Soldering advice

[Sir-knob-head]

Evening guys

Anyone got any tips on soldering? Seems I can't master I to a good standard.

I'm letting this butane iron heat up then using it to heat the strands of wire but I can't get the heat into the wire to Melt the solder

In the end I used a blow torch to heat up a bit of metal and used that as a soldering iron..... Lol. Primitive but worked

[chippy 55]

Buy a proper soldering iron mains ones cheap as chips occasionally work have gas powered ones

[chippy 55]

By work I meant aldi God knows where work came from

[bigtwinthing]

you have to heat the tip , then file it so its clean. Clean the wires, and strip back the insulation, put some flux on the wires then hold the gin touching but underneath the wires and allow some solder to run into the strands, then heat the fitting and slide the ires into it, remove the iron and hold until it cools, its hard to describe really have a lot on u tube maybe. Or come back over here and i can do it for you. basically the cleaner all components are the better.

[Sir-knob-head]

Next time I'm down bigtwin I'll pop in for a tutorial
I did all of that. But the flux. The wires were newly stripped and the iron was brand new
In the end I ran outta gas

Cheers chippy. Can't use corded because my garage doesn't have power and no one's produced a battery powered one yet

[Stratman]

I had problems when I rewired a Telecaster copy that I made. My soldering was rubbish, but I bought a decent iron of the right wattage for the job, watched some of the "how to" videos on You Tube and I was much improved. Having some crocodile clips to hold things is useful too.

[chippy 55]

Try not to file tips as you'll destroy the tin coating on them just get hot and wipe off on little sponge that came with iron .tin coating helps solder flow from tip

[lloydie]

Having clean bits to work with is a must .
Any sort of corrosion and it won't take even with flux .

[chippy 55]

Most importantly make sure everything is clean fresh copper wire no dirt or corrosion also helps to get separate flux not rely on flux cored solder it buns away screwfix sell any plumbers flux will do

[Sir-knob-head]

Thank you very much for the advice guys.

Do any of uou use butane irons? If so which have you got?

Chippy where did you get the clips?


Watched a few videos and followed.

Some great advice

[bigtwinthing]

Next time I'm down bigtwin I'll pop in for a tutorial
I did all of that. But the flux. The wires were newly stripped and the iron was brand new
In the end I ran outta gas

Cheers chippy. Can't use corded because my garage doesn't have power and no one's produced a battery powered one yet

i have a butane one too!

[firestorm_al]

For automotive gauge wires where you are either splicing wires or making up connectors rather than soldering components you really want an electric soldering iron with a minimum wattage of 50W. Most gas soldering irons are only any use for very light gauge wires.

I personally use a Weller 100W iron for vehicle electrics. Not cheep at £90 but a lot less hassle than braking down at the side of the road due to a dodgy soldering job.

Al.

[chippy 55]

Twas stratman that mentioned clips think he means the soldering jigs with crocodile clips and magnifying glass think Argos or screwfix do them

[chippy 55]

Yay I've hit the magic 50

[sirch345]

For automotive gauge wires where you are either splicing wires or making up connectors rather than soldering components you really want an electric soldering iron with a minimum wattage of 50W. Most gas soldering irons are only any use for very light gauge wires.

I personally use a Weller 100W iron for vehicle electrics. Not cheep at £90 but a lot less hassle than braking down at the side of the road due to a dodgy soldering job.

Al.

That's what I use for soldering, 100W soldering gun. I find with this I get the heat into the wires that need soldering quickly, rather than waiting what seems ages with a low wattage soldering iron, where the heat intends to travel up the wires without getting the ends you're trying to solder hot enough.

As been already said, clean, clean and clean is what you need for soldering to be successful, once you've got the right gear,

Chris.