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How To Get Started In Soldering

popularmechanics.com

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Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#241

Post by rasz »

fomine3 wrote: post #226
leviathant wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

yeah $4 crap to $35 Hakko is night and day.

No such thing as $35 Hakko. There are crap $35 Hakko clones, they are BAD. Anything that uses 900 series tip is bad and should be avoided. Cheapest T12 cartridge heater/tip combo DIY kits start at ~$40 on ebay/aliexpress, thats a bare minimum good soldering iron experience. Step above are JBC C245 DIY kits, ~$40 + $20 24V/8A supply and +$10 each for additional tips, you want at least IS and K. no DIY normal station JBC clones start at $200 for something like SUGON T21.

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#242

Post by Baeocystin »

mwbajor wrote: post #230
Baeocystin wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also worth noting that often the best approach to take is that the tool itself is a consumable. $19 Harbor Freight grinders won't last as long as $150+ ones, but the ~7 you can buy for the same price will outlast even the most expensive one several times over!

Bad tools or consumables break at the most inopportune times and yes, in most cases bad = cheap. People like to compare to Snap-On but forget that Snap-On subsidizes their delivery service with the tool cost. Also, yes, Snap-Ons are in fact that much better than HF tools in almost all cases. Its bad when a $9 HF torque wrench breaks at 8:45PM on a Sunday night when you're under your car putting the transmission back…

I think your torque wrench example gets to the point of what I was trying to get at. My torque wrenches are Matco, as are my 'good' sockets. And I have a nice set of Mitutoyo calipers in my box for when I need the precision.

But for an awful lot of the regular work, it's Harbor Freight magnets, HF welding blankets and soapstone, HF clamps, HF grinders. You learn what works best for your dollar, and very often, it's erring not on the side of the more expensive stuff.

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#243

Post by rasz »

jjoonathan wrote: post #106
whstl wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I don't personally think it's necessary to go up to €150, but a low-quality entry-level soldering iron will cause a lot of problems, and you'll be blaming yourself for the lack of progress. I learned on a crappy one and always thought I sucked. On university I used one that was alright and it was night and day. It is important that the soldering iron provides the correct amount of heat, and with entry-level…

Those $130-$150 Aixun branded JBC clones on aliexpress make a compelling argument for the price point IMO.

You can start with a little DIY $40 JBC handle + C245 tip + panel controller, add $20 24V/8AA supply and you are good to go.

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#244

Post by rasz »

millzlane wrote: post #238
cglace wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh, I began my soldering journey with a modest $20 unit. As I worked with it, I learned to adapt to its limitations. Eventually, I decided to upgrade to a superior unit, which undoubtedly saved me a significant amount of time. However, the initial investment wasn't necessary for me to get started. In my experience, it's crucial to have a versatile set of soldering tips to handle various scenarios. Attempting to sold…

Same experience. I recently bought a music activated led glasses soldering kit from Amazon. I put it together with an iron kit that was 20 bucks on amazon. Also I bought a more expensive yuhaun hot air/soldering station (name might not be exact) I used the $20 iron to solder my drone connection and it work perfectly fine with proper technique. I cannot tell the different in build between the 20 unit and the more expe…

> iron kit that was 20 bucks on amazon

>yuhaun hot air/soldering station (name might not be exact)

>I cannot tell the different

sadly thats because they are most likely the same crap using 900 series tips

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#246

Post by fomine3 »

rasz wrote: post #241
fomine3 wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah $4 crap to $35 Hakko is night and day.

No such thing as $35 Hakko. There are crap $35 Hakko clones, they are BAD. Anything that uses 900 series tip is bad and should be avoided. Cheapest T12 cartridge heater/tip combo DIY kits start at ~$40 on ebay/aliexpress, thats a bare minimum good soldering iron experience. Step above are JBC C245 DIY kits, ~$40 + $20 24V/8A supply and +$10 each for additional tips, you want at least IS and K. no DIY normal station J…

I have this https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Hakko-temperature-limiting-sol...

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#247

Post by commoner »

johnwalkr wrote: post #89
bambax wrote: post #24

> 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, the iron linked in the article is actually OK, but overpriced for what it is. The problem is that if you take the advice as written and go to Home Depot, you will end up with a frustrating piece of garbage and give up the hobby before long. But fortunately today there are great, cheap tools. The $35 pinecil and T12 clones (as little as $25 if you can wait on shipping) are as good as $150 units from 10 y…

I'm very happy with the Pinecil. The $25 price is very reasonable for a reliable soldering iron that is open hardware[1] and runs on upgradable free and open source firmware.[2]

[1] Schematics: https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil:_How_to_Repair#Schemati...

[2] IronOS: https://github.com/Ralim/IronOS

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#248

Post by knodi123 »

lukego wrote: post #140
severino wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After seeing the video, I wonder if someone could recommend some flux like the one shown there, the one that looks like a yellow-orange paste. Just so I don't end up "not using the right flux" ;)

My $0.02 is to choose name-brand solder wire (e.g. Kester/Multicore/ChipQuik) with "RA" or "RMA" flux core. That will flow well and be gentle on your tips. The "not right" flux is often a nasty no-clean flux core in solder wire. Many don't flow well and leave a horrid residue on your tips that's hard to remove. (The bad reputation of lead-free solder seems to come not from the alloy but from solder wire with lousy ch…

broken amazon page

better amtech solder flux nc-559

https://www.amazon.com/Amtech-Solder-Flux-NC-559-V2-TF-16150...

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#249

Post by dboreham »

atahanacar wrote: post #45

I 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.

Hmm. Soldering since before I could talk, then professionally for a couple decades, and I never used flux once. It's in the solder.

Re: How To Get Started In Soldering

#250

Post by panic »

macropin wrote: post #235

Fumes are best avoided. They contain mercury. True story: I was testing the quality of the water from a property I was thinking of buying and got a hit for high levels of mercury. I called the test manufacturer and asked for a few more tests to confirm the levels and the guy asks "done any soldering in the area within the last TWO WEEKS", I had been soldering the taillight / trailer connections on my van about two or…

I've never heard of solder with mercury in it. I'm surprised anyone would sell something like that.
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