Soldering tips

mynameistrouble

Hi,

I’m drowning in info on the web, just want some recommendations.

After years of doing very shady soldering jobs on my guitars it’s time i got the proper kit and know-how to avoid brown-tinged joints and ruined pots.

First off - flux. Do i need it if i have rosin core solder? If so, can someone please recommend a type/brand? There appear to be thousands.

Secondly, recommend me a soldering iron? I’ve got an old maplin one which is adequate, but I’d be interested to know which type/brand people recommend.

Thirdly, de-soldering wick vs de-soldering suction gun thing - i have the latter but do i also need the former? If so, type/brand?

Many thanks,
Richard

PeteC

I've found the Duratool de-soldering station to work very well for a £70 outlay.   Nozzle needs cleaning out every now and again but overall it works really well and is a good investment. I think you can get them from CPC/Farnells online.     I use a Hakko temp-controlled iron which is really great. you can buy them direct from the UK distributor, cant recall who exactly but you'll find it easily online. 

more

 The first iron I used was  massive, you only need a small basic pencil tip one . There is a number of different solders. I would suggest lead free 0.6 electrical rosin flux solder . You need to  keep everything clean. You can get  brass wool to clean the  soldering iron tip. Heat the iron, and cover the tip with solder . The   iron is used to heat the  part/wire you plan to solder . The solder is melted onto the part/ wire when it is hot enough. You don't melt solder with the iron . As soon as the  the  part / wire is melting the solder , take the iron away. You  should only need  a small amount of solder , in the shape of a volcano .

PonchoGreg

I got a Maplin soldering station a few years back that still serves me well. I would say get something that's 60w, with a temp adjustment function. Zero issues doing back of pots quickly, which is where the basic 30w pens will struggle.

Tip no 2: get a chisel tip in addition to the pointed tip, again a godsend for backs of pots

Tip no 3: use 60/40 rosin core solder. Very easy to work with, unlike the leadfree crap you get with kits usually

Tip 4: do get a suction pen thing (never had much luck with the wick myself). Works great to clean up pools of solder or quickly untin pot terminals

Tip 5: not 100% essential but a "helping hand" thing is very very helpful, especially to hold down wires to backs of pots while you flow your solder in. Really helps avoid cold joints that tend to happen when the wire moves as the solder cools. Can be found very cheap on eBay and the like

PonchoGreg

Forgot to add that a lot of the above can be bought together as a bundle, just saw a bunch of soldering stations in the £40 range on Amazon that should be absolutely fine unless you rewire a guitar a day. You'd need to buy the solder separately though as the one that comes with these is usually not very good

mynameistrouble

Hi Everyone,

Many thanks - some good info there and also pleased to see I’m not too far off track with some of what I’m doing already.

Ive taken delivery of some 60/40 rosin solder and a flux pen, and I’m fairly sure i have a chisel tip lying around somewhere so I’ll give that a go. Helping hands are, as the name suggests, very useful!

Not sure the wattage of my iron, I remember doing a little research when i bought it and was aware of the wattage requirements, will check later.

Caffeine_Vampire

I have an extra soldering station I can sell you if you need one?

mynameistrouble

Caffeine_Vampire said:

I have an extra soldering station I can sell you if you need one?

Hi Paul, I’m going to see how i get on with my current iron this weekend but may well take you up on the offer if it all goes south!

Fuengi

Just replaced my cheapo Amazon soldering iron with an Antex XS25. The iron with the soft lead and a couple of tips was around £38 delivered, it's a massive upgrade and excellent for guitar and pedal work. 

Caffeine_Vampire

mynameistrouble said:

Caffeine_Vampire said:

I have an extra soldering station I can sell you if you need one?

Hi Paul, I’m going to see how i get on with my current iron this weekend but may well take you up on the offer if it all goes south!

Np, I wish you luck. The soldering station I have for sale is from ToneTech, I just have more than I need.