I've decided to go with the traditional pen/gun iron. What is the "recommended" wattage if my intent is to use it for minor circuit-board projects? A visit to radio-shack shows me there is everything from 15 to 100+ Watt, and a similarly wide range in price ~$5 - $50.
33 or 35W is max for MB and circuit boards and some speaker wire soldering. Could go as low as 20W if MB only, but would have more trouble using 20W on speaker wire jobs, than a 33W. With 33W, you will be able to solder wires and work on replacing Caps, diodes, transistors, etc. and MB work, IF you dont leave iron tip to the component too long. Get a chisel tip and a solder sucker, the spring loaded vaccum type, if you are going to remove any component from circuit board or MB. The solder remover braided wick will not work, unless it says "pre flux'ed, hard for novice to work with anyway. Dont expect to solder two 20 penny nails with a 33W iron, or #2 house wiring to a screw, not enought wattage and heat. However 33W will let you get into to heat, remove, or solder electronic components and 22 to 18 gauge speaker wires. When working with electronic components, Caps, transistors, doides, ect, heat is their enemy, so get in, make a good solder joint and get the heat away quick.
The KEY to a good solder joint or connection, is that solder flows toward the heat.
You do this, in this order.
1.Plug in iron (you must feed solder onto a new tip until it is 100% coated, and then wipe it clean, dragging it over a wet sponge, the
first time you heat a new tip, just the first time only, will keep tip from oxidizing over the years)
2.wet an old sponge
3.when iron is hot, wipe off old 'gunk' on wet sponge, tin the iron tip with a little bit of solder, (60/40 resin core, .050 or .062" is ok, DO NOT use solid core or plumbers solder, aka acid core) it should have SMALL blob on tip.
4. place the iron on one side of the component leg, solder wet tip touching the leg and the circuit pad, and have the 12" piece of solder off the roll, so close to iron that you can very quickly get solder in there too. remember solder goes to heat, so touch the iron tip 1/2 to 1 sec first, then solder. ALWAYS.
5. touch solder to the place that iron, pad and leg meet. watch for flowing of solder into little smooth puddle, take off solder, and then iron, not much more than sec passes between solder off and iron off. Slide iron up component leg when removing. DO NOT blow on connection to cool it. DO dodge the smoke. connection should be smooth and shiny. If its lumpy and gray, then you didnt use enought heat, just touch again with tinned hot iron until solder flows and is is shinny when cool.
6. cut off leg of component, repeat on other legs if neccessary, give the component time to cool between soldering legs if you can.
If soldering 2 wires, then no reason to be so careful about heat, but put tinned iron on one side touch solder to iron/wire meeting place at same time, and take off solder and then iron. As you are feeding solder into wire, you will see solder wick its way into and around strands of wire, and make them all one. Some solder and resin flux will drop off, be ready. Dont melt the insulation or (ins.), as I will call it.
One thing you can do with small gauge strand wire, burn off the insulation with the chisel tip, most wire insolation is vinyl, (cant burn off teflon ins.), just hold the cut wire end, use the tip to melt the ins. and then pull the insulation off. It leaves a little melted ins. up from bare wire, but no chance of nicking or cutting small wire strands like if you use knive or side cutters etc. If you dont pull ins. end all the way off at first, works good to spin it a little to twist strands before pulling it all the way off. Pre solder the bare twisted wire ends of both wires, by cleaning tip on sponge, wetting tip with solder, touch iron to wire end, feed solder into iron/wire spot, watch it flow,
dont melt the ins. Then very little extra solder needed to solder the two tinned wires together.
Generally soldering guns are way too hot to use on MB's and circuit boards. Plus, they get way too hot too quick. People have used them for that, but besides the tip being too big at times, you can fry components from the heat.
Jeeze I wrote too much.
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