Soldering Superstars: How many hands do you have?

maltingsaudio

I use a cable tester like the Behringer CT100 its got every connector on it you are likely to be soldering with the added bonus of testing you’ve got your earth and lives the right way round as you do the job!

guitars4you

octatonic said:

I use an old pedal for jack plugs.
Keeps it perfectly in the right position.

never thought about that - What a great simple idea - A pair of plyers with a rubber band around the handle is a simple 'emergency' job as wll

Sassafras

Mole grips with something soft to cushion the jaws is favourite.

stickyfiddle

I have one that's halfway between the two pictured - 2 bendy arms. Makes life very easy whatever I'm doing

Danny1969

This is my actual cable tool, note the rails on top to control the cable and the blue heatshrink in the hole, that stops the jack moving without marking it in any way



Very useful tool which cost fuck all basically 

Roland

Nice one @Danny1969 ;

Philly_Q

I used to be very good at soldering but I haven't done any for years.

The problem now would be my eyesight - I have to wear varifocals but they don't give you perfect vision for every situation, they only work when you're at just the right distance and angle from whatever you want to focus on. 

I think I'd need some kind of extra magnification for soldering - something like diamond thieves or forgers use in the movies.

octatonic

Philly_Q said:

I used to be very good at soldering but I haven't done any for years.

The problem now would be my eyesight - I have to wear varifocals but they don't give you perfect vision for every situation, they only work when you're at just the right distance and angle from whatever you want to focus on. 

I think I'd need some kind of extra magnification for soldering - something like diamond thieves or forgers use in the movies.

I use an Optivisor.
They are excellent:

Philly_Q

@octatonic ; thanks, they look a bit early-Cybermen, but I shall investigate - then leave them in the box for 10 years next to all those dusty pickups and cobwebby bits of hardware.

scrumhalf

octatonic said:

I use an Optivisor.
They are excellent:

Gort. Klaatu berada nicto.

Danny1969

Vision as you get older is a problem, I don't solder phones or iPads anymore ... my eyes are't good enough. Soldering big stuff like through hole components and cables is OK though as long as the light is good and the best light is natural daylight. 

clarkefan

Philly_Q said:

I used to be very good at soldering but I haven't done any for years.

The problem now would be my eyesight - I have to wear varifocals but they don't give you perfect vision for every situation, they only work when you're at just the right distance and angle from whatever you want to focus on. 

I think I'd need some kind of extra magnification for soldering - something like diamond thieves or forgers use in the movies.

Varifocals are shit.  You can order either "occupational" (distance and reading) or "executive" (computers and reading) bifocals at Specsavers.  

They're the old school split-across-the-middle jobbies that solve all the varifocal bollocks and let you see properly left and right.

Philly_Q

clarkefan said:

Philly_Q said:

I used to be very good at soldering but I haven't done any for years.

The problem now would be my eyesight - I have to wear varifocals but they don't give you perfect vision for every situation, they only work when you're at just the right distance and angle from whatever you want to focus on. 

I think I'd need some kind of extra magnification for soldering - something like diamond thieves or forgers use in the movies.

Varifocals are shit.  You can order either "occupational" (distance and reading) or "executive" (computers and reading) bifocals at Specsavers.  

They're the old school split-across-the-middle jobbies that solve all the varifocal bollocks and let you see properly left and right.

Interesting, but wouldn't they still have the problem of close-up things only being in focus if they're at just the right distance? 

For example I can only see, say, a splinter in my fingertip if I take off my glasses, close one eye and hold my finger about six inches away from the other eye.

Plus I don't really want to go around looking like Gepetto.

Philly_Q

Sorry, I do realise this is derailing the thread a bit.

clarkefan

Don't think so, no.  They're just correcting lenses in front of your eyes to put them back to what you had before your eyes went bad?

Can't help the Geppetto thing Better than bastard varifocals is all I care about

Yeah sorry all for derail. 

lovestrat74

fretfinder said:

guitarcookie1 said:

thermionic said:

You need a helping hands tool.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71j13RAsx4L._SL1500_.jpg

One of these. Less than £10 from Amazon/Aldi. I’ve got one with a light around the magnifying glass which I find really useful. 

I’ve got one of these but personally I find it pretty useless for soldering - the base is too lightweight to hold it steady, the clips aren’t strong enough, the wing nuts don’t tighten the joints properly, and the magnifying glass is too small and poor quality. Apart from that they’re great! 

THIS ^

Was trying to solder some broken guitar leads today and the thing just kept falling over 

viz

Just get any random throwaway bit of useless wood with the right shaped hole, like a PRS, and plug it into that. 

ESBlonde

I've done all sorts, had the 'helping hands, small vice, pliers/mole grips, block of wood, mounted a few old sockets on a sheet of aluminium as holders and plugged into gear just to hold plugs still. The old cable tester is a good call.

I've now reached the "can't bloody see very well" stage so resist the sudden urge to turn on the iron very often. I've taken to buying those nasty plastic lens reading glasses from the discount stores and leaving them littered about the house and workshop and strategic locations, all in addition to the proper prescription reading glasses and safety varifocals which cost many times more! The faff level of sorting light and glasses and workspace has me doing far less that I used to on all level of DIY stuff.

octatonic

Wives are useful for this and make interesting noises if they get accidentally splattered with solder.