One of my challenges is to get the solder to even stick to the wire. Despite using rubbing alcohol to wipe off the target section of any oil/grease, the solder just won't stick T T
I only use leaded solder. Lead free solder was a disaster when adopted in the aerospace industry. The joints are brittle and tend to crack when subjected to vibration and thermal stress, leading to the most frustrating kind of intermittent faults in aviation electronics. You would often see a component returned from repair with the statement "solder joints re-flowed" to deal with cracked joints. There was a gradual return to leaded solder in the 2000s.
I still hope and pray they use leaded solder. I work on automotive electronics. There are components that don't even get warm and the solder cracks like its cheap Chinese China. I have made a lot of money by reflowing
We talkin’ solder and shrink tube here? I use a pinpoint butane torch, flux, and thin wire solder. Works fast. If you’re accurate with the torch, it doesn’t burn the insulation either.
An Australian in Canada giving soldering advice... 650 degrees Fahrenheit. Bloody hell mate, use celsius like the rest of the world and drag their ignorant asses up to our level.
Great tutorial. I've been soldering for a little over a decade now, but I like to revisit tutorials like these as a quick "re-certification" every now and then. One tip (no pun intended) I'd like to add doesn't apply to soldering technique, but more to preserving the wire's insulating cover. If you are using helping hands/spring claws like what you have in the video, cover the jaws with cut to size heat shrink tubing. This lessens the marring of the insulation and prevents it from being pierced from the jaws.
Keep on putting out bad information; I make my living by fixing the mistakes you have made in this video. First, you are twisting the wires together entirely incorrectly; before twisting them, at all, you should weave the strands of both wires, then twist them together. Second, you misidentified a "cold joint," which has nothing to do with the wires being cold (which does not matter) and everything to do with the only actual connection being the solder, itself, and is more likely to happen with your technique. Third, if you try your method on automotive or appliance wiring, you are going to wind up damaging the insulation and having to replace the entire wire, or even harness.
Step 1: throw away your el cheapo 5 dollar pencil soldering iron and get one with a station, proper heat control, and more wattage. This is like the only step most people need to solder competently
A good tutorial. But (in my opinion) you did not place any emphasis on cleanliness! many wires to be soldered may be oxidized on the copper strands to be soldered. It really does not matter what you are soldering - the first (and most) important rule to follow is cleanliness. If the Heat Shrink does shrink - due to heat, place a pin or needle down the bore of the Heat Shrink and between the wire insulation. You can then expand the Heat Shrink enough - to slip over the whole soldered joint.
"Do not eat or drink after soldering" I hear whilst eating after soldering. Its pretty much impossible to get poisoned from leaded solder unless you shave it into your hands and lick it all up. This is because you arent going to be picking up any lead but just touching it and you arent getting the solder hot enough to evaporate the lead, only melting it. the whole RoHS thing with solder is absolute bs in my opinion. Lead free solder is a huge waste of time.
No solder is needed for the Lineman/Western Union Splice. I learned it from Chris fix. It's the only Splice that is legal for aviation. You should at least check it out. Pull as hard as you can and the wire will break before the Splice fails. No solder no butt connectors
Hi, Will. Very good video! Your technique is flawless and beautifully excecuted.. IMHO, one should never put away one's iron with a totally clean and dry tip. I have been soldering for over 50 years and I have found that I like the results (i.e. life of the soldering tip) much better if I thoroughly clean off the tip and then add just a bit of fresh solder just after turning off the iron. There will still be just enough heat to melt the solder, but it will cool off and solidify the solder leaving a protective coating on the tip. When I use it next, I just wipe away the melted solder from the tip and get on with the work at hand. I also do not twist the individual wires before soldering. I use the same technique that you do by holding the wires together at one end and twist them together. I feel like I get a better mechanical and electrical connection without tightly twisting the individual wires first.
Had to watch to see if it's actually the correct way. Im picky so ill score it a B- only because there is a few other steps and techniques that would make a nicer join. Having said that this definitely passes as a good enough join
Great video. I had to learn proper soldering technique out of a book, and that just doesn't convey the nuances quite like seeing it in action. But the most helpful thing that book did say was something like "Do not use the iron to melt solder except to tin the tip. The iron is only for heating the joint, apply solder directly to the joint instead." Completely fixed my perspective on what exactly I was trying to do.
O fluxo da solda sem chumbo é muito mais tóxico e prejudicial à saúde que a solda com chumbo, não há vantagem alguma usar essas ligas terríveis que não contém chumbo, malditos eco chatos fodendo todo mundo de todo mercado
great explanation video and amazing advice. however, do not hate on electrical tape that much. it can last for years and decades, but you need a few things for it to work that way: 1- you have to buy a good quality one, if you get the cheapest, the adhesive will not hold at all, and it will undo itself 2- make sure nobody plays with it, i know it is dum, but if someone gets their hands on it and is bored, they will play with it and undo it bit by bit. not to mention it is dangerous playing with a live wire. 3- AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: do not apply it like in the video loosely around the wire and have it stick from both sides, instead, pull on the tape as you are sticking it on, you have to make it stretch as you are installing it, so that it has internal tension that will keep a steady tension on the adhesive preventing it from going weak. and sure, it is in direct sunlight, everything will fall apart, tape or heat shrink, even the wire insulation does not live a long in direct sunlight. so keep checking it every few months if it is indirect sunlight no matter what you used. that way, i still have joints i soldered 10 years ago when i first started working with some wiring projects. they are still holding up amazing, and the adhesive has not loosened up a bit. heck, there are still joints my uncle did from 50 something years ago, and sure, the tape is not looking like new, but it still has not loosened up, and it you try taking it off, it still is glued on and the glue is still strong
I wish someone would invent heat shrink tubing that can be slipped on after a joint. There are times when the wires to be joined are short and there's not enough room to slide on the heat shrink tubing beforehand
But no one really solders like you showed in your opening example. You just exaggerated it so you could have a reason to make a pointless useless video. GO TO YOUR ROOM LITTLE BOY !
that was a good video... one suggestion I have is hold the soldering iron under the wire and touch the solder on the top side of the wire. Heat rises so the wire will heat quicker.
The bottom line, if you want to make good soldered connection don't buy a soldering iron under$60. AND DON'T BUY A SOLDERING "pen" get one with a seperate base like in the video. It takes 10 second to get to 650 degrees and never drops in temp while soldering. I use the trusted Weller brand.
Decent video. I learned a lot of the proper soldering techniques from my father who was a Comms/Radio Op in the Korean War and a "HAM"/Amateur Radio operator with a Tech license. I was building/assembling many of my own electronics projects starting at 8 years old, LOL. The DIY HEATHKIT projects were a staple back then. I then learned even more from a husband & wife team who both work for NASA as soldering techs. Some of the protocols they have to follow and techniques they use are mindboggling. Also, learn to know WHEN you should SOLDER, and WHEN you should use CRIMP connections. Cheers
AMAZING PRESENTATION! Complete and concise in a really short time! I work in industrial electronics for almost 30 years now and I'm most likely going to have my trainees from the mechanical field watch this video.
Nooo, don't twist the strands before joining them! Fray the wires, interlace the strands, THEN twist. You get a tight mechanical joint that is half the usual exposed length.
Was taught over 60 years ago that wires have to be mechanically secure ( twisted is one example ). Like to have a wet sponge to wipe off soldering iron or gun tip. Prefer the multi core rosin solder.
So first off... You always Tin up each wire separately. If the solder is not "Wetted" to the wires prior to joining them, then they won't bond. After Both wires have been properly tinned. Then you solder them together. Also remember to use some small set of heat sinks on each wire to make sure that you do not melt back the insulation. Never remove the factory tin from your soldering tip. Throw away the tip and replace it if it loses the tin. Always tin the tip before turning off the soldering station.
So many comments, and while there were certainly great ones, most likely were submitted by amateurs, because no one actually pointed out solder is meant to be pronounced with a silent L. It’s not soLder but sodder.
Don't twist the wires together. Pre-tin the cables, lay them side-by-side, apply heat and just enough solder to attach the two. You can find the NASA standards on solder joints online. It'll make you better.
I have a hard time heating thick wires with a Milwaukee soldering iron. That was a super nice technique you showed us of using solder to increase the area of contact for heating the wires faster ! Thank you for your video !
Step 1. Twist wire nut over the two or more wires you desire to splice Step 2. Smoke break for the remaining 11 minutes and 30 seconds of this video Y'all have fun and don't work too hard out there
