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Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:54 am
by NickH
Hey folks,

I am just about to begin my refinish on my 86 MIJ. While I am stripping and have the whole thing apart I was thinking about throwing in some better pick ups and maybe a few other minor mods. Only issue is I have never soldered anything before. Where is a good resource (online and or print) and as a complete newbie does this seem doable? (very subjective I know) I am fairly competent when it comes to handy man stuff so I think I should be fine. But of course I wanted to get a sense from those who have done it before. Where should I start?

Thanks, as always, for your thoughts and help,

Nick

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:01 am
by Orang Goreng

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:22 pm
by Blobcaster

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:35 pm
by i love sharin foo
Just take your time and you shouldn't have any problems. One suggestion I have is to use cloth covered wire. It is REALLY easy to work with and you don't have to worry about melting the insulation, like on regular wire. It will still heat up and you can mess it up, but just not as easily. Get some heatsinks to use also. They'll help you avoid overheating anything. Little alligator clips work real well for that.

Justin

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 2:57 pm
by Blobcaster
oh yeah try soldering other stuff first before,so you have it down for the pup and pots.

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:00 pm
by daydreamdelay
those videos pretty much tell it all and like ilsf said get the cloth wire.. it's very easy to work with as he said. try not to over heat anything, it's easy to burn the wood when the shield solder doesn't want to melt and you can probably fry a pot if you're on it too long.

I'll add that it's a good idea to get some de soldering braid to soak up the old solder.. it's better to do that and use new solder on the components than re heat the old stuff. and most importantly... be EXTREMELY aware of where the side of your iron is when soldering the parts back in.. it's very easy to get tunnel vision especially when heating up those big globs of solder on the shields with the tip and not realize the rest of the iron is resting on or far too close to your nice new finish

Re: Soldering Newbie - What exactly am I getting myself into

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:35 pm
by sookwinder
DDD commenst are very important.... whatch out for the body of the soldering iron  and where the possible excess molten solder may fall.  I always try and find an old sheet (on that i have used as a drop sheet during home painting, and make a sort of wrap/Tee Pee effect that just lets the area that is being soldered open  ... ie everywhere else is covered by the sheet (or layers of the sheet)  This has saved many damage point from occuring over the years.