Where to start with Soldering?

Shipwreck

Hi folks - daft, novice question here - but Lockdown is dragging on so wondering if it's time I actually learned how to solder. I fancy switching some pickups out too so it makes a lot of sense. 

Are there any good reference points or guides to start with? I was thinking of buying a cheapy kit of Amazon but please do let me know of anything better suited.

Cheers!

Fuengi

Go for it. I have learnt this year and its super handy.

Check on YouTube for some tutorials. Look after your tips. Get some solder and just practice, it's dead easy once you understand what to do. 

I'd recommend going for a slightly better soldering iron. I bought a cheap one off Amazon but soon upgraded to an Antex iron for £35 which is worth every penny. 

Also buy a good pair of detail glasses! 

Jonathangus

Have a look at the videos on Six String Supplies' website.

JohnS37

Obviously you will need a soldering iron and some solder (with flux cores).  Also useful is a stand/holder with one of those conical springs to hold the iron while you’re setting up the joint.  De-soldering braid also comes in handy.  A good ‘mechanical’ connection between the wire and the terminal is a good thing, before you start applying the heat and solder.  Always make sure that the wire/solder/terminal assembly stays perfectly still as it cools down after soldering - if it moves you will get a ‘dry’ joint which might not pass signal and will almost certainly be noisy.  Dry joints usually have a dull appearance, while good joints are usually shiny.

McSwaggerty

Apply solder to both parts...... Wires..... You want to 'stick' together. Then put both wires together and heat with soldering iron and they will fuse together in seconds.
Easy..... No need for any fancy soldering iron.

thermionic

I think you can get a temperature-controlled iron/station like Maplins used to sell for under £50. Much better imho than a mains Antex. It’s not rocket science, but a very useful skill you can gain with a little practice.

Danny1969

I would recommend a decent iron and some leaded 60 /40 solder. Then it's a case of practice. 
Most beginners male the mistake of trying to use the solder like glue to make a joint but it's a case of heating the work joint and the solder flows onto the joint. Clean your tip, tin your tip, tin both parts to be joined and then apply heat so solder wants to flow onto the joint. 
CPC sell a  Duratool station for £52 that's ok



https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03168/60w-soldering-station/dp/SD02124?st=durotool soldering station

Cheesyfeet

Be patient and wait for the iron to heat up fully before attempting a joint.  You want to spend as little time as possible with the iron on the components and a properly up to temp iron is needed for this.  Solder should melt instantly when it touches the iron tip - if it doesn't, it's not hot enough.

Keep everything clean and give yourself as much access as possible to the things you are soldering.  A 'third hand' can be useful, but I usually just use a lump of blutack to hold any wires still if needed.

LastMantra

Make sure you have some ventilation and don't breath in the fumes. 

phil_b

people can get very anal with soldering but it really is not hard.

if it looks right it normally is

Switch625

Make sure you wear safety glasses. Once I managed to flick some hot solder near my face and it was a near miss.

Slash'N'burn

Cheesyfeet said:

Be patient and wait for the iron to heat up fully before attempting a joint.  You want to spend as little time as possible with the iron on the components and a properly up to temp iron is needed for this.  Solder should melt instantly when it touches the iron tip - if it doesn't, it's not hot enough.

Keep everything clean and give yourself as much access as possible to the things you are soldering.  A 'third hand' can be useful, but I usually just use a lump of blutack to hold any wires still if needed.

I remember doing soldering at school and we all managed fine soldering a pcb to make some gadget box thing work.

yet 10 years later I struggled at home doing a simple joint - guess it must of been the cheap/underpowered soldering iron I had bought. Think I’ll bin it and buy a better recommended one.

The suggestion further back for beginners to watch an instructional video is a really good idea too.

Roland

Once you’ve got the equipment it’s worth practising on some copper wire. Start with the stuff that is used for mains wiring, and strip the plastic off to give you the bare wire. You’ll learn about temperature; the affect of cleanliness; how to hold wire, solder and soldering iron; and how not to burn yourself. Then start on stranded copper, the stuff you get in mains cables. 

PrecisionGuided

Get a good temp controlled iron, a large and small tip, a tip cleaner and some decent side cutters.
Obtain some old electronic PCBs (old VHS players, TVs etc. before surface mount chips) and practice unsoldering components.
When you can remove bits without destroying the PCB tracks try soldering components back in...

You'll know when you've got good at it - joints will be shiny, flow well and be quickly made.

Next have a go at some jack and XLR cables...

Musicwolf

Don't 'push' with the soldering iron.  When you are starting out there is a natural tendency to use too much force to somehow try to force the solder to melt.  As long as you have good contact just be patient and allow the heat to flow.

Other tip.  If you are working on your kitchen table make sure that you have something underneath to protect the surface.  It may be a 5 minute job but you might just catch the lead of the iron causing it to fall out of the stand and onto the table.  It may only be a small mark but wives have eyes like shithouse rats and will spot this immediately and then hold this against you for the next 6 1/2 years even though you have since replaced the table.  Or so I'm told.

I had to get the iron out last night to repair my headphones.  I must have repaired these about half a dozen times (flexing of the headphones causes the wire to break close to the solder joint).  Even replacing a wire, which no longer long enough due to previous repair, took about 15 minutes from getting the tools out to packing away.  It made me think what would have happened if I couldn't solder?  Do people throw stuff away?  I'm sure that anyone doing commercial repairs would have a minimum charge that may make these sort of repairs prohibitively expensive.

Fez

Practice. Apprentices used to have do exercises soldering using tag strip and solid copper wire so have a go at that first. BYOC do a little starter kit which is available from the UK distributer. 

munckee

Swearing helps. Second the advice to watch the six string supplies videos. 

Bod

PSA - Lidl have a 48W station for £9.99 right now - good little starter set.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/diy-projects/parkside-soldering-station/p39663