Soldering tips

bloomer

Any words of wisdom for someone who hasn't touched a soldering iron in two decades? Going to attempt to replace a CRL switch in a 72 thinline later, what should I be careful of?

LastMantra

Hold the cold end?

greggreg66

I'm no soldering pro by any means, but it makes life a lot easier to use flux - and don't burn anything by heating the component up for too long with the iron. 

Funkfingers

bloomer said:

CRL switch in a 72 thinline … what should I be careful of?

The original connections may have been tied through the switch contact terminals rather than just poked into the gaps. Narrow nosed tweezers would help to extract the cable ends.

Often, there is a sequence in which soldering work is easiest to perform. On a three-way lever selector switch, attach the jumper connector wire(s) before the “hot” conductors from the pickups. 

It helps to allow for strain relief in the pickup output cables. Avoid introducing awkward twists or bends in the cable run.

If your humbucker output cables have braided wire screening, prevent this from accidentally coming into contact with any metal parts in the signal path. If necessary, wrap insulation tape over the braid.

bloomer

Thanks chaps, just having a plate of cheese and biscuits before I begin, this sort of thing shouldn't be attempted on an empty stomach.