Soldering tip

arfink · Post by **arfink** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:12 pm

I dunno if this is included in any of the tutorials on soldering here, but I found this handy:

I found that when soldering things like cartridge connectors it's nice to use some gel flux, even if you have a solder with the resin based flux stuff built in. If you coat the wire and the contact you want to solder it to with some gel flux, then all you have to do is pick up a little bit of solder on the end of the soldering iron and touch the joint. It only takes a teeny little touch with the melted solder and the flux makes it spread all over in a nice, smooth, and very conductive joint. Another thing that is helpful to remember is that when the solder is melted onto the joint it will flow wherever you have both a metal part and flux. So, don't worry if your flux accidentally goes all over the PCB, the solder won't stick to the PCB itself, only to metal parts.

My favorite flux to use for my projects is called Classic 100 gel flux. It is easy to work with, I just put it on the joints with a cheap paint brush, and it's smokeless so you won't fumigate yourself while working with it. I found mine in a stained glass craft shop.

Hope it's helpful!

Post by **marshallh** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 3:29 pm

Another thing I've found to help clean your tip when it gets dirty is to press the tip onto a bar of "Sal ammoniac". It comes in small white bricks and you can get it at most hardware stores. When you press the iron tip onto it, it turn into ammonium and cleans your tip, emitting lots of nasty smoke in the process. Use lots of ventilation, breathing ammonia can permanantly damage your sense of smell.

Retromaster · Post by **Retromaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:02 pm

as some of you might know, there's something called tip tinner and cleaner. DON'T GET IT! it may sound helpful, but it only makes the iron tip filthier. it burns up and smells bad and is bad for the tip.
look at what it did to a desoldering tip:
[img][img]http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/6867 ... vj9.th.jpg[/img][/img]

blackbox_dev · Post by **blackbox_dev** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 4:04 pm

I use acid flux. I know, I shouldn't use it because it will corrode metal, but if you clean your joints with alcohol it's not a problem.

It comes in a small, round metal container. Works well.

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:31 pm

Or if you're cheap/ghetto/redneck, lemon juice also works

joevennix · Post by **joevennix** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:06 pm

daguuy wrote:Or if you're cheap/ghetto/redneck, lemon juice also works

Heh, I've never used commercial flux yet. And retromaster, I don't know what you're doing wrong, I always use tip cleaner/tinner and it's worked fine, it's preserved my soldering tip for over a year now.

Retromaster · Post by **Retromaster** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:10 pm

joevennix wrote:
daguuy wrote:Or if you're cheap/ghetto/redneck, lemon juice also works
Heh, I've never used commercial flux yet. And retromaster, I don't know what you're doing wrong, I always use tip cleaner/tinner and it's worked fine, it's preserved my soldering tip for over a year now.

I don't know if I got the wrong kind or not, but it corroded the tip and smells bad and i did what it said to do, heat up the iron, dip it into the paste and let it sizzle. it sizzled the metal crazy, I say!

arfink · Post by **arfink** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:36 pm

Or if you're cheap/ghetto/redneck, lemon juice also works

Or maybe hippie/tree hugger? Of course, if you were one, you would only use lead-free solder too so you don't hurt the environment. *gag*

Gotta love the lead based stuff

- you can scare people silly because they think it's insanely toxic, like on the order of, say, anthrax, but you know you would need to eat an awful lot of it to kill yourself.