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The Adafruit Guide to Excellent Soldering

5 points by ck2 12y ago

VLM 12y ago
A well written guide with good pix. In the 80s (and before) each heathkit shipped contained a "how to solder guide" that was also pretty good. Some additional commentary although nothing in the linked article is wrong: Nail clippers snip component leads easier than diag cutters AND diags, depending on component lead construction, can fling the lead ends off with considerable force inevitably into someones eye (so goggles, or nail clippers, or lots of experience is advised). Old timers (working alone) set up the clip and don't compress until eyes blink closed or develop weird finger dexterity to put finger on end of wire being clipped off so it physically can't fling off into space or into eye. Some RoHS leadfree always look "naturally" like cold solder joints, kind of matte finish. Foolin around to gain experience before doing something for real is advised. Just twist two snipped off leads together and see how it looks when its been heated up so much when soldering that it can't possibly be a cold joint. (edited to add, the first time someone solders with lead-free they have a mandatory weird look in their face when they inspect the joint) A piece of wood helps when soldering in 50 IC sockets and flipping the board over to solder them. Work bottom up when you can (sockets first, THEN caps THEN connectors or whatever). It beats flipping a board 50 times by hand and only takes a piece of wood (or maybe a hardcover book?) Watch some videos of a pro plumber doing copper plumbing to get a vague idea of what you're trying to do WRT filling but not overfilling the joint etc. Its easy to see on big stuff not so much with macro lens time. Stray spatters can be cleaned up with ethanol and a dedicated toothbrush, they don't stick very well to solder resist. Which also cleans off the flux. Which is impossible to accomplish without inspecting each soldered joint. Some people are allergic to rosin solder smoke. I kind of like it. Its not like theres giant clouds, but then again some people sniff a peanut and die (seriously) so if you're allergic I'm sure it really does suck. Some ventilation might not be the worst idea. If you can tolerate a wood campfire you'll almost certainly be OK. (forgot to add, no matter your natural inclination, never reach for something thats falling (like an iron) and never solder in shorts or sandals or bare feet or otherwise over anything super delicate, and never mix business with pleasure aka food drink booze never improved by added lead or plain old dirt) (And speaking of falling irons and iron issues in general until you own a "real" soldering station always route cable around back of desk not front, and develop a ritual where you never step away from a desk or shut off the lights or leave the room without putting a cold iron in its storage area, irons are hot enough to start a fire if left on)
- ck2 12y ago
  Gosh I miss heathkit. I could never afford anything there but it was a fun store to browse and the catalog was amazing. Learned to solder on their AM radio kit (cheapest kit they had). Soon we'll miss Radio Shack and there will be nothing left but internet orders.
ck2 12y ago
Really nice all in one guide (of course they are trying to sell you stuff but it is still a really good guide). There are five parts which you might not notice on the left.

5 points by ck2 12y ago

VLM 12y ago

A well written guide with good pix. In the 80s (and before) each heathkit shipped contained a "how to solder guide" that was also pretty good. Some additional commentary although nothing in the linked article is wrong: Nail clippers snip component leads easier than diag cutters AND diags, depending on component lead construction, can fling the lead ends off with considerable force inevitably into someones eye (so goggles, or nail clippers, or lots of experience is advised). Old timers (working alone) set up the clip and don't compress until eyes blink closed or develop weird finger dexterity to put finger on end of wire being clipped off so it physically can't fling off into space or into eye. Some RoHS leadfree always look "naturally" like cold solder joints, kind of matte finish. Foolin around to gain experience before doing something for real is advised. Just twist two snipped off leads together and see how it looks when its been heated up so much when soldering that it can't possibly be a cold joint. (edited to add, the first time someone solders with lead-free they have a mandatory weird look in their face when they inspect the joint) A piece of wood helps when soldering in 50 IC sockets and flipping the board over to solder them. Work bottom up when you can (sockets first, THEN caps THEN connectors or whatever). It beats flipping a board 50 times by hand and only takes a piece of wood (or maybe a hardcover book?) Watch some videos of a pro plumber doing copper plumbing to get a vague idea of what you're trying to do WRT filling but not overfilling the joint etc. Its easy to see on big stuff not so much with macro lens time. Stray spatters can be cleaned up with ethanol and a dedicated toothbrush, they don't stick very well to solder resist. Which also cleans off the flux. Which is impossible to accomplish without inspecting each soldered joint. Some people are allergic to rosin solder smoke. I kind of like it. Its not like theres giant clouds, but then again some people sniff a peanut and die (seriously) so if you're allergic I'm sure it really does suck. Some ventilation might not be the worst idea. If you can tolerate a wood campfire you'll almost certainly be OK. (forgot to add, no matter your natural inclination, never reach for something thats falling (like an iron) and never solder in shorts or sandals or bare feet or otherwise over anything super delicate, and never mix business with pleasure aka food drink booze never improved by added lead or plain old dirt) (And speaking of falling irons and iron issues in general until you own a "real" soldering station always route cable around back of desk not front, and develop a ritual where you never step away from a desk or shut off the lights or leave the room without putting a cold iron in its storage area, irons are hot enough to start a fire if left on)

ck2 12y ago
Gosh I miss heathkit. I could never afford anything there but it was a fun store to browse and the catalog was amazing. Learned to solder on their AM radio kit (cheapest kit they had). Soon we'll miss Radio Shack and there will be nothing left but internet orders.

ck2 12y ago

Really nice all in one guide (of course they are trying to sell you stuff but it is still a really good guide). There are five parts which you might not notice on the left.