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BobRogers 11 December 2009

This topic comes up periodically, so I thought I'd make it a sticky. Please contribute your recommendations for all soldering tools in all price ranges.

Here is a link with a lot of info soldering. http://www.steller-…

Here is some info on the solder itself from Wikipedia. (As with all information, verification is encouraged.)

Wikipedia wrote: Tin/lead solders, also called soft solders, are commercially available with tin concentrations between 5% and 70% by weight. The greater the tin concentration, the greater the solder’s tensile and shear strengths. At the retail level, the two most common alloys are 60/40 Sn/Pb which melts at 370 °F or 188 °C and 63/37 Sn/Pb used principally in electrical work. The 63/37 ratio is notable in that it is a eutectic mixture, which means:

1. It has the lowest melting point (183 °C or 361.4 °F) of all the tin/lead alloys; and
2. The melting point is truly a point — not a range.

At a eutectic composition, the liquid solder solidifies at a single temperature. Tin-Lead solder solidifies to fine grains of nearly pure lead and nearly pure tin phases, there are no tin/lead intermetallics and no solubility of tin in lead or lead in tin, as can be seen from a tin/lead equilibrium diagram

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Comments

dvdhawk Fri, 12/11/2009 - 18:19

RadioShack is as good a place to start as any for an iron and solder.

You can get a 25-watt iron with replaceable tips and some basic 60/40 solder .032 diameter. I'd recommend a tiny dab of flux as well on those shiny new connectors.

One of the most useful [and ugly] things I've ever adapted was a small metal mic holder from a 1970's El Cheapo brand cassette recorder into a soldering iron stand. It gives you two hands free to manipulate the solder / wire / connectors - while the iron sits still. Useful with the tip facing away from you, or straight at you. It's very stable, but small enough to pick up the whole rig when you need to. I don't know how it has any paint left on it, and I don't know what I'd do without it. Good luck finding one.

This how-to-solder YouTube video that Jammster found for another thread is a good tutorial for anyone who needs a little visual encouragement.

This video requires payment to watch
http://www.youtube… 

Boswell Tue, 02/02/2010 - 02:51

Stabb, post: 298931 wrote: Hi,
I hope its ok to post a question on a Sticky.

I bought a spool of digital quality 2 conductor + ground cable.
When making cables for guitar, should I connect both leads to hot or should one of them go to ground?
Thanks!

I'm a bit suspicious of the phrase "digital quality". Does the cable have two conductors with overall braided screen (ground)? If so, I would use both conductors for the signal. If not, tell us what the cable looks like when stripped back.

Stabb Tue, 02/02/2010 - 17:15

Hi Bos,
Thanks for the reply.
The spool is labeled 24g 100ohm from Clark Wire and Cable.
It looks like good quality to me with foil over braid.
Its made for permanent applications.
I rewired my home studio w/ it.
I know its not the best for live apps (its pretty stiff) but I also play gigs on guitar and I had a bunch leftover.

I figured the answer to my question is a choice between -
A. Both conductors hot = better signal
B. One conductor to ground = better rf rejection
Unless connecting both leads to hot would create some capacitance situation which I wouldn't understand.

Your thoughts?
Thank You Very Much!

dvdhawk Tue, 02/02/2010 - 18:51

Hi Stabb,

A) Assuming there is such a thing as "digital quality" analog cabling - there would be a distinction between "digital quality" (again if there really is such a thing) and wire meant for digital applications. I'm concerned that since it's 100ohm cable, it was intended to handle data rather than analog voltage. The impedance of a typical mic or instrument cable would be negligible, but it would probably have higher capacitance. I would think that could be a factor, it may affect your guitar tone due to its different reactance. - or maybe it sounds like a million bucks... no harm in trying I suppose. I can't think of any way it could do any damage.

This gets way complicated, beyond what I could explain. Good news is, you've come to the right place. Boswell is a genius in such matters and will likely set us both straight.

B) If it's stiff, and made for permanent installation, it may be a solid core wire rather than stranded. Which means if you bend it a couple dozen times the 24g solid strand will eventually snap.

C) If you experiment with it, I'd go with your first option "Both conductors hot".

Good luck.

Stabb Tue, 02/02/2010 - 20:08

Thanks DVD,
The conductors are stranded.
Its mainly the outer insulation that's stiff.
Still, I know it wasn't made for live use but I've got a good amount left over and I didn't want to spring for another spool.
I just put up w/ the stiffness.

I gotta say this cable sounds noticeably better than my other pre-made guitar cables (medium-high quality).
I think I put together most if not all my cables w/ both conductors hot (its been a while for some of them).
And everytime I was soldering I wondered, "Hmmm I wonder what's the best way to connect these two."

Many thanks for your input, guys!
Now I got one less thing to wonder about.

Boswell Mon, 03/21/2011 - 10:15

I've used the Metcal MX-500 system ever since it first came out. This system has interchangeable tips for different types of work, and the tips also set the working temperature. Since I use non-lead solder and normally work with PCBs made from FR4 material, I choose the 412 deg C (775 deg F) tips.

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