# Soldering



## thechamp96 (Jan 16, 2008)

Can anybody recommend the best type of soldering iron and solder for wiring the electronics in electric guitars? 

I suppose anything will work, but I would like to know if anyone out there has any specific recommendations.

Thanks!

PS: I'm planning on wiring up two EMG-ZW pickups in a Les Paul-style body.


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

I use a cheap soldering gun, 30/70W. I can't get good results with a 30W only pencil.


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## cknowles (Jan 29, 2008)

I use a Black and Decker butane powered soldering iron and the thinest electronics solder I can get from Circuit City (formerly Radioshack)

One word of caution, when you are about to solder the pickup leads to the pots, make sure to put some sort of protective covering over the guitar body. You don't want to accidentally spatter the finish with molten solder! (Ask me how I know this  )

Chris


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

I JUST picked up a soldering station from Canadian Tire. It was only about $35, came with the 20/40W Iron, stand, with a built in sponge in the base. Make sure you get rosin core solder (for Electronics) instead of acid core (for plumbing). At Canadian Tire, all the stuff was sitting in one small place.

I installed my Lollar pickups without any problems; maybe not award winning work but it is decent and I will only get better. The last time I had tried soldering I borrowed my friend's old soldering GUN and it was a horrible experience . . .

TG


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

traynor_garnet said:


> I JUST picked up a soldering station from Canadian Tire. It was only about $35, came with the 20/40W Iron, stand, with a built in sponge in the base. Make sure you get rosin core solder (for Electronics) instead of acid core (for plumbing). At Canadian Tire, all the stuff was sitting in one small place.


i have the same soldering iron, and it's worked well for me, although the tips are prone to crudding up pretty easily (they're cheap to replace, so no real worries).


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

traynor_garnet said:


> I JUST picked up a soldering station from Canadian Tire. It was only about $35, came with the 20/40W Iron, stand, with a built in sponge in the base. Make sure you get rosin core solder (for Electronics) instead of acid core (for plumbing). At Canadian Tire, all the stuff was sitting in one small place.
> 
> I installed my Lollar pickups without any problems; maybe not award winning work but it is decent and I will only get better. The last time I had tried soldering I borrowed my friend's old soldering GUN and it was a horrible experience . . .
> 
> TG


I have something very similar I picked up at SMI electronics in BC. Works great. 20/40 Watt setting with stand and sponge. You do however, get what you pay for. If I keep doing this type of stuff I will likely upgrade.


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

Whatever you do, do NOT buy lead-free solder!

For hand soldering it is almost worse than useless. The lack of lead means a much higher melting point. That means the part will probably fry before the solder melts.

We could start another thread about this horrible stuff and the dumb reasons people (who don't ever solder anything themselves) pushed it on us but suffice to say here - don't buy it!

:food-smiley-004:


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## drift_boat (Feb 2, 2006)

Weller soldering irons are supposed to be quality. I have a low watt version.

The 40watt iron from Circuit City has worked well for me lately. I use it almost exclusively now.

The other guys are right on about type of solder to use. It can make the job hard or easy.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2008)

Wild Bill said:


> Whatever you do, do NOT buy lead-free solder! <snip> We could start another thread about this horrible stuff and the dumb reasons people (who don't ever solder anything themselves) pushed it on us but suffice to say here - don't buy it!
> 
> :food-smiley-004:


Agreed. There's a time and place to be "green". When you soldering a few 2mm-sized connections it is neither the time or place. There was another thread where Bill and myself and a few others chimed in with favourite solder, irons and what not. There was a little technique talk. If you search the forum for "weller" I'll bet you'd find it.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

As much as I have my misgivings about the extent to which lead-free solder in new products will reduce lead in the ground (compared to all that "old technology" we feel so predisposed to dispose of), lots of places *are* using lead-free solder without having to scrap every third board because of heat damage. It is simply a question of adapting one's iron and soldering technique. Of course, as Bill alludes to, more attention needs to be placed on heat-sinking to accommodate higher soldering temperatures and the generally smaller part size. Whether one is working with Kester 60/40 or something else, that's not such a bad habit to acquire, if you ask me. Helps for lead-based and lead-free contexts.

I will recommend that anyone wishing to do more than a dozen solder joints in their lifetime purchase a small bottle of liquid flux and a box of cotton-tipped applicators from the dollar store. Dabbing a small bit of flux on the spot you wish to solder can often help immensely in allowing the solder to spread/flow nicely and solidly adhere to the surface. Dabbing a bit of flux on solder wick also helps in removing solder from a joint/pad when you've made a mistake or wish to replace a component.

I have found that methyl hydrate (AKA mineral spirits or paint thinner) works great at removing flux residue. Dab a Q-tip in it and rub the flux. Cleans up boards great with no stink. As much as extra flux helps making solder joints, flux residue also makes it more difficult to do a visual spot check for solder bridges or cracks in the board. So, use the liquid flux to DO the soldering, then wipe off the excess with methyl hydrate and Q-tips so you can see how good a job you did.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

drift_boat said:


> Weller soldering irons are supposed to be quality. I have a low watt version.
> 
> The 40watt iron from Circuit City has worked well for me lately. I use it almost exclusively now.
> 
> The other guys are right on about type of solder to use. It can make the job hard or easy.


Canadian Tire had a Weller Iron that looked almost identical to the Mastercraft I bought. The Weller was the same price but didn't include base/holder. I figured there was a good chance the Mastercraft was made in the same place so I went for it. Works great.

TG


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I will recommend that anyone wishing to do more than a dozen solder joints in their lifetime purchase a small bottle of liquid flux and a box of cotton-tipped applicators from the dollar store. Dabbing a small bit of flux on the spot you wish to solder can often help immensely in allowing the solder to spread/flow nicely and solidly adhere to the surface. Dabbing a bit of flux on solder wick also helps in removing solder from a joint/pad when you've made a mistake or wish to replace a component.


Have you ever used cotton swaps with flux paste? I was trying out flux paste last night to over come my "major soldering malfunction" (the one I mentioned on that other site) and was cursing that darn plastic bristle "flux applicator" brush I bought with the paste. That brush is clearly meant for large flux application problems. I contemplated grabbing a swab but was uncertain about mixing cotton and flux paste.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

That is, in fact, the *only* way I use liquid flux (and remember that liquid flux is not the same as flux paste). You can dilute liquid flux with methyl hydrate or ethyl alcohol so that it is absorbed onto the little cotton tip more easily and spread more evenly.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2008)

mhammer said:


> That is, in fact, the *only* way I use liquid flux (and remember that liquid flux is not the same as flux paste). You can dilute liquid flux with methyl hydrate or ethyl alcohol so that it is absorbed onto the little cotton tip more easily and spread more evenly.


Yea I was too lazy to search far for the liquid stuff so opted for the only thing I could find in Kanata, which was paste. I did help a bit with the wire-lug problem, but it's still not that beautiful blob like in the picture. I'll have to try turning up the iron.


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## Guest (Apr 7, 2008)

mhammer said:


> Dabbing a bit of flux on solder wick also helps in removing solder from a joint/pad when you've made a mistake or wish to replace a component.


I used to have a solder sucker somewhere.
Quick and painless.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I've had plenty of solder suckers, and still use them for situations where there is a LOT of solder to remove. The problem is that you need to hold the iron tip on the joint to use the solder sucker, and my own experience is that the suction not only takes the solder from the joint away; it also takes away the tinning on the surface of the iron tip itself, making it poorer at providing heat until you restore the tinned surface to the tip. Solder wick was something I resisted for years because it just seemed so wasteful. Once I started using it, and was able to compare the state of my iron when using a solder sucker vs solder wick, I was sold on wick.

In the grand scheme of things, I'd recommend the joint use of the two. The sucker is great for removing big blobs of solder. Wick is FAR superior for things like unsoldering chips from a PCB. Just note that you can buy wick in different gauges. Smaller gauge is great for unsoldering chips. Larger grade is terrific for clearing wads of solder off pads.


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## bogoboy (May 21, 2006)

Wild Bill said:


> Whatever you do, do NOT buy lead-free solder!
> 
> For hand soldering it is almost worse than useless. The lack of lead means a much higher melting point. That means the part will probably fry before the solder melts.
> 
> ...


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## bogoboy (May 21, 2006)

Wild Bill said:


> Whatever you do, do NOT buy lead-free solder!
> 
> For hand soldering it is almost worse than useless. The lack of lead means a much higher melting point. That means the part will probably fry before the solder melts.
> 
> ...


I built an amp using lead free solder NO PROBLEMS. Try SN100C .032" made by AIM, excellent results.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

laristotle said:


> I used to have a solder sucker somewhere.
> Quick and painless.


Am I missing something? I bought a roll of desolder braid from CC for a dollar or two and it works great at wicking away the solder. (Of course, old five thumbs was a bit slow a couple of times and ended up welding it to the board, but that's all par for the course...)


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

I'll jump in on this one late :wink:

I've had a Weller WP-25 for ~25 years, used professionally with thousands of hours on it. It's outlived a dozen tips and two power cords and tape is now where the heat-grip used to be, last seen over a decade ago. As a great, reliable iron, it hasn't skipped a beat :smile:

As for solder, I used Kester "44" my whole life, but recently picked up the more actively fluxed Kester "88" for a steal on fleabay. I'll never go back to "44" again 

Cheers!


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2008)

Geek said:


> As for solder, I used Kester "44" my whole life, but recently picked up the more actively fluxed Kester "88" for a steal on fleabay. I'll never go back to "44" again.


Have you used 88 on a PCB board yet? I've always stayed away from flux core solder when soldering PCBs. I figure I'm on and off the solder too fast to burn up all the acid in the flux and I don't want that acid sitting around on the board.


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## Guest (Apr 10, 2008)

Abra-electronics sell a very nice temperature controlled unit for about $70.00 . You can replace the tips ,however they have a fairly good life to them anyway.
I would keep away from leadless solder simply to avoid tin whiskers later down the road. The non-tin stuff isn't that bad if you learn to work with it but it does have a history of disintegrating over time. They're just starting to discover that little problem. You can clean your boards off with the same stuff they clean paint brushes with Poly Clens. It takes the flux right off. I've been using it for years.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

FWIW, I think people tend to shy away from desoldering braid simply because it seems odd to spend money on something you use up and throw away (braid) when you could be spending money on something that lasts a long time (solder sucker). That certainly kept me from buying braid for years. Once I started using it, though, I was converted.

While there is something to be said for having more flux built into the solder, liquid flux has many advantages and one $8 bottle will last you a lifetime. Hell, I spilt about 3/4 of the bottle I bought several years ago on the workshop carpet (bad move, that), and 5 years on, I am STILL using the same bottle.

I can also recommend solder tip tinner, that you can often buy in a little flat tin the size of a snuff or chewing tobacco tin (I say that not to endorse the habits, but just for size estimates) for $6. Apparently, it is available in leaded and unleaded versions. VERY helpful after you've gunked up your soldering tip by excessive use fo a solder sucker or using it to warm up heat shrink tubing or accidentally touching your tip to meltable materials.


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

Hi,



iaresee said:


> Have you used 88 on a PCB board yet? I've always stayed away from flux core solder when soldering PCBs. I figure I'm on and off the solder too fast to burn up all the acid in the flux and I don't want that acid sitting around on the board.


Yes :smile:

It's not an acid core, it is an electronics flux for PCB's. It's just more active so a little oxide won't scew things up.

What I love about it is I don't have to de-gunk oxide and stuff off NOS parts like switches and terminal strips... the more active flux wets as if they were new stock tinned 

As for letting the flux sit around, try acetone and a toothbrush. One clean board!




> FWIW, I think people tend to shy away from desoldering braid simply because it seems odd to spend money on something you use up and throw away (braid) when you could be spending money on something that lasts a long time (solder sucker). That certainly kept me from buying braid for years. Once I started using it, though, I was converted.


Sometimes you need both.

I prep the removal with the solder sucker (great ones BTW are $5.99 @ Princess Auto - the blue tubular ones with the thumb plunger and finger release button) and cleanup with the braid. It is pretty much impossible to remove IC's without braid.

Oh, and one shouldn't even think of using a solder sucker near SMD parts, LOL!!! 

Cheers!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Geek said:


> Hi,
> Sometimes you need both.
> 
> I prep the removal with the solder sucker (great ones BTW are $5.99 @ Princess Auto - the blue tubular ones with the thumb plunger and finger release button) and cleanup with the braid. It is pretty much impossible to remove IC's without braid.
> Cheers!


An excellent approach. I tip my hat. And yes, there are some things that, for whatever reason, Princess Auto has the best prices on.

Incidentally, while we are talking about Canadian sources, I am constantly surprised by how many things I might want to get from Stewart-McDonald Guitar Shop Supply that I can find at Lee Valley Tools. I've gotten brass ferrules for through-body string mounting, ultra-super-fine abrasive sheets for polishing frets, and all those stain pigments and thinners that Stew-Mac can't ship to Canada because they are flammable. Heck, at the Lee Valley down the street from me they even have top quality maple "slugs", originally intended for baseball bats that are perfect for fashioning into necks. (NOTE: this is a special arrangement between the guy who makes "Sam Bats" here in Ottawa - the kind Barry Bonds uses - and our local Lee Valley, the corporate headquarters. I have no idea if they are available elsewhere.)


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

Hi,

Thanks!



mhammer said:


> (NOTE: this is a special arrangement between the guy who makes "Sam Bats" here in Ottawa - the kind Barry Bonds uses - and our local Lee Valley, the corporate headquarters. I have no idea if they are available elsewhere.)


Well, if they aren't available elsewhere, that's where entrepreneurial members can make a few $ on the side :wink:

Cheers!


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## bogoboy (May 21, 2006)

konasexone said:


> I would keep away from leadless solder simply to avoid tin whiskers later down the road.


I seem to remember this report came out about six months ago, I think the "tin whiskers" is a problem for micro-soldering, ie, cell phones, some computer components etc. and not for most of the large hand-done soldering we are talking about here.


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