Really old, stubborn solder

[RyanS]

Hey guys, hopefully someone can shed some light on a solution to my issue. I have a 1951 Gibson ES-125 that I am in the process of restoring, and am trying to ground the new electronics to the original tailpiece. However, there's a nasty blob of solder, 60 years aged, that I can't seem to put a dent in with a soldering iron. Any suggestions?

[LocustPlague]

The iron you are using might be too low wattage to tackle larger solder blobs. Any details on the iron or pictures of the blob? Also, maybe try letting the iron heat up for a bit longer.

[mojoatomic]

Originally Posted by RyanS

Hey guys, hopefully someone can shed some light on a solution to my issue. I have a 1951 Gibson ES-125 that I am in the process of restoring, and am trying to ground the new electronics to the original tailpiece. However, there's a nasty blob of solder, 60 years aged, that I can't seem to put a dent in with a soldering iron. Any suggestions?

put a little paste flux on it and flow new solder into the joint, then use a solder sucker to remove it; also they probably used a gun to do it origianly, so make sure your iron has enough wattage.

[jefrs]

Wet the iron with fresh fluxed tin/lead solder and apply solder to the joint as you heat it. It will then flow. Solder-sucker.

Lead-free solder is entirely the wrong stuff to use on this one.

A 45W Weller TCP would be best but use a 25W iron on the pot tags and a 40W iron on the pot cans. Do not over-heat the pots, particularly the cans or you may destroy them.

[Olav]

Like the two posters above said you need flux. Just tip the iron with some fresh solder. All solder is stubborn, add flux and it'll see reason.

[dsutton24]

Age has no effect on solder. You just don't have enough heat. You might be able to solder your new wire to the existing blob. It's possible that if the guitar has been technicianized at some point in the past that they used 50-50 plumbing solder or something like that.

[jefrs]

Molten solder conducts heat.

Wet the joint with solder as you apply the soldering tip.

It may seem counter intuitive but heat is not temperature. You have to get heat into the joint to raise its temperature to melting point. A bigger iron is about getting the joint to melting point in a shorter time, but they are often unwieldy and burn insulation.

[coolpool]

Clean the blob with alcohol, let dry, then apply a small amount of paste flux. Use electronics grade paste flux, not electrical or plumbing grade! The acids in electrical or plumbing flux will wreak havoc down the line.
Make sure your solder tip is clean, appply fresh solder (pref. Eutetic 63/37) since this is vintage, and the wetted tip should melt your blob no problem. You can either use the excess solder to join your clean pre-tinned wires then or use a solder sucker and start with a blank slate. A 25 W iron should be more than sufficient for the task if everything is clean and properly wetted. Unless you're really good with a gun I'd avoid it if at all possible. Too much heat is a great way to F-up old electronics. Too much heat too long will definitely mess them up.
Use an acid brush with alcohol and shop rags to clean up any remaining excess flux, once cooled. Neatness counts, especially in electronic work.

[mojoatomic]

Beat dead horse. Apply flux and beat said dead horse again. Repeat the dead horse beating procedure for 2 more iterations. Solder sucker.

:-) :-) :-) :-)

Couldn't resist - for all who might be offended, this post was in jest. If there are still hurt feelings... i'll be passing out polka dot dresses and lollys for all offended parties :-)

[RyanS]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! One last thing, for anyone else still reading on- would it be acceptable to post a thread of my restoration here? [It's understandable if not- this is, after all, the TELE Home Depot.]

[mojoatomic]

Originally Posted by RyanS

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! One last thing, for anyone else still reading on- would it be acceptable to post a thread of my restoration here? [It's understandable if not- this is, after all, the TELE Home Depot.]

absolutely, I was just goofin around in the last post.

[coolpool]

<sniff sniff> I hope mine is a Double Lolly, 'cos I like those....
@ Ryan; Please do, I know that I like guitars period, and seeing some of the work here has been highly educational and inspirational.