SpeckledJim Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 So as you may well know i have been trying to learn the ways of guitar electronics. Yesterday i spent some time rewiring the neck pickups of the epiphone the to the volume knob. After plugging the guitar into the amplifier i was reassured of my work with some lovely buzz free tones. So i put the epiphone aside and whipped out the tele for a whirl. Then i awake this morning and to my utter disgust i find that my epiphone is refusing to work. To this moment still i put it down to shoddy workmanship on my behalf. Everywhere i look for help all i see is "making a good soldering joint is a skill that is easily mastered". and every time i read it it enrages me further. Yesterday i spent hours trying to master this soldering buisness and all i have to show for it is a broken down guitar, melted wires, a few sinister marks on the carpet and some thrid degree burns! What am i doing wrong? Okay so i dont have any desoldering bulbs so i cant take any of the old tin off and its gotten a bit of a mess in the control cavity there. But my main problem is burning stuff. Desoldering in the tight pickups selector cavity seems to always lead to the burning and fraying of wires. Can any of you give me any tips. They would be much appreciated. __________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 "making a good soldering joint is a skill that is easily mastered". and every time i read it it enrages me further. It's really really easy to do What kind of soldering iron is it? and what wattage? It sounds like your trying to use a giant soldering gun but for guitar electronics you only need a 15 - 30 watt soldering iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeckledJim Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 haha this thing is a low wattage iron. It's an inexpensive 15 watt. I didnt tin it from the very first use because i didnt know about that. it does take quite a while to heat up and actually melt the solder though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 (edited) I have a board with holes drilled in it for mocking up my pots and switches. I solder as much of it together as I can (interconnecting grounds, capacitor(s) etc.) outside of the control cavity first. Then install the whole works and solder in pickups, bridge ground and plugin jack. I've had good results with my Cold Heat soldering iron when working inside the control cavity with the exception of soldering grounds to the volume pot casing (need more heat). Thats when I bring out my old fashioned club of a soldering iron. The Cold Heat is handy, no melted insulation and small enough tip to "get in there". All wire tips, prior to soldering, have to be "tinned". This involves heating and then touching flux core solder to the wire tip so it whickers into the wire strands. Pot casings are sanded, wire brushed or burnished with steel wool (whatever your preference) down to bare metal. Edited May 23, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Also, you may be using a bad lot of solder. Sometimes when solder sits around for a while, the flux core will leak out(I guess that's what happens). Regardless, there can be good and bad solder. So try buying flux cored solder from a different dealer, and see if your luck changes. I try to stick with the thinnest stuff I can find; there's no sense in using more solder than is neccessary. Whatever you do, don't buy your flux cored solder from radio shack. That stuff is just absolute garbage in my experience. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeckledJim Posted May 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 thanks for the tips people. I think i have some shopping to do. my solder is quite thick and maybe i'll get one of them little sponge thingys instead of balancing it on the carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPav Posted May 24, 2006 Report Share Posted May 24, 2006 haha this thing is a low wattage iron. It's an inexpensive 15 watt. Get a better quality iron. I started out with a cheap and nasty iron and it sucked horribly. Really, I think that you'll be amazed how much difference it can make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
has-sound Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 The iron that you use can make all the difference in the world. I would shoot for about a 25 watt. It's not too hot but hot enough that you won't linger at the joint long enough to cause damage. -Stan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted May 27, 2006 Report Share Posted May 27, 2006 I went from a Radio Shack iron (30-watt) to a nice little Weller (is that name correct?) rated the same, and the difference was substantial. There ARE times that a craftsman can blame his tools, and this was one of them. My "craftsmanship" improved 100% after moving to something a touch nicer. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 So as you may well know i have been trying to learn the ways of guitar electronics. Yesterday i spent some time rewiring the neck pickups of the epiphone the to the volume knob. After plugging the guitar into the amplifier i was reassured of my work with some lovely buzz free tones. So i put the epiphone aside and whipped out the tele for a whirl. Then i awake this morning and to my utter disgust i find that my epiphone is refusing to work. To this moment still i put it down to shoddy workmanship on my behalf. Everywhere i look for help all i see is "making a good soldering joint is a skill that is easily mastered". and every time i read it it enrages me further. Yesterday i spent hours trying to master this soldering buisness and all i have to show for it is a broken down guitar, melted wires, a few sinister marks on the carpet and some thrid degree burns! What am i doing wrong? Okay so i dont have any desoldering bulbs so i cant take any of the old tin off and its gotten a bit of a mess in the control cavity there. But my main problem is burning stuff. Desoldering in the tight pickups selector cavity seems to always lead to the burning and fraying of wires. Can any of you give me any tips. They would be much appreciated. __________________ / Keep the tip of the iron clean with a damp sponge. Always make sure there is fresh solder on the tip before soldering. Touch the solder to the tip to wet it. Heat transfers much better if the iron is "wet". Really, consider getting a soldering bulb or solder wick to get rid of exess solder. If you don't want to remove the pots etc. then consider cutting the wires close to the connection leaving enough to grab with a set of needle nose pliers. This will make removal easier. Removing or loosening the parts first makes desoldering alot easier because you can work from different angles. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69962000 Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 Man i havent been on the forums in a long time... well on to the topic. I agree that 25Watt will get the job done. To save buying a bunch of bulbed irons, i suggest getting a solder sucker. looks like a seringe but with no long needle and is spring loaded. Greg, weller is the correct name, and THE NAME when you talk about soldering. They have a $250 soldering iron i wish i had. . but back to the issue. Check your solders to make sure also that the connections are good and take a multimeter to make sure that there are no shorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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