leaded solder is easier to work with especially for newbies, but it's not why you need ventilation while soldering. The lead in your solder will never be airborne. It's flux smoke that you want to avoid breathing in. Using flux isn't cheating - it removes oxide layers from the parts and allows the solder to penetrate and join the metals more quickly and completely. You can probably drop your temps even further and protect the plastic you're working near by using flux core solder. A faster solder joint means less heat can spread, which protects ICs or plastic.
Yeah that note about flux being 'cheating' is a bit frustrating if a person with limited experience sees this, because it implies: If you're good enough you won't ever need it (you probably will) It's somehow bad to make it easier and more consistent (why?)
Best advice I got for soldering was from my HS woodshop teacher. We had electric guitar kits we had to solder a few components on. It was "Keep the iron hot, keep the sponge wet, and keep the tip tinned"
For tolerances when mounting stabilizers - just drill out (print) larger holes for the mounts, and install the stabilizers using hot glue - there's just enough time& give for them to settle in the right position. And you can re-heat & fine-tune positioning as many times as you need
Ensuring that the copper wire is clean also helps with getting solder to flow properly esspecially when using bare copper wire. In my limited experience a little bit of sandpaper and a bit of a scuff goes a long way :)
That’s a great tip too! In my jewelry making phase, one of the most crucial steps was ensuring both parts were clean/sanded to ensure the silver solder would bind them properly.
@@joe_scotto :) The copper wire I used on my last macropad was with some wire I had leftover from when I was making wire wrapped jewelry. Completely forgot until the solder wouldn’t take :)
This is honestly awesome! It's Christmas as of writing now, and I'm going to finally find time to handwire some keyboards with spare parts i have lying around! I know it's more difficult but i was also wondering how feasible it'd be to 3d print, handwire, etc. a 75% keyboard and hopefully be more nice to use than any pre-built (given i'm willing to spend a good amount of time working on it)
I'm really new to the soldering thing and i don't know why are you using more than half of the things but i was thinking "Why do you need diodes? What do they do? Can i install LEDs if diodes are installed or uninstalled?" I would be really gratefull if someone answered my questions
Hold up mate. Flux ain't cheating. It's easy mode. There is literally no reason besides either cost or cleaning not to use it. I suspect this is why you consider lead-free solder garbage - try lead free + flux. Your mind will change.
Lead free solder also oxidizes your tip faster along with joints being weaker overall. I will stand by leaded solder. If you have the proper ventilation there is no reason to not use it.
Great stuff but I'm mad that I now need a "real" soldering iron (jk, kinda stoked). I didn't know why my professor had us use chisel tips or that solder will follow heat that dramatically!
is there a way to contact you for help with my own custom board ive never done one before but i have the parts i just need to know how to program my controller for the layout im doing cause its a bit different than the boards youve done
Appreciate the tips! I recently modeled a new keyboard and plate with your tutorial, and found that the stabilizers were causing issues. A dremel solved that issue. Not elegant but it works. Also, I found that the tolerances for the switches on my plate are a lot larger than the ones that are on some of your models. Any solution to keeping the switches in place? Hot glue maybe?
I recently discovered your youtube when searching for how make hand wired keyboards and you make great content. For someone just starting this hobby, is it possible to use an arduino uno(the limited edition one) to create a keyboard? I know that I have to flash it for it to be recognisable but am on the edge if it will be worth it.
Yeah, it seems you can use it based on the supported controllers on the QMK documentation. The ATmega328P that it uses seems to be supported: github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/docs/compatible_microcontrollers.md
I might try to make a video at some point talking about lead free solder then. I’ve gotten a few people telling me they can’t get it where they’re from.
Things that I'd like to see in a handwired keyboard going forward is building a more modular keyboard. And by modular I mean, having the MCU (Pro Micro, Teensy, RP2040, whatever) socketed, also use hotswap socket instead of directly solder the wire to the switches. I personally have made one with hotswap socket, and they're cheap. Another one probably making use of copper tape instead of wire, but this is more effort to be more thin. But IMHO it also should be easier to do than stripping single core wire at an interval or using heatshrink.
You’re gonna like my next board then. I was planning on doing a split choc board but now have converted to just doing a monoblock. The cool thing about it is that I want it super low profile so I’m going to figure out a way to mount the RP2040 Pi Pico into headers glued to the board. So it will be detachable and hopefully lead to cleaner wiring.
You can use smaller, I just prefer 16g because it adds more weight to the finished board. It also happens to sit perfectly between a PCB mount switch locating pin and connection pin.
Bit of a late comment but leaving it for others. How I do it is holding the diode with tweezers, than bend it around the tweezer for 180 degrees. Now open the tweezer and loop the diode around the tip of one leg multiple times.
Instead of hand wiring the keyboard, hear me out, why not 3D print your own "PCB", just a slab of plastic with proper holes for Universal sockets like KAILH and then glue those sockets with hard glue and then you can just wire the connectors one another. This will make the switches become hotswappable. Or you can do in in your 3D printed plate.
@@joe_scotto The risks from leaded solder have nothing to do with the fumes since you are not vaporizing the lead. The fume issue is present in both leaded and lead free as it comes from the flux vapors. Lead is only a risk if you ingest it which can be avoided by always washing your hands after handling the solder and cleaning anything that comes in contact with it. However, I actually switched from 63/37 to lead free, because my concern was the production of the tiny lead balls that get launched all over the room (and likely onto my clothing, from there potentially into food) when cleaning the iron tip with a brass wire sponge.
Our projects are going to be disposed, and Lead contaminates soil. We can work in a safe environment and still contaminate everyone around us in the future. Thanks markus!
@@nondiatonic You're not safe from Lead just because you're using a temperature below 400C (so it doesn't vaporize). Your'e still inhaling leaded microparticles.
