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Guide A Guide to Soldering for the newbie

Discussion in 'Modding' started by Goldfish, 14 Jul 2004.

  1. Atarax

    Atarax What's a Dremel?

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    thank you for this guide. My soldering attempts have been goin to $#!+ lately and i didnt know what i was doing wrong. I needed Flux, the dern solder would always bead up and roll off the wire, or whatever, i was soldering. Thanks again for the guide. :clap:
     
  2. Morphious

    Morphious What's a Dremel?

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    How strong is soldering? Would it be appropriate to solder together strips of aluminum (moderately thick) for a case frame that I want to build?
     
  3. Isuo

    Isuo What's a Dremel?

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    Really helpful guide.
     
  4. Gladius

    Gladius What's a Dremel?

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    Its not "that" strong... example at skool we used solder to put together a small frame for a windmill, the rods were about 2-3mm thick... That worked well cus it was small. but i wouldnt suggest it for a whole case, it also tends to be a bit messy.
     
  5. ufk

    ufk Licenced Fool

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    With aluminum you're probably better off getting it welded rather than soldered, solder gives a strong joint but its not a load bearing joint
     
  6. dez

    dez What's a Dremel?

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    :clap: bravo! very nice guide, shpould help alot of people out.
     
  7. Zero_Distortion

    Zero_Distortion What's a Dremel?

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    anyone have an oppinion or any experience with the cold heat soldering irons?
     
  8. Feline

    Feline What's a Dremel?

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    One very important tip for soldering anything is to NEVER blow on a solder joint to cool it. This will result in a "cold solder", which is extremely brittle and will come apart. A solder joint should be nice and shiney. If it's very dull (looks oxidized), it's best to resolder it. Also, it's very convenient to buy one of those little "third hand" soldering vices. It's got a heavy base, with two arms that extend out and are posable. The arms each have a small alligator clip at the end. This way you can mount the pieces to be soldered without having to use your hands for both the soldering and the positioning (which inevitably ends up with you burning yourself with the iron...or at least I always do.)

    Also, make sure you heat up the part to be soldered, not the solder itself. This helps the solder flow more evenly over the joint.

    Solder actually can be used for pretty strong joints. Electronics soldering is what's known as "soft soldering". You can use what's known as "silver soldering" to create very strong joints ("silver soldering" is just a term and doesn't necessarily mean the solder will contain silver.) However, it's more like brazing, in that you generally use a propane torch to heat the area up. Many old military rifles (such as my Mauser) have their front sight bands silver-soldered on, and they have to be able to withstand severe recoil. I've never had a solder joint like that fail. The solder used for that is quite a bit different than electronics solder, and some of it contains an acid core (NEVER EVER use acid core solder on electronics!!!) You can find this type of solder at home improvement stores, usually next to the propane torches and welding equipment (welding is still far stronger though.)
     
  9. mushky

    mushky gimme snails

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    Great guide, cheers :thumb:
     
  10. I'm_Not_A_Monster

    I'm_Not_A_Monster Hey, eat this...

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    maplins website has changed, all your links are belong to them
     
  11. Isuo

    Isuo What's a Dremel?

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    I have quick question. What do you think about the 'cold head' solder things?
    personal experiences?
     
  12. biff

    biff What's a Dremel?

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    given a large enough surface area solder joints are quite strong, it holds your plumbing together at pressures upto 150PSI. But soldering aluminum is a complex process. Special preparation and, IIRC, agressive acid fluxes are reqiured. You can solder steel together quite easily though, if you want to go that route, and the joints are quite strong. (use a torch though not an iron)
     
  13. Goldfish

    Goldfish What's a Dremel?

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    *gasp* all my links ARE belong to them...

    Right

    Cold heat solder thingies. I read a review. Shocking is what I've heard, and makes sense. It runs on 4 AA batteries.

    http://www.kickstartnews.com/reviews/hardware/coldheat_solderingiron.html
    http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/COLD_HEAT_SOLDERING_IRON_MINI_REVIEW/m_2521602/tm.htm
    http://www.moddershq.net/reviews.asp?reviewid=32

    Might be OK for some easy PCB stuff, I wouldn't like to splice somthing with it though :S

    Ok, I think I've fix0red the links now...

    And I have used solder to fix my glasses before, with a gas iron using both the tip and the torch tip, and a bit of non-fluxed solder and some plumbers flux ;). It didn't look too pretty, but it worked until I could get them replaced.

    Aluminium I'd definatley weld, if I were brave enough I could braze it... I don't like the idea of watching a bit of soap to see if it's hot enough :p
     
    Last edited: 31 Jan 2005
  14. andip1967

    andip1967 What's a Dremel?

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    Just joined the forum, great guide thanks very much
     
  15. xXSebaSXx

    xXSebaSXx Minimodder

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    Holly thread necro there andip1967.... This thing is over 5 years old.

    Welcome to the forums.

    :D
     
  16. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    Just a tip, I've had one of those soldering irons start smoking on me...
     
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