This video is something you won't find when you are actively searching for it yourself. But only something that youtube will recommend you 5 years down the line. Good technique!
Thanks. I made the video 2 years ago and it was features by Hackaday and Instructables (66k views - much better than youtube). BTW love the hexspeak 0xDEAD name.
So much utility in under 3 minutes. These are the tricks you have to be lucky to have the right instructor to learn from. Now, thanks to the internet, you are this instructor for all of us, tens of thousands of people! Thank you, Rich Langner, for your contribution!
About eight years ago I watched a video on the "Absorber of Light" channel... he referred to the "University of RU-vid". You might not end up with any recognised qualifications, but I think he was dead right! 👍
YT pushed this video on me for over 2 weeks. And finally i watched it and it was 3 minutes of pure gold. I'm glad YT never gave up with this recommendation.
Time Travelling from 2024: Freakin' brilliant! I'm going to steal this method. The last bit about pulling the wire casing back is awesome. Thanks much, and continued success!
I have used this method for decades, but never ever it occured to me to share it. You did it, and did it bloody well. The best tutorial style: short, focused and thorough. This is what YT should be used for.
Thank you for your kind comments! It's really encouraging, and the huge amount of positive comments have encouraged me to make a followup video with the finer points and answers to questions.
Thanks for the feedback. My videos start out quite long then I chop, chop, chop, speed things up, slow them down. Straight to the point, and no background music. I'm preparing to make a video on my soldering techniques, and the use of matrix board, etc. If you want to suggest anything for it, please do.
@@richardlangner Yes props on your Production values. Most You tubers are really really bad and they all pick up terrible habits from each other. You have a wonderful voice. I am such a stickler having been involved in Radio. You Sir are a Natural.
RU-vid has blessed me with this video. I will forever use this from now on, where applicable, of course. It's so genius that you would wonder why this isn't in every 101 video.
I'm so glad you liked the technique. I thought it up when I had to change line-output-transformers where the wires were not 'through-hole' connections, One hand to hold the iron, one to hold the wire in position, a third to feed the solder - but I hadn't grown a third hand at that time! Necessity was the mother of invention.
Thanks for the feedback. Fifty years ago it seemed the obvious way to solve an old problem, and since making the video it made me realise it wasn’t so obvious to other engineers after all.
Thanks for your comment. I thought up this method in the 1970s - it was so obvious I thought everyone did it! I taught my 9yo niece to solder and she uses this method so naturally (to her it's normal).
The Holy Grail of DIY content. You just shared an incredibly useful trick that you clearly learned from years of experience, and did so in a tiny fraction of the time most RU-vidrs would have wasted. TY 🙏🏻😊
Thanks for the feedback. Another soldering video to come, but in the meantime take a look at my videos on making front panels in a few minutes, measuring ultra low currents, a milliohm short circuit tester...
I grew up working in my families electronics shop in the 70s-90s and electronics has always been a hobby. I have never seen that technique before, very slick. Thanks for sharing it !
I've always held the wire between thumb and 3rd finger, and the solder between 1st & 2nd fingers. I can feed the solder into the joint with a bit of nimble finger work, but this method seems much better, will definitely give it a go.
THIS IS INGENIOUS ! Take a bow sir, take a bow In twenty years I've only left a comment on RU-vid maybe once or twice but this video needs to be seen by anyone who's ever picked up a soldering iron and learned to solder by making cubes from paperclips... before attempting it with copper wire and knows how different those tasks are by their fingertip burns 😊
Finally the algorithm turns up a video which is short and incredibly useful. I've been soldering for nearly 40 years, and did a proper apprenticeship back in the day. Done lots for work as well for hobby stuff. Never seen this before, and it should be a standard practice for everyone. Just a great tip that should be spread far and wide as it allows such precise control of the amount of solder and automates it without needing any additional equipment. Thanks for sharing this, I'll use it any time I do this kind of soldering in the future.
Thanks for the feedback. You may have seen some of my replies suggesting I will make a few more videos on skills I developed over the years. I've been soldering since 1962 so it comes naturally to me, so much that I didn't realise how my solder-autofeed worked until my friend analised it when he video'd me doing it. So definitely some basic videos coming soon, but different to the nornal on youtube.
I'll add some balance to astounded comments and let you know I have been a technician for 48 years and have always used this technique. You can also attach the solder to the wire for wire to wire joints
Hi Paul. After doing this since the late 1960s, it astounded me that very few knew about it. I searched for years on the web, and as I didn't find anyone else who had already done a video, I thought I'd give it a go! I'm preparing to make another video on other techniques I use, some of which may be well known, others not. But they are all pretty obvious, at least to me. Thanks for the feedback. If you want to share any of your tips with me I may include them next time - with credits of course.
Yep, this is going straight into my favorites. I would have NEVER in my life thought of doing this, now I'll never do it any other way. Thank you so much, Richard!
I'm glad you like it. This is really for soldering to pads. No great advantage for through-hole components as they are already held in place and you then only need two hands. Having said that it will be a very useful 'tool' to use when the needs arises. Thanks.
Been soldering for over 40 years since I was 10 years old and this has never occurred to me! This solves a lot. Compared to other "best" techniques this is easy, fast and doesn't require anything! You can learn tricks to old dogs, thanks!
Looking at the comments my technique has amazed many people, especially old-timers. Such kind remarks have inspired me to make another video about basic soldering skills and also to explain more of 'solder autofeed'.
I have used both of these tricks and it helps sometimes but mostly I need both the parts and wires to be held in place firmly since the parts just slip out but I don't have a third hand.
I've been occasionally soldering since 1984. I've never seen this method, but wished I had. Super easy, really sensibly. Why haven't I thought of doing this. Brilliant 👍🏼
It's just an extra technique for when you need it. There are plenty of other ways to solder, but sometimes my method is easiest. Let me know if you try it.
I devised this method when I had to change the 20 or so wires on line-output-transformers and they were not 'through-hole' connections, One hand to hold the iron, a second to hold the wire in position, a third to feed the solder - but I hadn't grown a third hand at that time! Necessity was the mother of invention!
How many hundred years of soldering being enlightened in 3 minutes here? I've had to do hacky soldering on d-subs and worse, and I've always wonfered how to do it without feeling like I'm doing a circus act. So this is almost therapeutic. Thanks.
I'm going to do a video covering the finer points, so using this on a D-SUB would make a great demo as there is no mechanical joint into the solder buckets- thanks!
Thanks for your comment. I thought up this method in the 1970s - it was so obvious I thought everyone did it! I taught my 9yo niece to solder and she uses this method so naturally - to her it's normal.
Cool technique for really big pads, I suppose. For small pads, you should get the right amount of solder the "normal" way, i.e. tinning the pad and tinning the wire, which is probably the same effort..
My method misses one stage, so is quicker. Yes, tin the wire as normal. But when you tin the pad, that's when the solder leg is left. The missing stage is hand feeding the solder. Solder autofeed!
@@richardlangner I understand that. The point of tinning both the pad and the wire is that you don't have to feed any more solder, just melt the wire to the pad, that's all. For really big pads you might need more solder than what can stick on the wire and the pad, then your method should be beneficial.
I have taught over 100 apprentices electronics and have never seen this method of soldering. It is brilliant. Pity I am retired now, but I can still use it for myself
Thanks for the feedback. I taught City & Guilds practical skills in circuit construction for over 20 years, and may make another video with more tips and tricks.
Thanks for the suggestion. My method heats the wire, which heats the PCB, which will melt the solder ONLY when both conductors are up to temperature avoiding cold joints. Unless you are very careful with your method, the solder will melt before the conductors are up to temperature. Although... I have seen others use it to good effect .
I devised this method around 50 years ago as I had to regularly change line-output-transformers where the wire needed no mechanical strength, and thought it was so obvious that everyone must be doing it. Judging by the massive response on Instructables (www.instructables.com/Soldering-Wires-Heres-a-Better-Way) I was wrong!
@@richardlangner I learnt long ago to manipulate 3 things with two hands. The circuit board is fixed (with a vice or otherwise). With one hand I feed solder while holding a tinned and fluxed lead (each via separate finger pairs, while the other hand feeds the tinned soldering iron. It becomes very natural to do this but it becomes apparent that it is a learnt skill because it's not easily taught.
I just did my first perf board drone, i used cat6 wire. Esp32s3, mpu6050, npn controlled motors, and a 3.7v step up to 5v 2amp module i salvage from a walmart cell phone portable charger. It all works😊 but its a hot mess. I hope to get better.
Its very cool🎉 but very bad🥲.. just tin the pad then tin the wire, add flux and solder the wire to the pad.. and make sure you have the concave shape,, not big blob of solder like that!
I agree, you can carry solder on the iron and use separate flux, but for multicore solder this method works well and is quick and easy when working on site. As for the shape of the solder on the joint, concave is indeed appropriate for through-hole wires. A wire resting on a pad doesn't have much strength though, so a bit more solder helps here.
great techniques, quickly and effectively taught! I've done something similar, by laying the "right" length of solder on the pad, and starting soldering at the long end, but your method doesn't need any space past the pad, so it's definitely better in most cases! THX!
Very good. I've been in electronics all my life. Now 90. I always liked?? some soldering instructions for joining 2 wires. 1-hold 1 wire with a hand. 2- hold the other wire with a hand. 3-hold the solder with a hand. 4- hold the soldering iron with another hand. I seem to always run out of hands after step 2.
Yes the lack of hands led me to this idea, but now even my 10 year old (grand) neice uses it as a matter of course. I too have been in electronics all my life (well... not yet). It's nice to pass on hints and tips to the younger generations, old techniques are new to them. All these years I thought it was strange how it's only me with the idea, and this video has flushed a few out that had similar ideas - but not exactly the same as mine. Thanks for the comments, made me smile.
@@richardlangner Thanks, I forgot "not yet" but getting closer. Actually I do very little pure electronics anymore. Mostly do woodworking and 3d printing.
Thanks - it may take a little practice to get it perfect, but well worth it. My 10 year old niece uses this method as a matter of course and finds it easy (she doesn't know it's not an everyday technique!).
At this point I'm cursing RU-vid for waiting so long to show me this video... I just put together 900 solder joints for a lighting system. Each junction is three or four parallel wires depending on which way we're going
Can’t say anything until I try it of course, seems like there’s *some* chance you could get a “cold solder” joint that way - though I think that’s unlikely and you could probably fix by just leaving the iron in contact a second or two longer if it was a problem. Thanks very much for the information!!
This might have helped in situations where I've had to solder headphone cable that contained some stranded plastic (nylon?) core for mechanical strength. Heating the wire and pad at the same time would melt the plastic, then molten solder would just ball up & stay on the iron instead of wetting onto the wire/pad.
That's an interesting problem. Notice in my technique that (after leaving the solder leg) I don't touch the iron onto the solder. I will make a video which will show the finer points soon.
