are potentiometers very heat sensitive?

It seems like I keep damaging the pots when I'm rewiring them in my
electric guitars or my amps. I'm assuming the heat from my soldering
iron is wrecking them. But I'm surprised they would be so sensitive to
heat. The hottest iron I use is 40 Watts.

 

Anthony Fremont wrote:

"Andrew Holme" <andrew@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:d2a25r$pci$1$8300dec7@news.demon.co.uk...
clintonb@fflax.net wrote:
It seems like I keep damaging the pots when I'm rewiring them in
my
electric guitars or my amps. I'm assuming the heat from my
soldering
iron is wrecking them. But I'm surprised they would be so
sensitive
to heat. The hottest iron I use is 40 Watts.

Wrecking them how? How long are you applying heat for? It
shouldn't
take
more than 2 or 3 seconds per joint.

He's probably talking about soldering ground leads to the metal can
of
the pot for shielding. Using a 40W iron, it takes a long time to get
the metal hot enough to solder to. He needs a trigger type gun in
the
140W range. This will get the metal hot enough in short enough time
to
prevent damaging the pot. Of course the lugs only need the smaller
iron.

Actually, I AM talking about soldering the lugs. I don't think I'm
applying the heat too long. But sometimes when I'm done, the pots
don't work quite right. Sometimes they cut out while turning them.
Replacing them always seems to work.

Recently, I had a pot on my guitar amp that I took out and put back in.
When I was finished, the volume wouldn't turn off and the it didn't
behave the same. So I replaced it with another pot then it worked
fine.