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How To Get Started In Soldering
51–60 of 281 posts
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#52Of course the first thing to learn is how to pronounce the sodding word /s
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#53> just be careful not to overspend on your first iron. I first learned how to solder on an ultra-cheap hardware-store unit, and you should, too I beg to differ. I used to suck at soldering, and while I'm still no expert, swapping my €20 basic soldering iron for a serious Weller unit (starting at €150) changed everything. The Weller heats up almost instantly, goes up as high as you want, and stays at a constant temper…
In this case of soldering I agree, as the tool really does make it easier. Generally for most hobbies I tell people to buy the "cheapest" they can find and if they use it until it breaks then buy the most expensive one you can afford.
this is fantastic advice for creative outlets, cottage crafts, and low-impact outdoor activities. but it's dangerous in hobbies like soldering or sports, where tools can seriously impact the safety of the operator, or render the operator's work dysfunctional
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#54> Much like the ability to drive a car with a manual transmission, read a map, or write a check, Gen Z is learning less and less about how to work with their hands—and it’s time for that to change. Ugh. Let's talk down the youngest generation of adults to justify a basic tutorial article. Ironically no one of Gen Z, that I know of, is unable to do any of those examples.
it goes both ways. most of the gen z folks i know can't read a clock or focus on a movie
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#55Aaah, this is really not a good beginner's guide to soldering! Cranking up to max temperature might work a lot of the time but runs the risk of frying ICs and causing PCB traces to come off. Also using a wet sponge can cause the tips to rust. It's much better to clean them with a brass "sponge" leaving the tip tinned to protect it. Finally the real key to easy soldering is solder flux (and leaded solder if you're all…
A wet sponge doesn't cause rust, it's occasionally blamed for cracking plating when you use a high temperature. If you use a moderate temperature (650°F/340°C) it's a gentler way to clean flux residue off the tip. Brass wool I reserve for scrubbing oxidation off the tip, but this eventually wears through the plating so I don't do this often. Leaded solder is both toxic and completely unnecessary for hobbyist use. I l…
I use leaded solder and have for years but I’d love to replace it with something less toxic. The trouble is that lead-free solders I’ve tried require high temp and flow very differently from leaded solder.
Does SAC305 (for example) flow and cool in a similar way to good old 63/37?
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#56> Much like the ability to drive a car with a manual transmission, read a map, or write a check, Gen Z is learning less and less about how to work with their hands—and it’s time for that to change. Ugh. Let's talk down the youngest generation of adults to justify a basic tutorial article. Ironically no one of Gen Z, that I know of, is unable to do any of those examples.
> Gen Z is learning less and less about how to work with their hands
But it has more and more sources of learning in comparison to my ones when I was in their age.
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#57> just be careful not to overspend on your first iron. I first learned how to solder on an ultra-cheap hardware-store unit, and you should, too I beg to differ. I used to suck at soldering, and while I'm still no expert, swapping my €20 basic soldering iron for a serious Weller unit (starting at €150) changed everything. The Weller heats up almost instantly, goes up as high as you want, and stays at a constant temper…
I 100% agree. They say "a good craftsman doesn't blame his tools" but when you start out you need good tools. A non-temperature-controlled soldering iron is a huge impediment to learning because the temperature varies with usage and so its behavior is hard to predict for a new solderer. Even between temperature-controlled ones there can be a large difference in ability to conduct heat into a part: my Pinecil takes fa…
> They say "a good craftsman doesn't blame his tools" but when you start out you need good tools.
Yeah, it's important to realize that saying applied to good craftsmen, not novice craftsmen.
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#58> just be careful not to overspend on your first iron. I first learned how to solder on an ultra-cheap hardware-store unit, and you should, too I beg to differ. I used to suck at soldering, and while I'm still no expert, swapping my €20 basic soldering iron for a serious Weller unit (starting at €150) changed everything. The Weller heats up almost instantly, goes up as high as you want, and stays at a constant temper…
Adding to the chorus - I spent $100 on a Hakko in my 30s and upon using it, immediately felt a sizable pang of regret at how much time I'd wasted with my $20 iron over the years. It felt like I must have been doing something wrong, but as soon as I had a decent iron, it's like all the videos I'd watched suddenly made sense.
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#59I used to "suck" at soldering, until one day I was recommended a Louis Rossmann video by Youtube and decided to watch it. Once I saw how much flux he used, I started to use more flux and as it turns out, that was my problem. That is my problem with this article. Flux is only superficially in a sentence. So my tip to beginners: Cleaning flux is way easier than struggling to solder with little/no flux.
learning that way will also have you relying on flux for through-holes, though. you can get really good without flux, just takes some tip cleaner and a brass cleaning pad, and you'll end up wasting less on the smd jobs
Re: How To Get Started In Soldering
#60> Much like the ability to drive a car with a manual transmission, read a map, or write a check, Gen Z is learning less and less about how to work with their hands—and it’s time for that to change. Ugh. Let's talk down the youngest generation of adults to justify a basic tutorial article. Ironically no one of Gen Z, that I know of, is unable to do any of those examples.
> Just 2.4% of our cars sold today have stick shifts.[0]
Gee, I wonder why these stupid kids aren’t familiar with manual transmissions.