 30 years which is fine for terminals and such but the bigger blobs caused a problem. I taught 12 year olds how to solder. Plug the iron in. Assuming you are using a rosin core 60/40 alloy, it is pretty easy. Use a name brand solder. I had rolls of crappy solder that was hard to use.
Have a water moistened sponge nearby. When the tip is hot, wipe the tip on the sponge. This removes oxidation, flux, solder, and plastic.

Put your conductor through the hole in the terminal. If you are right handed, hold the pencil in the left hand so you can feed solder with the right. Apply heat to the wire and terminal at the same time and hold it there. Bring the solder over and touch it to the area where all three things come together. Watch the solder melt and flow. Take the solder away, then take the heat away. Let it cool. It should be all smooth and shiny. If not, you can reheat it.

Try to find some youtube videos that show you close up how it is done. Also, I would do a bunch of practice runs. One thing you can you is buy a couple of potentiometers and wire just for practicing. They're cheap, so even if you burn them out it's no big deal. Once you feel comfortable with those, then you can move on to the real deal.

Soldering can be tricky. I have burned my fingers a couple of times - sometimes you can get so focused on your work that you forget about the scalding hot globs of goo that are hanging around.

When I started my partscaster, I'd never soldered anything before. There's loads of good advice on this forum (here's a good start http://www.tdpri.com/resources/tele-electronics/soldering-tips/), and there are some good how-to videos on YouTube.

I'm certainly no expert, but I suppose the fact that I managed it means that anyone can. As a newbie myself, the best advice I got was:

Practice makes perfect, so get yourself some parts to practice on before tacking your guitar.

Make sure that your soldering iron is powerful enough (mine is 40w) to get the job done quickly - slow heat is more damaging to components - you really want to be in and out of each joint in a matter of seconds.

Tin everything (your soldering iron, wires, switches) first, as it will make things easier.

Heat the connection for a second before flowing the solder onto the join.

Don't blow on the join to cool it.

And - oh yeah - this is MOST important... Protect your guitar's finish while soldering.

Use a name brand solder.
This!

Don't stint on solder, the difference between the cheep no-name solder and the kind the pros use is HUGE. As a beginner, using good solder is worth half the work.

The hard part is getting a blob to stick to the back of the pot. I struggled with this for years. I finally got a Weller soldering gun from Lowes.
This might be the one time a soldering gun could be used around guitars, but I'd recommend that you get a big 100W+ soldering iron instead. It will have a lot more thermic mass that will let you heat up the pot casing quickly without damaging the internals. It will also let you solder the copper tape in the cavities without scorching the wood underneath, a thing the small pencil won't manage.

Edit:
I prefer to hold the iron in my right hand and feed with the left, try for yourself to find out what you prefer.

A little trick for soldering components that tend to spring apart.

Push them together with the iron, add the solder. Remove the iron and use the solder to push things together. When everythings settled you will have the solder wire stuck fast to your components, just use the iron to cut it free.

I'd been using a borrowed iron for about 30 years (time to give it back?) till I got a better soldering station from a good electronics supply store. It's made the job much easier, with a variable temperature control and a cradle for the iron when not in use. Definitely easier soldering to the back of the pots now and I can also change from pointed to chisel tips when required.
I'm right-handed and I hold the iron in my right hand holding the solder in my left. Aligator clamps are useful as heat sinks next to the area being soldered, on plastic covered wire, so the plastic won't melt. A clamping tool will be handy; been meaning to get on for years.

I just started my soldering today, getting the solder on the pots takes a good amount of time. I ran out of solder before I could continue (I only had a tiny amount) but I think it's a matter of just taking your time and making sure you follow the wiring diagram correctly.

Lots of good advice above. The only things I would add is use Kester 44 60/40 rosin core solder if you can find it. Never use flux on electronics, even the so-called non-corrosive fluxes. If you must flux, use only activated rosin flux specifically for electronics. Make all connections rock-solid before soldering.

The most common mistake seems to be diving into the deep end of the pool before learning to swim. Go to the local charity shop (or your dad's basement) and get an old piece of electronic gear that you can disassemble and reassemble without caring whether or not it works afterward. Learning to solder is a whole lot easier when you're just learning to solder and not kicking yourself in the butt for ruining your favorite axe.

The most common mistake is not tinning. Make sure solder is flowed onto both parts of the join before applying the heat to join them together. If you're planning to make use of your soldering skills - making your own cables for example - get a temperature controlled soldering station, about £30 here in the UK, and it will pay for itself in no time. A soldering gun is not necessary for guitars. If you can't get solder to flow onto the back of a pot then gently scrape or sand the surface first. Here's some things I've learned over the years:

Avoid any method that requires three hands, you'll end up burning something...
Never try to catch a soldering iron that you've dropped...
Be certain that your hot iron is safely supported before you let go of it...
Avoid soldering things above you while lying on your back looking up...

Modern (the last 10 years or so) electronics are made with lead-free solder. This doesn't mix well with other types. If you want to practice, make your own patch-bay. After the first few rows you'll get pretty good at it!

If you're going to work on a lot of guitars I highly recommend you invest in a soldering station. Hakko makes a good one for around $100. You can buy one at Fry's or Ebay.

If you're going to work on a lot of guitars I highly recommend you invest in a soldering station. Hakko makes a good one for around $100. You can buy one at Fry's or Ebay.

+1

I'm very happy with mine. Initially I was having problems but that was because I as using cheap solder. Got better solder and it all became much easier.

Cheers

One safety factor that is hardly mentioned is, try not to inhale the smoke or fumes from soldering. A lot of pro stations I've seen are built on a down draft table to pull the smoke/fumes away from the technician. I have no idea how harmful these fumes are, but it sure wouldn't hurt to take precautions.

If you're going to work on a lot of guitars I highly recommend you invest in a soldering station. Hakko makes a good one for around $100. You can buy one at Fry's or Ebay.


+1

Agree with getting a good soldering station, I suggest you look into the Weller soldering station shown below, Weller WLC 100. I got mine at Fry's, but a lot of places carry it. There is a large selection of tips you can get for it, and it has the sponge, holder, and heat control all built into the same unit.

I bought a small pot of tinning/cleaning paste from Radio Shack that had a sticky pad on the bottom, which I stuck to the top of the housing, so I can retin and clean the tip whenever I need to. I've used mine for years, have gone through several tips, and it can solder just about anything electronic from almost micro circuits to pot backs.

It has adjustable heat levels so you can dial it back when you solder smaller, more delicate things, and when I need to solder grounds to pots, I just change tips to the wider chisel point, which gives more surface to transfer heat to the metal can, crank up the heat to max., and I've not had any problems.

I've lusted after the Hakko's and other really high ends, but for about half the price, I'm not sure what the big boys can do that the Weller can't.

With a solder station of this quality or better, and good quality 60/40 solder, you'll pick it up quickly. I find a cheap set of hemostats, like you can get at Harbor Freight, also useful for holding things in position while soldering them together.

http://images.frys.com/art/product/big_shots/1942888.big.jpg

One safety factor that is hardly mentioned is, try not to inhale the smoke or fumes from soldering. A lot of pro stations I've seen are built on a down draft table to pull the smoke/fumes away from the technician. I have no idea how harmful these fumes are, but it sure wouldn't hurt to take precautions.

Here's a PDF on the Health Effects (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg248.pdf)

As someone who soldered for a living for more than 40 years, .......most of the information given so far is good and sensible My advice is to get a temperature controlled soldering station and 60/40 LEAD/Tin solder not the silver based rubbish which requires higher temps and better tecnique than a beginner posesses and that the iron is a minimum of 60-80watt. Soldering is easy if you keep the job components clean and oil free and heat up the components not try to melt a big blob onto to the iron tip and then drop on the join. After heating the clean join you apply a small amount of solder to the junction and it will flow onto the job. When the solder has covered each component surface take the iron away and let cool down without moving the wires etc.

You should always where possible tin your parts to be soldered this means to heat up and flow solder on in a thin skin over the wire ends for example (this should only take 3-4 secs) and the joint should be made with minimum solder. A big blob does not a good solder joint make!

Here's a PDF on the Health Effects (http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg248.pdf)

Very good information, thank you!

My pleasure. :-)

If you have an iron with interchangeable tips, it's worthwhile using the largest you can get away with. Larger tips hold more heat, therefore they cool less when brought to the joint. This translates into quicker & easier soldering / tinning & overall, less heat is put into the components, thus reducing the potential for heat damage.

It's precisely this reason that the experienced people say "Don't buy solder guns"; they invariably have smaller tips & while they heat up fast, they cool down fast too when you bring them to the joint. Worst case, the joint "freezes" with the tip of the iron & then you have to wait for everything to get back up to temperature before you can remove the iron :roll:

Soldering wires on the back of a pot can be tricky, because
you seem to need three hands:

- one to hold the iron
- one to hold the wires
- one to hold the solder

If you hold the wires down with the iron, they
tend to move after you remove the iron.

An easy solution (discovered from seeing a Seymour Duncan video
on YouTube):

- hold wires down with iron
- hold solder in other hand
- after using solder, put down solder and pickup up soldering aid
(a plastic, pencil-sized thingy)
- hold wires down with soldering aid
- remove gun

You have to move pretty fast -- you don't want to keep the
iron on the pot longer than needed.