G ETWIRE D
Solder Like a Pro
Given the DIY nature of this issue, I thought
it would be appropriate to address good
soldering technique. Because we have a limited amount of space, I won’t talk too much
about tools, but suffice it to say you’ll want
a decent soldering pencil (a small type of
soldering iron) of at least 25 watts, though
40-60 watts is probably better. You’ll also
want a stand to hold the iron when not in
use, a damp sponge, and some solder. You
should also have some basic hand tools,
such as wire strippers, needle-nose pliers,
wire cutters and something to hold the wire
in place while a solder joint cools. You can
use a small screwdriver for this, although
there are tools sold specifically for this,
available through an electronics supply
house.
Step 1: Prepare the Joint
Don’t hold the wire with your hands. For
every joint, you need to find a way to hold
the wire in position without using your
hands. Wrap the wire through the solder lug
once to make it hold tightly on its own; use
tape to hold it in place; lay a pair of pliers
on the wire to hold it firmly where you want
it; or use a mechanical soldering aid
to hold it. Use whatever works,
except your hands. When
you make a solder
connection
and rely
on
your
hands to
hold the soldered
wire steady while the joint
cools, you will fail – no human hands
are steady enough to hold anything perfectly still, and you want the wire to remain
absolutely motionless while it cools. If there
is movement, internal fractures in the solder
will be the result.
Step 2: Clean the Tip
Use a good soldering iron and keep the tip
clean – you can use the damp sponge for
this. The tip must be cleaned before each
and every joint. Solder produces a byprod-uct called dross very, very quickly, and the
dross fouls the tip, preventing good heat
conduction and introducing waste material
into your solder joints.
Step 3: Tin the Tip
Tin the tip of the iron with fresh solder
immediately before you get on the joint
with the heat. Simply feed solder directly
onto the tip of the iron so that it’s completely coated – a tinned tip will provide
for much better heat conduction than a tip
that’s clean but not tinned.
Step 4: Remove the Excess Solder
Shake off the excess solder after tinning
– you want the tip coated, but not dripping.
We have fire-resistant containers beside our
soldering benches, and we tap the barrels
of our irons on the edges of these containers after tinning, which knocks the excess
molten solder into them.
You can use any
fire-resistant
container for
this, such as a tin can
or ceramic container –
just use care not to start a fire.
The risk of a fire is very low, since
solder melts at such a low temperature,
meaning molten solder is unlikely to ignite
even highly-flammable materials like paper,
but use care anyway!
Step 5: Get on the Joint Right Away
As soon as you’ve gotten the excess solder
off the tip, get right on the joint – by “joint”
I mean the wire and the solder lug, or the
wire and the back of the pot, or whatever it
is you’re soldering. Dross will start to form
on the tip very quickly, so as soon as the tip
is prepared, start soldering.
Step 6: Heat the Joint
Heat the joint, not the solder. You want the
joint to be hot enough to melt the solder.
It’s a given that the iron is hot enough to
melt the solder – just feed a little into the
tip and you’ll see. But you want the joint
itself to also be hot enough to melt the solder, so that if you feed solder into the joint
without touching the iron, the solder will
melt and be attracted right to the joint. You
can watch the solder actually wick out onto
the surface that you’re soldering to – this is
what you want. If you’re soldering to a ring-shaped solder lug, then you’ll want to fill it
completely with solder, which will maximize
the mechanical strength of the joint.
Step 7: Get Off the Joint
As soon as the solder has wicked to the
joint properly, remove the heat from the
joint. Most components can stand a fair
amount of heat, but some are more susceptible to damage than others, so there’s
no need to push your luck. Pots are fairly
durable; unless it’s a cheap pot, it’s highly
unlikely that you’re going to damage one by
trying to solder a wire to its back. But again,
no need to push your luck. So as soon as
you’ve completed the joint, pull the iron
away and let the joint cool, with the components remaining motionless.
Like most skills, proficiency with soldering
is acquired through practice. Employing
good technique will allow you to become
competent all the more quickly, so follow
these steps, and you’ll be soldering like a
pro in no time! You should probably practice
on projects that aren’t expensive or mission critical – you might want to think twice
about rewiring your only guitar before that
gig with Clapton tonight. But if you keep at
it, you’ll be one step closer to being a consummate DIY’er.
George Ellison
Founder, Acme Guitar Works
acmeguitarworks.com
george@acmeguitarworks.com
302-836-5301
