71–80 of 281 posts
> 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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
So it takes a smidge longer to heat a joint than for leaded, but you don't need to hold the heat there as long once it flows.
It's slightly not eutectic, though, so you must immobilize parts as the joint solidifies.
Sn99.7 is eutectic but has a still higher melting point.
I find SAC305 to solder well at 340°C/650°F.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 recommend a Weller WE1010. My budget is more in the $20 - $25 range. Cheap adjustable-temp soldering irons are available for under $4 [0], surely there is some middle ground between those irons and the $115 unit you suggest? [0] https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005058271470.html ?
The middle ground is the Pinecil, which is $25 but needs a laptop power supply.
It's… okay. It has less than half the heat transfer rate compared to the Weller, but it at least won't burn pads off your PCB.
> 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.
Let's talk down the youngest generation You're not the younger generation anymore. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Alpha no one of Gen Z, that I know of, is unable to do any of those examples. "That I know of" is the hallmark of Gen Z: Thinking that their experiences are the only experiences. Taking the manual transmission example, there were a number of items in the news back when manual transmission was…
The most important thing: Put the heat where you want the solder to flow to, not where it's starting from. This also applies to soldering/brazing copper pipes.
I went out and bought some lead-free solder and flux, but didn't think to look up anything about flux or solder quality. I was having trouble getting a joint I was happy with, until I finally gave in and asked my neighbor (a plumber) for some advice. He give me some very useful advice (give the excess flux a wipe once it starts bubbling, start applying solder at the bottom to let steam escape out the top of the joint and then work your way up, among others). He also gave me his favorite (lead-free) solder and flux to use. The flux looked really grody, and unsurprisingly made a huge difference in how well everything flowed. In the end, I replaced the suspicious section with my much less janky piece and it's now dry as a bone.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
> 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. [0] https://www.carmax.com/articles/stick-shift-index
Whenever I teach soldering to someone, I try to keep it short - and tell that the only things they really need to know is 1) Keep the surfaces of the two metals you want to solder clean. That means removing rust, oxidation, dirt, etc. If possible, make a mechanical connection. 2) The three metals (surface A, surface B, solder) need to be equal temperature. 9 out of 10 times, the solder errors I see are due to the abo…
Yeah the most common mistake is actually not cleaning well and not heating all things up that need to be heated (e.g. trying to use the soldering iron like a "brush").
Too bad most PCB holders are flimsy. I recommend a solid metal vise instead of those contraptions.