Trying to solder correctly - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: fixit7
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 01:11:23 pm
content: I know a lot of folks have given up on me.https://imgur.com/a/EHAevP1"It's always too soon to quit."

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 02:36:03 pm
content: A cry for help? Let us know what tools you are working with. Good solder and flux and a decent iron, preferably a station where you can control the temp, clean shiny copper pcb to solder to, it all helps.If you want to get better start with the Pace videos. Oldies but goodies.Basic Solderinghttps://youtube.com/watch?v=vIT4ra6Mo0s&list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837Rework and Repairhttps://youtube.com/watch?v=HKX-GBe_lUI&list=PL958FF32927823D12

author: JDubU
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 03:42:33 pm
content: I hadn't seen those Pace videos before. Really good!!Thanks for posting that link.

author: fixit7
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 03:46:14 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on June 11, 2019, 02:36:03 pmThanks. Excellent video and I found a lot more here.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5e-XjqHPfA3_9wF3CgY1wAndy

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 06:45:28 pm
content: Some of the series are more about rework and specific tools but still interesting. If you liked those videos Marc Siegel has a few Pace videos he did on his channel as well.https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD3nPgUqeSCmyT19mJm1MUw

author: cur8xgo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 06:48:55 pm
content: General guidelines for soldering:Get a foil tip cleaner (not a wet sponge)Don't try soldering a joint unless you cleaned the tip within the last 2 secondsUse a temperature controlled iron (doesnt have to be digital..weller irons that use the magnetic style tip temperature control are fine)Select a tip diameter that makes sense (0603 with a 1/8" wide screwdriver tip is going to make you unhappy)Use solder diameter that makes sense (0603 with 1/16" diameter solder is going to make you unhappy)Know when your tip needs to be replaced (solder should wet to a good clean tip instantly)If it doesn't go well right away, you are doing it wrong. Stop. Think. Don't try to force it.Using the tip broadside versus stabbing can have dramatically different effects.Heat the JOINT not the solder. Feed the solder into the hot joint and it will flow. (Sometimes putting a blob of molten solder onto the tip first is a good strategy, but thats a bit more advanced)Practice makes perfect. Thousands and thousands of people get paid near minimum wage to solder TSSOP every day. You can do it.One more thing: if you only practice soldering on through hole vector board or twisted leads in mid-air, you aren't going to get better at soldering anything smaller or more precise..if that matters to you.

author: fixit7
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 08:13:09 pm
content: Quote from: cur8xgo on June 11, 2019, 06:48:55 pmI am thinking my current tip needs changing.https://imgur.com/a/nECo1qSI have not used bottom tip at all since it's length decreased by about half.I can not afford an actual temp controlled iron at present.Andy

author: cur8xgo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 08:28:59 pm
content: Quote from: fixit7 on June 11, 2019, 08:13:09 pmTrying to use a dirty tip is pretty pointless..and I don't mean from a convenience or sort of nerdy perspective. It really doesn't work well for soldering and can make even a trivial job almost impossible. I can't tell from the pictures how bad it truly is but in general, if you are trying to make a solder joint and the portion of the tip you are using isn't clean, shiny, and doesn't wet instantly, 90% of your effort is going into dealing with a bad tip and 10% is technique.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2019, 11:33:45 pm
content: Quote from: cur8xgo on June 11, 2019, 06:48:55 pmAll good tips, although I diagree on the foil tip cleaner---I have used a wet sponge for years with no adverse affects.I tried using the "brass wool" stuff & was completely underwhelmed.The thing filled up with solder blobs & dust in no time.Another point I would add is cleanliness.If the things you are soldering together have dirt, oxidation, finger grease, etc on their surfaces, it is very hard to get a good joint.The High Reliability Hand Soldering courses I took back in the day suggested using a rubber eraser to clean surfaces, then clean any residue off with solvent (at work, I used IPA, at home plain old Methylated Spirits).Another thing they said was to clean your solder with solvent on a Kimwipe or similar prior to use, as leaded solder is very prone to surface oxidation.If you clean some old solder with a Kimwipe (or tissue or paper towel or sheet off a"dunny roll"), wet with solvent, you will see a lot of black residue which has been removed.New solder will be a lot better, but will still leave distinct traces.Another tip was to "nip" any melted end off the solder before each joint, so fresh flux core is exposed.They were also fond of Liquid Resin Flux (actually, if you use this, you can get away,without the solder snipping).Unfortunately, my IPad doesn't speak imgur, so I don't know what iron you are using.If it's one of the very cheap "pretend solder stations" with the uncalibrated knob on the front, you will be in a losing battle to solder.These things have a plain old "lamp dimmer" circuit, where a Triac conducts over a fraction of the incoming ac waveform to get hotter or less hot, depending on the pot setting.The main drawback with this idea is that the lower settings are pretty useless, & you will usually have to have them close to maximum to stop them cooling down when soldering, as the tip has very little mass.Unfortunately, the tip is then too hot, & won't make good joints, quite apart from possibly damaging components.They may feel quite heavy, but don't be taken in, that's not a transformer-----------they put weights in the case!I would even recommend a plain old uncontrolled Mains iron over those things!Ideally, you should have a proper soldering station, with "all the bells & whistles", but a very good substitute is a secondhand Weller WTCP .These have the "Magnastat" tips, & maintain their temperature very well under load.

author: fixit7
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 12:24:01 am
content: I saw some used Wellers in the $40 range.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 12:43:23 am
content: Quote from: fixit7 on June 12, 2019, 12:24:01 amThat's pretty good--- the last time I bought one was $A40, that was a few years back when the Oz & greenback were pretty much at parity.Funny, though, back in the 1980s I bought a new one for about $80!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 12:54:48 am
content: Quote from: vk6zgo on June 12, 2019, 12:43:23 am... which was about a quarter of the average weekly wage back then.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 01:49:41 am
content: Another vote for the wet sponge, although either can be made to work. I've used those brass wool things before and was not very impressed, they worked well for getting larger bits of crud off but not so much for wiping off the excess solder to leave a nice clean tip.

author: cur8xgo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 02:10:45 am
content: In regards to the wet sponge:Professionally I have seen many expert assemblers use a wet sponge and doing fantastic work and rework on tiny pitch high density parts, so yes, it is definitely a real thing that works.However, personally I don't like it. I don't like things that cool the tip down and require me to rotate the tip in a circle to clean (awkward motion), and I dont like that it needs to be replaced so often. I also don't like wet things around where I'm working on electronics. Sponges collect that solder just as much as anything else so I dont see that as a benefit versus foil. Wet things also grow stuff..Also having to keep a water bottle with a nozzle on it is just one more thing on a packed workstation and one more thing that can spill or be a problem.Then you have to buy sponges too.I bought my Hakko 599B foil cleaner literally 20 years ago and only replaced the foil after maybe 15 years. The container it sits in catches everything so much cleaner than a sponge. Pop the bottom off and dump it every few weeks (months?). Cleaning the tip means a quick stab or two, you can do it without looking, making keeping a clean tip for every joint much more convenient.Its a preference thing. Wet sponges work too.EDIT: And bonus..the hakko fits perfectly snugly right into the space for the sponge, tucked under the iron holder spring, on a weller tc

author: cur8xgo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 02:17:44 am
content: Oh yeah one more thing....If you want to make soldering FUN, buy a stereo zoom microscope and a fiber optic light source. Its like disappearing into a teeny city and what seemed very difficult can become very easy.....Also: A high quality low viscosity liquid flux in a needle dispenser can be like a superpower for super fine pitch parts..solder just pops into place perfectly on multiple pins at once with just a tap

author: Audioguru
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 03:33:32 am
content: Fixit7, please post your photos and schematics in your threadshere, instead of over ay Imgur who delete them.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 08:00:28 am
content: I never liked or used the wet sponge. Mostly I use kitchen paper towels folded and I "scrape" the tip as I rotate it and clean it. Even some newspaper will do.I have never had a temperature controlled iron. I have developed a certain awareness and sense. If the iron has not been used in a while I turn it off or I may blow on it to cool it if I know I will be using it shortly. If I am soldering something that needs more heat I wait a bit if I have just been using it.I guess having temperature control is nice if you got used to it but I learned without it and now I do not feel the need.The top advice I would give is (1) make sure the parts are clean - this cannot be stressed enough - and (2) heat the parts and let the solder flow - you want it to flow and wet the parts well.

author: MarkF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 08:13:17 am
content: I use both sponge and brass wool.However when I use the sponge, I soak it in water and then squeeze it to wring out all the water that I can.I would not just pour water on it and start soldering. As I've seen in some videos.

author: HB9EVI
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 08:52:25 am
content: Since I bought a new Weller station with a compartment for brass wool in the holder, I'm not using anything else anymore. It's doing very well and doesn't cause thermal stress to the tip. Finding the right moisture level on the sponge seems to me like a science by itself.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 10:28:27 am
content: Are you using lead free solder? If so, ditch it for real leaded solder. As Imentioned in the other thread, lead free solder is unsuitable for hobby use. It's very difficult to work with and the hazards posed by lead free solder, such as the more nasty flux, greatly outweigh those of lead. Wash your hands after use and you'll be fine.

author: FriedLogic
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 12:35:31 pm
content: Quote from: fixit7 on June 12, 2019, 12:24:01 amOne of the advantages of a good quality used iron is that it can give you access to a range of good quality tips, but you do need to check first since there may not be so much available for old discontinued stuff.I normally use a damp (not saturated) sponge, but the metal tip cleaner I have leaves a lot more solder spread on the tip, which could be helpful if you have a problem with the tip itself oxidizing.Using larger diameter solder than necessary can also complicate it.

author: Vtile
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2019, 09:12:20 pm
content: I'm again heretic. My foil cleaner is a frying pan stainless steel scrub which is exactly like those sold for the "solder tip cleaning", It is just held in place at the hole of the connection wire spool. Didn't cost "anything" as regular household item and cleans nicely my cheap china iron (Which works as good for the irregular hobby job as the traditional Wellers I have used here and there). Benefit for the stainless steel is that the solder do not attach to it so I just clean the dust under the spool at times.Minor oxidation of components sitting on the drawers between hobby projects can be taken care with (mildly) activated flux (in solder wire or at bottle).On the other hand I do not do surface mount components, except some OPs to adapter boards and some dead bugs here and there or transistors between perfboard copper dots.

author: Dabbot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 03:37:10 am
content: Quote from: Shock on June 11, 2019, 06:45:28 pmExcellent content. Loving a lot of the techniques on display here. Even those without the specialized rework tools.A lot of people consider it a no-no to apply solder to your soldering iron tip, then carry it over to your work to make the joint, but in this video you can see this exact method being used to solder surface mount components.I think it's important to note that it's all to do with the flux. Normally, any flux in your solder would have mostly boiled off the soldering iron tip by the time you brought it to your joint, but you'll see in the video that flux is separately applied to the pins and pads prior to the joint being made, and so is available to perform its duties in keeping the surfaces clean as solder is wicked from the tip and onto the joints.Another important and, often overlooked property of flux, is that it modifies the surface tension of solder and allows it to more easily flow / wick / ball up. And this is something to keep in mind if you wonder why you're making joints with peaky bits of solder sticking out from where you pulled the soldering iron away. It's because all the flux has boiled away. A quick touch-up with some flux or fresh solder and it's good.

author: MarkR42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 09:02:34 am
content: I find that veroboard / stripboard which has been in storage for a while gets automagically caked in awful crud which needs to be really really cleaned before the board is usable.I'd try fine wire wool, then cleaning wipes, once the board is really clean, soldering is much easier (flux good too)I'm staying out of the brass foil / sponge thing, I use both, use whatever works for you.

author: fixit7
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2019, 07:35:26 pm
content: Quote from: MarkR42 on June 13, 2019, 09:02:34 amI found that adding solder to the joints of components you want to remove, works better.I used some small gauge fine braided wire that I had to wick up the solder.It is especially needed for the lead free solder.Waiting for the good stuff I ordered.1.5mm 2mm 2.5mm 3mm 3.5mm Width 1.5M Length Desoldering Braid Welding Solder Remover Wick Wire

author: SPFC
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 27, 2019, 11:23:18 pm
content: Hi guys,please...I have a question and would like to take this topic to eliminate it.I have a 20 watt 110 volt soldering iron.Well, is there some problem with setting a dimmer as one of the devices to control its temperature?Thank you

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2019, 02:42:12 am
content: QuoteNot really. But this the dimmer is directly modulating the power of the iron, not the temp. You can repeatably alter your set temp by modulating the power, but this is not going to perform the same as a temperature-controlled station.The temp-controlled station will bump up power to try to maintain its set temp while you are soldering. The power-controlled iron outputs the same amount of power all the time. So while soldering, the temperature sags.While you can adjust the power and your soldering rhythm so that the temp is more or less ideal while soldering, this means that between soldering... while the iron is not being used... the temp of the iron will reach its peak. This higher temp burns the flux off and crustifies the solder on there, faster. The iron will basically require more frequent cleaning, and the tip life might be a bit lower.

author: HB9EVI
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2019, 10:09:28 am
content: I consider 20W as too weak for many soldering works; it maybe still works well on small pcb islands, but as soon as you're facing e.g. bigger gnd areas, you're lost with 20W; you have to excessivly heat the working area for a longer time what can cause fatal thermal stress to the component you want to solder.It's a widespread misunderstanding to use low power irons for example for smd works - the result always is increased heat exposure to the components; not only it sucks to work like that, it can cause harm to your components and to the pcb itself.

author: SPFC
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 30, 2019, 04:22:24 am
content: Quote from: KL27x on July 28, 2019, 02:42:12 amYes, in this case the dimmer will be directly related to the iron power and not to the temperature. As I said, the dimmer would possibly be one of the elements of the system.Quote from: KL27x on July 28, 2019, 02:42:12 amI understood the second paragraph roughly. The third was a disappointment.Well, I asked it because here in Brazil I accessed a web-page whose content says that electrical resistances below 40 watts are not appropriate to include a dimmer.Quote from: HB9EVI on July 28, 2019, 10:09:28 amHB9EVI,I already know and understand that Americans like powerfull things. But as I am from Brazil, life here is more difficult and I won't use it for working, I don't intend to spend so much on it. A soldering station, even buying from abroad, is expensive.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2019, 05:27:15 am
content: QuoteWell, I'm comparing how the dimmer setup would perform compared to a proper temperature controlled iron. Compared to how your iron works right now, adding a dimmer won't make it any worse. I guess I'm trying to temper your expectations of what this will do.QuoteIn America we measure resistance in ohms.You're the one with the station. If you will find power-control useful on your station, you should not worry about what a random website creator thinks is appropriate.Unless you have some strange requirements, I think you will use the dimmer only to turn down the temp while you are not using the iron. When using your 20W iron, you will probably turn it back up to full power for most things. So a dimmer might be overkill. A cheaper method of achieving this is a switch and a rectifer diode. (And another $5.00 iron to solder it.) Then you have a half power setting for standby, to keep the iron hot when idle. This worked great on my firestick, 20 years ago.QuoteLucky for us, arguing on the internet is free. We don't even have to waste any breath!

author: SPFC
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 06, 2019, 11:18:07 pm
content: Quote from: KL27x on July 30, 2019, 05:27:15 amWell, the resistance is measured in Ohm in all the world, not only in USA. It's world standard.Quote from: KL27x on July 30, 2019, 05:27:15 amI turned on the soldering iron to check the maximum temperature limit and the display showed about 377º. My intention is to do it works at a "more stable" temperature that is just below 200° C. A temperature that only serves to melt the Sn-Ch.Another question: Do you know how to prevent darkening of the metal part?Thank you!

author: L_Euler
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 01:03:29 am
content: Quote from: SPFC on July 27, 2019, 11:23:18 pmI did some stained glass work in a former life and found that my iron ran way too hot. I was constantly burning up tips. Then I put it on a variac (fancy light dimmer) and got the tip under control, but then the tip didn't have enough thermal mass to maintain tip temp during a lead run on the glass. So, when the iron was idle I ran the variac at about 60% to keep it in a ready state. Then just as was about to use it I ran the variac all the way up so the tip would remain at temp under use. How does all this apply to you? A light dimmer will not maintain temperature between idle and use. It only sets the operating power. If you go this route you will find yourself constantly adjusting to balance between burning up the tip while idle and maintaining adequate tip temperature while soldering.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 06:05:47 am
content: ^and his iron is only 20W, 377C. This why I suggested a switch will be near as good as a dimmer. Witb you variac you ended up using primarily 2 settings. 60% and 100%. with a switch and a diode, you get 50% and 100%.Quote100% agree, temp control is not necessary. A superhot firestick can do anything. You prevent lifting traces and burning compoments by controlling dwell time. The major benefit of temp control is you get to keep the iron at a lower temp for the 90% of the time you are placing components or moving between components. And thusly, you do not need to stop to clean the tip nearly as often.SPFC, there is no way you will do any normal, practical soldering at 200C. With a large mass tip, you might solder at 300C. With a pointed conical, you might need the full 377C. The temp of the tip drops as soon as you touch it to a heatsink (i.e., the joints you are making.) It doesnt matter how much power and magic beans and PID and $1000's of price of the station. You cannot solder stuff with 200C set temp with any of today's irons, cuz that is not how things work. We dont have irons that sense temp of the joint, only they can sense the base of the tip. Let alone your iron is only power controlled.

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2019, 07:14:48 am
content: If you can afford a soldering station then go for it. The benefit is they can be put in a standby mode which lengthens the life of the tips.Heat accelerates oxidation. But if you can't ,look for a minimum 60Wsoldering iron with a steel tip .Steel tips are copper inside, plated with stainless steel or iron so they last longer. Pure copper tips don't last as long and are more maintenance .Stainless steel or Copper dish scrub pads will do in a pinch for a tip cleaner. Wet sponges are alright but if your not careful plastic ones can be a real pain for carboning up your tip. Natural sponge works a little better.I use a small extra pot of flux to do a "hot dip" clean once in a while before a good re tinning.Do in a well ventilated area if your concerned about the smoke.If your into it there are some interesting hot iron hacks on the internet to make them temperature controlled.Using a variac isn't a very good idea because your just lowering the wattage of your iron when you lower the voltage so it just makes things worse.I've not tried this myself but But apparently you can increase the tip wattage a little bit by wrapping copper wire around the tip base to make it thicker.So the tip holds it's temperature a little longer I guess.Sometimes we need to do some unorthodox methods to get by.

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 02:26:07 pm
content: Quote from: Jwillis on September 07, 2019, 07:14:48 amSoldering tips are never plated with stainless steel, only with plain iron. Solder will not bond to stainless. On high quality tips, some areas will be additionally chromium plated to prevent solder from sticking there, so that it only ever wets the working area of the tip. Sometimes, only a very small area may be wetable (not chromium plated); I have a 'micro hoof' tip with a wetable area of less than 1 mm2.If you need extra thermal mass for bigger jobs, use a large chisel tip.NEVER use plastic sponges for wiping a solder tip. Only use cellulose. Purpose made sponges are best and are not expensive, but kitchen sponges (of cellulose) work fine. Just make sure to rinse themvery verywell, as they are usually sold dampened with glycerin or something which keeps them soft in the package. It is best to dampen the sponge with distilled water, since minerals and chlorine found in tap water are bad for the tip. Distilled water is cheap, so there is little excuse. Never "wet" the sponge, only "dampen" it. It should be just damp enough to be supple. If you first soak the sponge, then squeeze out as much water as possible, this is about the right dampness. It prevents the sponge from becoming scorched without thermally shocking the tip.Periodically remove the tip from the heater element and clean both. Crud that builds up over time acts as an insulator. Inspect your tip to check that it has kept its shape. If the business end of the tip is deformed, then: you may be using excessive pressure on the tip, and/or the copper is erroded away under the plating. Over time one learns that the tip never needs to be pressed into the work, but only placed onto it. This is the single most important thing to both preserve tip life and prevent damage to pads on the PCB.The best performing soldering irons dispense with the problematic heater-to-tip thermal interface entirely, and build the heater right into the replaceable tip. This makes tips quite a lot more expensive, but the performance is consistently excellent.

author: FreddieChopin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 06:07:21 pm
content: Soldering is a lot like TIG welding so if you master one you'll easy pickup another.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 08:30:29 pm
content: Quote from: SPFC on July 30, 2019, 04:22:24 amI'm not sure why you felt it appropriate to bash on Americans; the advice that HB9EVI (who isn't American) gave you is factually correct, and has nothing to do with preferences (and even less to do with stereotypes).

author: Old Printer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2019, 09:36:44 pm
content: I have used both the newer brass wool or whatever it is and the damp sponge, sometimes I have both ready at the same time. I have found there are different qualities of the brass wool. Get some from one of the major manufacturers like Hakko. I bought a cheap knock-off brass wool cleaner and it did not work nearly as well as the good stuff.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2019, 06:04:47 am
content: Quote from: Old Printer on September 10, 2019, 09:36:44 pmIf you have the cheap stuff still, test it to see if it's magnetic. Real brass wool should not be magnetic. Genuine Hakko wool will also have flux added.

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2019, 02:03:45 pm
content: Quote from: Old Printer on September 10, 2019, 09:36:44 pmI bought a 10-pack of Thermaltronics brand brass wool things ("Thermaltronics BC-10") on Amazon for just a few dollars, so "proper" ones do not need to be expensive. I do use them, but most of the time, I prefer the damp sponge. I am slowly warming up to using the brass more frequently. It takes time to re-train an old brain.A neat trick that you sometimes see is a layer of hard rosin at the bottom of the brass wool holder. If your tip gets especially nasty, you can press it through the brass wool, right into that rosin layer, which eats away the oxides. Then use the brass to remove the smoking rosin, and the tip is nice and fresh. It works great. A soldering iron/heat gun combo I bought a few years ago came with this setup, and at first I didn't understand why the rosin was there. It seems obvious once you know.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2019, 01:57:02 am
content: ^The 888 stand comes with a sponge and brass wool. I took out the sponge and replaced it with a piece of FR-4, covered in rosin. Honestly, I don't use it too much for cleaning/freshing the tip. It's handy when I need to get only a very tiny bit of solder on the tip of the iron. Flick the bigger blob of solder off the iron onto this board, and it will break up into tiny solder balls that can be picked up. This completely removes my infrequent need of fine solderwire. I mostly use 0.064" for just about anything, and 99% what I solder is fine pitch SMD parts. The smallest I have is 0.032", and I haven't used any of it in years.I don't need either sponge or wool for oxidation. I run low enough temp that my tips just don't oxidize very often; I address that problem maybe twice a year. The wool is for scraping off burnt rosin and for removing excess SMD parts from the tip.If you run your iron hot and dry enough to actually oxidize while you're soldering, it's possible that a damp sponge might work better for you. The theory I have heard, anyhow, is that the thermal shock is supposed to help remove the oxide layer.

author: Audioguru again
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2019, 03:13:35 am
content: Hee, hee. You need to learn about how high to drip the solder from down to a solder joint.I have always used 63/37 flux core solder and never 60/40 and have always user a Weller fixed temperature controlled soldering iron and never a cheap one with no temperature control and never one that uses a Mickey Mouse light dimmer circuit for a variable uncontrolled temperature.

author: macboy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2019, 03:16:45 pm
content: Quote from: KL27x on September 12, 2019, 01:57:02 amI don't control the temperature of my iron, Metcal does. I normally use the common 1xx series tips which are nominally 700 F (370 C). Personally I feel that theyaretoo hot, but I am an amateur and they are the pros, so I defer to them. My tips very rarely have issues, but when reworking Pb-free and/or using solder wire with non-rosin-based flux (no clean), they occasionally get a weird film that's difficult to wet or to wipe away. A quick plunge into rosin followed by a good tinning with Pb solder (Kester 44 60/40) always cures that. It's far less harsh than those little tins of "tip tinner" which usually have ammonium chloride flux to chemically strip badly oxidized tips.

author: FreddieChopin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2019, 10:39:01 am
content: Quote from: Audioguru again on September 12, 2019, 03:13:35 amWhat is mickey mouse light dimmer?Is it from lamp shaped like mickey mouse?

author: MarkR42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2019, 09:52:43 pm
content: @macboy thanks for the tip about cellulose sponges, I often used cellulose sponges (like washing up etc) for soldering, but I didn't realise they ship them with some stuff (glycerin) etc, built-in, but it's obvious now you mention it.

author: Mp3
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2019, 08:40:15 am
content: Quote from: fixit7 on June 11, 2019, 01:11:23 pmHi OP,I feel obliged to answer as i am one that has trouble applying a lot of theory i read about to real life situations.soldering was particularly an uphill battle for me. I also started with a radio shack iron which i later learned when i got my first decent iron (a hakko) most of my projects that didnt work ended up being due to poor soldering or burning from the fixed temperature iron....another tip i didnt realize for too long is to keep the tip tinned, and to clean it off so theres just enough solder on there then add a tiny bit more, as lack of solder on the tip prevents heat transfer and increases your chance of causing heat damage from keeping the tip there too longthe key is really just to tin the tip, put a good amount of pressure on the point to solder, add a bit of solder to the area and poke the point with solder until you see the solder is melting it, making sure the tip doesnt get dried out, and it should be not bad at all.you shouldnt need to make solder bridges -but- it looks like the board you are trying to solder too doesnt really have much copper.... at all... so you may be having difficulty simply on account of having a hard time getting solder to stick to anything i assume?I may be very bad at EE but I am a good solderer now. I love my ts100.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2019, 09:31:11 am
content: Quote from: Mp3 on September 16, 2019, 08:40:15 amUnfortunately the original poster left the building awhile ago, after posting several topics about his bench grinder, which he had dangerously modified, by replacing the e-stop with a crappy toggle switch and not earthing it properly. People tried to tell him what we was doing was very dangerous, as it could kill him or other people, but he chose to take offence and left the forum. I hope he's OK and he either saw sense and did the modification properly, gave up, or the bench grinder failed safe.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2019, 03:02:27 pm
content: Quote from: Mp3 on September 16, 2019, 08:40:15 amI’m not gonna go into too much detail, since the soldering tutorial on YouTube by Pace Worldwide is, frankly, unbeatable as an initial resource.But FYI, applying pressure with the iron is a definite no-no. Use a slightly larger thermal bridge (the extra bit of solder applied to the tip just before beginning a joint) instead, as well as choosing an appropriate tip geometry, held at a good angle to make good thermal contact with the joint.And I don’t know what you’re talking about the board “not having much copper”. You can plainly see the sets of traces on that perfboard. And the solder doesn’t care how thick the copper is, with regards to it sticking or not.