I thought heating parts up so much that solder will melt on them could damage things? For example soldering resistors onto a PCB? I'll give this method a try. I always thought you melt it onto the tip of the iron, then kind of wipe it onto the joint!
you dont' hold it there for hours till its glowing red You just have the iron one side and the solder the other side of what ever you are soldering. But rather than have the solder sticking to the iron you want it to go on to the object.
if you were going to solder something like an led or a resistor and your worried about it getting damaged by heat then what ive always done is squeezed on the object with a pair of long nose pliers just after were you are soldering, as a sort of heat sync.
what is the heat range of the soldering iron. sometimes it is better to go for a slightly higher heat but with less contact time.
180c to 480c is the spec of my iron. http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=35016 I'll give all these tips a shot at the weekend then!
I use this one at work http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=98133 running at 400c for most things.
I find a tub of flux best myself even if the wire has flux in it, propper cheap to buy & it seems to make the joints quicker and better, just my 10 pence What about this tool, looks bloody expensive though! http://tooling.tycoelectronics.com/CERTI-CRIMP.asp
As a Maplin manager I would always recommend using a flux pen that we sell... just dab a bit on the wire to avoid any issues for the novice solderer... http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=33849&C=SO&U=strat15 discount maybe possible if your in the west london area!!!
Agreed! I also bought Antex lead free solder and Soldamop from Maplins. This was to re-wire my son's electric guitar with new pick ups etc. Whether lead free is best for car wiring I don't know. May be more brittle that leaded solder?
Use leaded. its easier to use and not illegal to use on automotive use. Plus you'll be doing it outside so its nice and ventilated
of course you'd recommend a product that YOU sell. you wouldn't be doing your job if you sent customers elsewhere.
