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I hate soldering!!


ALR8LUV

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So I'm well into my bass renovation.  It is the first bass I ever owned costing about £50.  I've installed the active pickups and preamp as well as a new jack but my god iI hate soldering.  Does anyone have any tips on how to make this easier/more fun? Even just a suggestion how to hold parts to stop them moving while soldering them?    🥴

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Get a good soldering iron, one that can keep temperature - they only cost a tenner online. I had a crappy one for years and soldering was a 'mare. Now I've got a decent one I won't say it's my ideal evening's entertainment but I don't dread it quite as much.

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If it’s just for a wire to a socket then you don’t really need a massively highly specced iron (but a temperature controlled iron is a joy to use), I use one of these:

27EAB511-6A03-4CC6-BE85-C7448331D6E6.jpeg.9772b2fff4221ad735f06014d69244c2.jpeg

 

more for the magnifying glass than the clips, as I’m old and my legs are bent, my ears are grizzled and my eyes are knackered etc...

the bonus of using the crocodile clips is that they are a useful heat sink, so it reduces the risk of burning stuff.

 

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8 minutes ago, paul_5 said:

If it’s just for a wire to a socket then you don’t really need a massively highly specced iron (but a temperature controlled iron is a joy to use), I use one of these:

27EAB511-6A03-4CC6-BE85-C7448331D6E6.jpeg.9772b2fff4221ad735f06014d69244c2.jpeg

 

more for the magnifying glass than the clips, as I’m old and my legs are bent, my ears are grizzled and my eyes are knackered etc...

the bonus of using the crocodile clips is that they are a useful heat sink, so it reduces the risk of burning stuff.

 

This is a fantastic piece of gear

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I bought one of those third hand devices years ago but I hardly ever get it out. The trick is to make a mechanical connection first if you can. So, if you're soldering wire to a jack socket (for example), poke it through the hole and wrap it round once. That way, the connection will stay put while you use the soldering iron.

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My station is temp adjustable, as i found that some jobs need higher or lower temps.  I've had this bad boy WEP 937D for years and still works a treat.  There's about  6  tips that come with it.

Also,  the most useful  sundry tool  i've found for soldering, apart from the crocodile clip holders, is a headset with LED's and a choice of snap in magnifiers.  I've had this marksman headset for may years too, and it also works flawlessly.  Not even changed the batteries since i bought it

WEPD.JPG

mag2.jpg

mag1.jpg

Edited by fleabag
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On 16/12/2020 at 16:16, fleabag said:

My station is temp adjustable, as i found that some jobs need higher or lower temps.  I've had this bad boy WEP 937D for years and still works a treat.  There's about  6  tips that come with it.

Also,  the most useful  sundry tool  i've found for soldering, apart from the crocodile clip holders, is a headset with LED's and a choice of snap in magnifiers.  I've had this marksman headset for may years too, and it also works flawlessly.  Not even changed the batteries since i bought it

WEPD.JPG

 

 

Whilst very rarely used, I do have a (cheap) variable temp soldering iron. I do not, however, know how to decide on what temp to use. I usually turn it up enough to make the solder melt as quickly as possible. :$ 

 

I actually now mostly use an IRODA SolderPro 120K portable

Edited by Bobthedog
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On 16/12/2020 at 09:37, bloke_zero said:

That’s what I have got amd its good - mine also has a magnifying light attachment bit as well

Edited by Cuzzie
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For a soldering iron, you don’t need a temperature controlled one - I always found I was inadvertently flicking the dial on the handle (better but more expensive if your base unit controls the temp of course).

I use the Antex 18w iron which does everything really rather well

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