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Learning to solder?

S

sonambulo

Diamond Member
Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right forum so if it's wrong go ahead and move/lock it.

As per the title I'm interested in learning to solder as a hobby. I've already looked into irons and found a pretty decent Weller with a full base station at my local microcenter that I have my eyes on. It's got everything but the sponge.

I've watched quite a few videos on youtube about basic soldering technique but still have some questions. What kind of solder am I going to need? Is it worth it to spend the cash and buy one of those 'learn to solder' kits to build a simple circuit? If not then what are some easy basic projects? Are there any decent tutorials online that explain more about soldering in general rather than just focus on technique?

Any help is much appreciated. I searched but couldn't find anything in the first 10 pages of results that had to do with basic soldering. Thanks in advance.
 
The most important thing to know about soldering is that the purpose of the iron is to heat the metal components you are trying to solder together. Then, those heated components will melt the solder and form a good bond. When I started soldering, I was under the impression that you just sort of melted solder onto whatever it was you wanted to connect.

As far as projects go, why do you want to solder? What kinds of things will you be soldering? You can try soldering wires together, or you can play with an old mobo or add-in card, soldering and de-soldering components. If you will be working with small things, you'll want a clamp to hold them in place and tweezers to hold the parts.

As far as the solder goes, it depends on what you are working on. For a hobbyist, basic radioshack rosin core solder should be fine. Again, the thickness of it will depend on what you want to solder...
 
Originally posted by: Dman877
The most important thing to know about soldering is that the purpose of the iron is to heat the metal components you are trying to solder together. Then, those heated components will melt the solder and form a good bond. When I started soldering, I was under the impression that you just sort of melted solder onto whatever it was you wanted to connect.
Click to expand...

Me too. LOL, that made it hard, especially with the ROHS stuff.

Whatever you do, don't buy ROHS solder. It took all the fun out of soldering.
 
Originally posted by: Dman877
As far as projects go, why do you want to solder? What kinds of things will you be soldering? You can try soldering wires together, or you can play with an old mobo or add-in card, soldering and de-soldering components. If you will be working with small things, you'll want a clamp to hold them in place and tweezers to hold the parts.

As far as the solder goes, it depends on what you are working on. For a hobbyist, basic radioshack rosin core solder should be fine. Again, the thickness of it will depend on what you want to solder...
Click to expand...

Honestly, the biggest thing is going to be my SNES but I'm also learning to maintain and repair my NES as well. My originals died a while ago but I'm looking to restore them to their former glory. I have a modded OG Xbox and I've read up on some accessories that can be added on (IR and an external USB port are the two biggest things but I've also seen people mod on little LCD screens as well) and I'll need to learn to solder for that.

I'm also looking into hobbyist crap as well not too much more complicated beyond the stuff you see in pre-made kits.

edit: I'm into the whole 'MAKE' scene tangentially but until now have focused on working with various plastics for sculptures and casings for little art projects. It would be nice if I could build basic circuits to run sequences of lights (not necessarily LED's) inside of a sculpture. I think a REALLY cool project would be to one day work my way up to building my own universal remote or MP3 player (I have seen BULKY kits for MP3 players but want to add my own touch). Naturally I realize these kinds of skills are years away especially working at a hobbyist's pace.

edit 2: I also want to build one of those giant NES pads. Those things look HELLA fun.
 
This is the solder I use for everything. That solder with liquid flux is absolutely wonderful. When I was on my last ship, I had to solder the cannon plugs in place while the engines were running. Liquid flux saves so much time, and made those solder jobs that much easier.

My process for soldering:
[*]tin the soldering iron
[*]tin the item(s) to be soldered
[*]melt some solder onto the iron so that there is a bit of a drip
[*]apply soldering iron to items. They will bond together and soak up more solder from the irom in they need it
[*]test the strength (and conductance if needed)
 
The most important tip in soldering electricals is to understand that solder merely seals and cements a good, solid mechanical joint/contact. Failure to secure a solid mechanical connection can result in a "cold solder" joint

 
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