How do you make a good solder joint on the back of a pot?

[WarPig]

hellllp

[ahpook]

the bodies of pots are usually lacquered iirc, so the first thing you should do is to cut through that to get to the bare metal - a small file or piece of emery paper should do the trick

[WarPig]

[quote name='ahpook' post='577536' date='Aug 22 2009, 01:20 PM']the bodies of pots are usually lacquered iirc, so the first thing you should do is to cut through that to get to the bare metal - a small file or piece of emery paper should do the trick[/quote]

Done that did the trick on one, but the other still comes unstuck. I did wipe clean the back after sanding it.

Doesnt help that the SD wiring guide looks backward..... also im s*** at this wiring malarky.

[ahpook]

a dab of flux, maybe...to cut through any grease and gunk ?

and is your iron heated up properly ?

[WarPig]

im not meant for this

[BigRedX]

What's the wattage of your soldering iron?

[WarPig]

erm 30w i think. Done it now anyway. Cheers

[retroman]

Above advice is sound

I would recommend making sure that you have a good quality soldering iron. I favour the gas type made by Portosol, that have the interchangable tips. Also make sure that you are using good quality pre fluxed solder. £5 worth of iron + solder from the pound shop won't cut it!!

Allow iron to heat up properly. "Tin" the end of the iron with fresh solder. You then need to tin the end of the wire, and the terminal on the pot. For tinning terminals I would recommend placing the iron under the terminal, and then tin the other side, by allowing the heat to travel through the terminal. Don't take too long and melt the pot though! With all parts properly tinned, again place the iron under the terminal, place the wire on top of the terminal, and watch for the solder to melt on the terminal and the wire. Should have a good joint then.

For fine work like guitar pots, I would recommend using a small soldering tip. Not a screw driver type that you get on cheap electric irons

When you are happy with your solder joint, I would also recommend a small length of heat shrink over the joint. Not only for insulation, but it helps prevent the wire breaking below the solder joint.

Hope this helps, and makes sense.

[retroman]

Oh yeah, thinking about it, if you are really struggling, nip in to a model shop that specialises in radio control cars. Those guys are normal a dab hand with the soldering iron. Racing RC cars is how I learnt!

[WarPig]

[quote name='retroman' post='577585' date='Aug 22 2009, 02:27 PM']Above advice is sound

I would recommend making sure that you have a good quality soldering iron. I favour the gas type made by Portosol, that have the interchangable tips. Also make sure that you are using good quality pre fluxed solder. £5 worth of iron + solder from the pound shop won't cut it!!

Allow iron to heat up properly. "Tin" the end of the iron with fresh solder. You then need to tin the end of the wire, and the terminal on the pot. For tinning terminals I would recommend placing the iron under the terminal, and then tin the other side, by allowing the heat to travel through the terminal. Don't take too long and melt the pot though! With all parts properly tinned, again place the iron under the terminal, place the wire on top of the terminal, and watch for the solder to melt on the terminal and the wire. Should have a good joint then.

For fine work like guitar pots, I would recommend using a small soldering tip. Not a screw driver type that you get on cheap electric irons

When you are happy with your solder joint, I would also recommend a small length of heat shrink over the joint. Not only for insulation, but it helps prevent the wire breaking below the solder joint.

Hope this helps, and makes sense. [/quote]

That one post should be stickied

Thanks alot mate

[SteveO]

I thought pots came with at least 2 contacts and usually three. I don't think that I've ever soldered to the case, although I know that many things are made with them soldered that way. The case on a pot is often internaly wired to one of the contacts (nominaly called the ground, although in a pot this is meaningless) and so you [i]can[/i] solder to the case, but it's easier to get a clean joint on the correct contact.

[mrcrow]

most advice covered above

i do a bit of emery taping...at the centre of the pot...a dab of flux

check the iron is up to temp by doing a little blob on the end

place the iron on the flux with the multicore as well and wait....it should start to run after a bit

30w is a min i suppose to get heat
1 in sufficient quantities
2 in a small area

you dont want to fry the whole pot waiting for a small area to warm up

for future solder on a piece of copper wire...then you can connect and disconnect at lower temperatures easily
a sort of short bus or connecting tab

Edited August 22, 2009 by mrcrow

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

If you bought your solder recently from Maplin it'll be lead free crap which is useless with my 30W iron (also from Maplin). I found some 60/40 Lead/Tin with flux core in Clas Ohlsen in Croydon (like a Swedish version of Woolies, but with stuff you actually want) and it was an absolute doddle to solder to the back of the pot.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='577636' date='Aug 22 2009, 04:12 PM']If you bought your solder recently from Maplin it'll be lead free crap which is useless with my 30W iron (also from Maplin). I found some 60/40 Lead/Tin with flux core in Clas Ohlsen in Croydon (like a Swedish version of Woolies, but with stuff you actually want) and it was an absolute doddle to solder to the back of the pot.[/quote]


glue?

[url="http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_wire-glue.htm"]non mechanical joints[/url]

[soopercrip]

Also a good idea to 'dip' the hot end of the iron in flux (briefly in and out) to clean it
takes off all the sh*t and lets the solder run off more freely
Prefer bakers fluid for flux rather than waxy stuff
Andy