Cooking Pots - What am I doing wrong??

jellybelly

Hi all - collective wisdom needed. 

Ive been modding my own guitars for a good few years now and have no problems keeping things neat in the majority of cases. 

This is with the exception of the back of pots. I sand them and scratch them but getting solder to take is a bugger and I often damage them. 

The only problem (other than plain bad technique) is that I'm using a 15w soldering iron and this might not be enough to melt the solder quick enough on big things like pots before them cause damage. 

If if that is the case can anyone recommend a decent variable soldering iron??

cheers all!!

digitalscream

I use one of these:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-50w-mains-solder-station-n78ar

Reasonably priced, as hot as you need whenever you need it, and generally pretty handy.

octatonic

I use this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-mains-solder-station-n34fb

Sounds like the iron isn't hot enough.
Also what solder are you using?

I don't sand the back of the pots- I scratch it with a blade.
I find it easier working on the edge of the pot, rather than the middle as well.

Adam_MD

15 watts is too low for the back of pots.  I use a 40 watt for the back of pots to get in and out quickly.  

Gagaryn

Yup, as you suspected - your iron is not powerful enough to maintain the heat when in contact with a relatively big heat sink like a pot body. Use a more powerful iron with a bigger tip and you'll find things much easier.

thermionic

I've found a 25W Antex to be just about enough for this, I really wouldn't want to attempt it with anything less.

Gonna get me one of those Maplins ones next time I see them discounted to £40. Worth getting at £60 though.

ICBM

As already said - 40W iron or bigger, and don't use lead-free solder. If you can't get leaded, the added-silver stuff is very good, and is fully worth the fairly steep upcharge. Plain lead-free needs a lot more heat to melt cleanly.

jellybelly

Thanks for the info guys. Got the £25 job from Maplin but it's not doing its job yet - does a chisel tip make THAT much difference??

Adam_MD

jellybelly said:

Thanks for the info guys. Got the £25 job from Maplin but it's not doing its job yet - does a chisel tip make THAT much difference??

Definitely bigger surface area transfers the heat faster.  The aim is to get in get it got enough to melt the solder and get back out again as quickly as possible.  

jellybelly

Ok well I'm in need of a chisel tip then! Managed to fix up my jag but pretty sure the cap has been damaged from previous exploits as I currently have two volume pots. 

Going to to grab some of the silver solder too as I've been using cheap lead free. I learnt using some old leaded stuff my dad had loads of and remember it being easier to work with!

ICBM

I don't even know why they make the cheap lead-free - it's complete crap and a nightmare to work with, it not only melts at a higher temperature, it never produces really clean-looking joints even when it probably has...

Sesh

My soldering iron is a cheapo POS. The last time I did the back of a pot it was a nightmare. I only managed it by using the side of the tip, not the point.

drwiddly

After I scratch the back of the pot, I give it a squirt of switch cleaner and wipe it with kitchen paper. The solder seems to run much better and more quickly.