Posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 am by Jeff Hoy
- If you can afford it, get an adjustable temp soldering iron. If you can’t afford it, get a few cheap soldering irons at different wattages. Also many of the adjustable soldering irons have replaceable tips. Get a selection of different sized and shaped ones to go with your iron for different soldering tasks.
- Keep your tips clean and tinned.
- Control your heat. Use no more than necessary. This will help to protect sensitive components from getting overheated. This will also allow your joints to solidify and cool faster. The smaller your solder joint, the less heat you’ll need to use. You can also use alligator clips and such as heat sinks between your joint and any sensitive components already attached to the wire.
- Use a high quality solder. Solder with high silver content is more expensive, but is also stronger. Solder can also be found in different sizes. The smaller your joint, the smaller the solder you should use.
- Get a third hand. If you’re having trouble finding a doctor that will oblige, consider a trip to El Salvador. Kidding. You can pick up what we call in the hobby a third hand for cheap. A decent one will have have a couple movable grippers, a magnifying glass, sponge, and iron holder. Or you can make one with an old wire hanger, a small piece of wood, some alligator clips, and a couple screws. This simple tool will dramatically change the way you work. You’ll solder faster, with fewer mistakes, and most important of all, fewer burns on your fingers.
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