World's Worst Soldering!

On Monday, 8 October 2018 19:44:54 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Mon, 8 Oct 2018 08:33:43 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

Like many things, if you know what you're doing you can get all
sorts of crap to work if necessary.
NT

When I was maybe 10-12 years old, I learned to solder making sewing
machine attachments in my fathers petticoat factory. The attachments
were necessary to make the elaborate folds and stiches found in all
garments. Most were made from nickel-silver[1] sheet metal, which
solders easily. The weapon of choice was a large block of copper
attached to an iron rod and a wooden handle. Heat was provided by a
natural gas burner:
https://www.slateroofwarehouse.com/Johnson_Bench_Furnace.html
Getting the temperature right was done by watching how the solder
flowed when touched to the tip. Tip cleaner was a block of sal
ammoniac. Flux was cocktail of various acids. We used different
solders, but mostly very expensive silver solder because of the
strength.

In late Jr High Skool, I was introduced to electronic soldering. Of
course, I tried to handle a soldering pencil as if it was a block of
copper on a stick, and destroyed everything I touched. It took a
while to adjust to a smaller soldering iron. My parents bought me an
Ungar soldering pencil, which was the best soldering iron of the day.
No temp control, no thermostat, but good enough for what I was doing.
I eventually collected an assortment of wood burners, real soldering
irons, and home made contrivances on the assumption that if I needed a
specific temperature, I would also need a different soldering iron.

One of my home made irons used a 16 penny nail as a soldering tip. The
solder wouldn't stick to the tip, so I nickel plated most of the tip.
That worked. I eventually discovered that mild steel did not burn up
as quickly as high carbon drill rods. Iron would have worked better,
but I didn't think of trying it.

During the late 1960's, I was a regular visitor to the various
electronic surplus stores in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Among my
purchases was a large box of broken Weller WTCPT bases, irons, cords,
etc. Something like these:
https://www.google.com/search?q=weller+wtcpt&tbm=isch
Over the years, I've repaired or rebuilt 20-30 such soldering
stations, some of which I still use today. Eventually, I'll run out
of repair parts and will need to buy something better.


[1] 60% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc and no silver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_silver
Click to expand...

It's not just soldering where one can scrape the barrel. I remember using 3 filament bulbs in lieu of a multimeter. The TV got fixed. What I can't remember is why I didn't have a multimeter there.


NT
 
On Tue, 09 Oct 2018 17:45:02 +0000, Cursitor Doom wrote:

Precocious *embryo* I should have said. :)




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On Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 1:36:07 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 7 Oct 2018 16:08:34 -0000 (UTC), Cursitor Doom
curd@notformail.com> wrote:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/45109856712/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/44247281105/in/dateposted-public/
As you can see, the "world's worst" tag was no exaggeration!

There may be hope for you yet:

1. How many watts is your soldering iron? It looks like the mess
made by too low power or too fine a tip. 75 watt seems about right.

2. Is the soldering iron temperature controlled? If yes, raise the
temperature and work fast. Mine runs at 750F (400C) for 60/40
lead-tin. If no, go shopping and buy a decent adjustable temperature
controlled soldering station. Get a fine tip for fine work, and a
thicker tip for the big stuff (so that the tip doesn't go cold as soon
as you touch the work).

3. Are those 3300uF 25V caps 85C caps or 105C? The photo looks like
85C. If so, they'll last about 6 months inside a hot oscilloscope.

4. Clean the enamel off the wires with sandpaper before you solder.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the grit of abrasive saw blades is too strong for that.
 
On Sat, 13 Oct 2018 04:47:48 -0700 (PDT), bruce2bowser@gmail.com wrote:
On Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 1:36:07 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 7 Oct 2018 16:08:34 -0000 (UTC), Cursitor Doom
curd@notformail.com> wrote:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/45109856712/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/44247281105/in/dateposted-public/
As you can see, the "world's worst" tag was no exaggeration!

There may be hope for you yet:

1. How many watts is your soldering iron? It looks like the mess
made by too low power or too fine a tip. 75 watt seems about right.

2. Is the soldering iron temperature controlled? If yes, raise the
temperature and work fast. Mine runs at 750F (400C) for 60/40
lead-tin. If no, go shopping and buy a decent adjustable temperature
controlled soldering station. Get a fine tip for fine work, and a
thicker tip for the big stuff (so that the tip doesn't go cold as soon
as you touch the work).

3. Are those 3300uF 25V caps 85C caps or 105C? The photo looks like
85C. If so, they'll last about 6 months inside a hot oscilloscope.

4. Clean the enamel off the wires with sandpaper before you solder.

I wonder if the grit of abrasive saw blades is too strong for that.
Click to expand...

Grit!? Emery paper is all tht's needed.

Jonesy
 
On Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 9:09:54 AM UTC-4, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Sat, 13 Oct 2018 04:47:48 -0700 (PDT), bruce2bowser@gmail.com wrote:
On Sunday, October 7, 2018 at 1:36:07 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 7 Oct 2018 16:08:34 -0000 (UTC), Cursitor Doom
curd@notformail.com> wrote:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/45109856712/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/44247281105/in/dateposted-public/
As you can see, the "world's worst" tag was no exaggeration!

There may be hope for you yet:

1. How many watts is your soldering iron? It looks like the mess
made by too low power or too fine a tip. 75 watt seems about right.

2. Is the soldering iron temperature controlled? If yes, raise the
temperature and work fast. Mine runs at 750F (400C) for 60/40
lead-tin. If no, go shopping and buy a decent adjustable temperature
controlled soldering station. Get a fine tip for fine work, and a
thicker tip for the big stuff (so that the tip doesn't go cold as soon
as you touch the work).

3. Are those 3300uF 25V caps 85C caps or 105C? The photo looks like
85C. If so, they'll last about 6 months inside a hot oscilloscope.

4. Clean the enamel off the wires with sandpaper before you solder.

I wonder if the grit of abrasive saw blades is too strong for that.

Grit!? Emery paper is all tht's needed.
Click to expand...

Exactly, what if you don't HAVE Emery or sandpaper. Just abrasive saw blades?
(or maybe a belt sander)
 
On 07/10/2018 17:08, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,

I just fixed up this classic Tek 466 scope I've been meaning to get
around to sorting out for the last few years. As you can see, my
soldering is atrocious. I've been soldering this type of circuitry for 50
years and never got any better at it in all that time. When it comes to
soldering and part-placement, I suck donkey dick!
Check it out and enjoy at my expense:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/45109856712/in/dateposted-
public/

and...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/44247281105/in/dateposted-
public/


As you can see, the "world's worst" tag was no exaggeration!
Click to expand...
Soldering iron not hot enough, insufficient joint cleaning, use a better
flux - old 60/40 flux cored solder does not contain the correct type of
flux for reworking those old boards.
Chemicals in the PCB material leach out and make soldering difficult.
You need to use one of the modern aggressive types and clean it off
afterwards. I've out of the game too long now and can no longer suggest
which exact type of flux to use.
There are some excellent no-clean types available now too.


--
Blow my nose to email me
 
On 10/27/2018 09:07 AM, Kellerman wrote:
On 07/10/2018 17:08, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Hi all,

I just fixed up this classic Tek 466 scope I've been meaning to get
around to sorting out for the last few years. As you can see, my
soldering is atrocious. I've been soldering this type of circuitry for 50
years and never got any better at it in all that time. When it comes to
soldering and part-placement, I suck donkey dick!
Check it out and enjoy at my expense:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/45109856712/in/dateposted-
public/

and...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128859641@N02/44247281105/in/dateposted-
public/


As you can see, the "world's worst" tag was no exaggeration!



Soldering iron not hot enough, insufficient joint cleaning, use a better
flux - old 60/40 flux cored solder does not contain the correct type of
flux for reworking those old boards.
Chemicals in the PCB material leach out and make soldering difficult.
You need to use one of the modern aggressive types and clean it off
afterwards. I've out of the game too long now and can no longer suggest
which exact type of flux to use.
There are some excellent no-clean types available now too.
Click to expand...

Kester 44 solder and MG Chemicals 835 RA flux.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
https://hobbs-eo.com
 
On 27/10/2018 17:36, Phil Hobbs wrote:
> Kester 44 solder and MG Chemicals 835 RA flux.

Yep - that looks like it would do the job.

Despite modern regulations only Lead solder and activated flux works
properly on that sort of re-work/repair job.

About 15 years ago I had to source a fancy VOC free flux for a rework
job. The particular stuff I used is no longer available but it was very
good. Some variety of Multicore glop.

I notice that the new replacements only have a 6 or 12 month shelf life
and are quite costly in small (syringe) quantities.

All my stock of solder is now old (15 years +) and the flux is
ineffective. Looks like I'll have to find a syringe of some goo for my
next job.

--
Blow my nose to email me
 
On 11/01/2018 06:46 AM, Kellerman wrote:
On 27/10/2018 17:36, Phil Hobbs wrote:
Kester 44 solder and MG Chemicals 835 RA flux.

Yep - that looks like it would do the job.

Despite modern regulations only Lead solder and activated flux works
properly on that sort of re-work/repair job.

About 15 years ago I had to source a fancy VOC free flux for a rework
job. The particular stuff I used is no longer available but it was very
good. Some variety of Multicore glop.

I notice that the new replacements only have a 6 or 12 month shelf life
and are quite costly in small (syringe) quantities.

All my stock of solder is now old (15 years +) and the flux is
ineffective. Looks like I'll have to find a syringe of some goo for my
next job.
Click to expand...
You can get RA flux in quarts and gallons from both MG and Kester. I
recommend the MG stuff because it seems to be stable, whereas the Kester
stuff crystallizes out after a few years.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
https://hobbs-eo.com
 
On 01/11/2018 14:06, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 11/01/2018 06:46 AM, Kellerman wrote:
On 27/10/2018 17:36, Phil Hobbs wrote:
Kester 44 solder and MG Chemicals 835 RA flux.

Yep - that looks like it would do the job.

Despite modern regulations only Lead solder and activated flux works
properly on that sort of re-work/repair job.

About 15 years ago I had to source a fancy VOC free flux for a rework
job. The particular stuff I used is no longer available but it was very
good. Some variety of Multicore glop.

I notice that the new replacements only have a 6 or 12 month shelf life
and are quite costly in small (syringe) quantities.

All my stock of solder is now old (15 years +) and the flux is
ineffective. Looks like I'll have to find a syringe of some goo for my
next job.

You can get RA flux in quarts and gallons from both MG and Kester. I
recommend the MG stuff because it seems to be stable, whereas the Kester
stuff crystallizes out after a few years.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs
Click to expand...
At my current home use a couple of pints would last more than my lifetime.
Even a 9cc syringe would be out of date after the first job.
At 10UKP a pop that's a bit dear.
I leave soldering delicate stuff to better eyes these days.
Thank you for your input.
--
Blow my nose to email me
 
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