Soldering for beginners

[Marc_LFD]

I want to try and learn to solder stuff as that's something very useful to know.

Do any of y'all have any tips or recommendations?

This can also be handy for console modding if I'd ever come 'cross.

Thanks.

 

[Takokeshi]

Go wild

https://www.youtube.com/user/mymatevince
https://www.youtube.com/c/RetroRepairs

 

[Hayato213]

Probably would be old electronics motherboard that doesn't have much value, or you can get a pcb kit, with some component to solder on to. I learn to solder via putting component onto a PCB board.

 

[JuanMena]

Get a PCB that is broken or non functioning and practice desoldering it's components, cleaning soldering points, and soldering wires. You can also practice scratching traces and bridging solder points with wire or copper to keep continuity.

A warning though: Solder fumes ain't good to breathe. As far as I'm aware, said fumes could cause Cancer if you breath them for prolonged times, so you have to get the required gear to do so. I made me a fan that blows away the fumes while soldering on top of using a mask and I solder below an open window... somehow I end up with a metallic aftertaste though.

EDIT: Where's the Tiny Soldering guy when you need him?

 

[hippy dave]

Prod the stuff with the hot thing until it goes melty.

 

[Dr_Faustus]

Probably would be old electronics motherboard that doesn't have much value, or you can get a pcb kit, with some component to solder on to. I learn to solder via putting component onto a PCB board.

I would recommend a kit more than toying with older electronics yet. The type of solder that exists on those boards vary and could be more difficult for a beginner to go at. At least with a kit as well you can learn if you had properly made your bonds or not on your projects by powering them on. They are reasonably cheap enough too so that if you mess up or want to practice more you can get them in abundance.

A warning though: Solder fumes ain't good to breathe. As far as I'm aware, said fumes could cause Cancer if you breath them for prolonged times, so you have to get the required gear to do so. I made me a fan that blows away the fumes while soldering on top of using a mask and I solder below an open window... somehow I end up with a metallic aftertaste though.

EDIT: Where's the Tiny Soldering guy when you need him?

Solder fumes are bad if you are in a very small and enclosed environment but they will not give you cancer unless you huff the stuff more than a guy does to two packs of cigs per day. It takes a lot of prolonged exposure to affect you negatively. You have a faster chance of getting cancer from it by eating the solder wire directly lol.

A lot of it is just common sense. As a guy who does a lot of repair work for fun, it can be daunting at first but eventually you will get in the flow of things. Just please for the sake of your sanity and the project at hand, take your time and take it easy...and don't use non-lead solder.

 

[AncientBoi]

I barely remember soldering waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when, in electronics class in Middle School.

 

[ploggy]

Remember Flux and always pre-tin your wires!

Also its Solder not Sodder

 

[AncientBoi]

Remember Flux and always pre-tin your wires!

Also its Solder not Sodder

[Sodders your mouth shut, then runs]

oops [runs back, uses FLUX, an ReSodders your mouth shut, then runs again]

 

[hippy dave]

Also its Solder not Sodder

Oh god that bugged me so much when I started trying to watch tutorial videos for getting better at fancy soldering.

Almost as bad as "nucular". I enjoyed 24, but wanted to slap Jack Bauer every time he said that.

 

[ploggy]

Oh god that bugged me so much when I started trying to watch tutorial videos for getting better at fancy soldering.

Almost as bad as "nucular". I enjoyed 24, but wanted to slap Jack Bauer every time he said that.

Same, youtube tut vids are the worst for it. It's really off putting once you hear it, I've even gone as far as muting the sound lol

 

[Marc_LFD]

At least with a kit as well you can learn if you had properly made your bonds or not on your projects by powering them on. They are reasonably cheap enough too so that if you mess up or want to practice more you can get them in abundance.

A kit like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264822148107 ?

 

[Dr_Faustus]

A kit like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264822148107 ?

A kit like that works if you want to jump into SMD soldering. I started off with through hole soldering first because of how easy it is to get components in and to understand in general how things work. SMD is a more modern technology however and has mostly replaced through hole components, that said it can be more challenging for a beginner as well since they are very small and surface mount techniques are a different kind of soldering method that expands on the original practice. Not hard to understand, but better understood once you get the hang of through hole soldering. Something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/152376468013 would be a good starting place, before moving on to SMD stuff. After all you should learn how to position components as well as some will have polarities in which if you put them in wrong well, "fun" things will sometimes happen.

 

[Marc_LFD]

A kit like that works if you want to jump into SMD soldering. I started off with through hole soldering first because of how easy it is to get components in and to understand in general how things work. SMD is a more modern technology however and has mostly replaced through hole components, that said it can be more challenging for a beginner as well since they are very small and surface mount techniques are a different kind of soldering method that expands on the original practice. Not hard to understand, but better understood once you get the hang of through hole soldering. Something like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/152376468013 would be a good starting place, before moving on to SMD stuff. After all you should learn how to position components as well as some will have polarities in which if you put them in wrong well, "fun" things will sometimes happen.

Wow, that's way better and looks fun.

Thanks!

 

[subcon959]

Even for a beginner I would recommend a cheap soldering station so you can adjust the temperature.

Clean the joint area with isopropyl alcohol, use lots of no-clean liquid flux, and then go over with isopropyl alcohol after soldering to get nice shiny finish.

Desoldering is a lot trickier than soldering so practice that a lot too. I like braid, but some prefer those solder suckers. I would love to get a desoldering gun/station some day but I don't do it enough to justify the cost.

 

[Dr_Faustus]

Even for a beginner I would recommend a cheap soldering station so you can adjust the temperature.

A digital readout would be essential, but they can either range to be a tad more pricey, or depending on where you get it from, might not be accurate to the temperature described (especially if you buy one from China). Analog readouts are fine but they are not as convenient. Cheaper, probably more plentiful at a lower price level but again, watch out for Chinese ones as they might not be as accurate. (Hell one of my first stations did not even have proper temp adjustments and just went by "number levels" which sucked lol.

Clean the joint area with isopropyl alcohol, use lots of no-clean liquid flux, and then go over with isopropyl alcohol after soldering to get nice shiny finish.

The higher grade Iso the better, Use 91% (or higher) if you can get it, the % just means purity vs content. a 70% grade will have less Iso in it and can cause impurities. Not that this has happened to me personally, but this is the advice I was given back when I was starting out too.

Desoldering is a lot trickier than soldering so practice that a lot too. I like braid, but some prefer those solder suckers. I would love to get a desoldering gun/station some day but I don't do it enough to justify the cost.

As someone who has had their hand in all of these, the best will always be the desoldering gun. Literally vacuums up solder from the area you are heating up to remove it. Wonderful and easy to use tool, but very VERY expensive for a hobby. I would only suggest this once you have reached a point of confidence that you only see yourself going in deeper into the hobby and doing way more things with it in the future. Even I do not have one yet despite my desire to, I just have had the fortunate experience of using one a few times at a hackerspace.

With that said I personally use braid as well, it might not be the most pretty method of doing things but its effective in taking up solder exceptionally well. I have used solder suckers as well and I just don't find them as effective, sometimes taking 2 or 3 pumps to clear out a single hole. Plus I just do not like having something spring loaded like that in my hands when doing delicate work but that is just a personal preference.

You tend to learn that most of the people who do soldering as part of a hobby do it because they want to be cheap and repair stuff on their own for the sake of having things work again. You only start to invest more money in your tools if you are doing this for more than yourself and plan on fixing other peoples stuff or building things to sell off. I upgraded my crappy station to a Hakko FX-888D at some point because of the amount of work I was putting into with a lot of my projects restoring vintage tech and doing mods. I still have a lot on my table to go through, just not always the time.

 

[Takokeshi]

Gotta be careful when using a desoldering pump, if done improperly there is a risk of ripping pads off of whatever it is you're desoldering.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/need-help-with-modchip-ripped-a-pad-off-the-cable.609534/

Braid much safer to use ;p

Also lower concentration IPA may be better in some situations; too strong of a concentration could damage certain plastics for instance, and higher water content can help dissolve certain types of debris quicker when cleaning up old stuff as well. Higher concentrations will evaporate much quicker through. It all depends on the particular job, whichever one will be best for the job.