Help with Soldering (Pickups)

[BottomE]

Hi,

I have just received a set of Fender vintage P bass Pickups in the post that are going onto my bitsa build. I have never used a soldering iron so wanted to ask what i need to be careful/mindful of before i get soldering? Is there a good site or YouTube video that you have seen and can recommend?

The wiring looks fairly simple and i am not replacing pots or anything else at the moment so i figure i just replicate what is already in place at the moment.

Any advice gladly received.

Thanks

Bottome

[Ou7shined]

"Tin" the tip of the wire you are soldering by heating it then bleeding in the solder once it is hot enough... you kind of need 3 hands for this
Make sure the area you are soldering it to is clean - preferably desolder it with a solder pump first.
Place your wire on where you want to solder it then apply the iron simultaneously heating both at once then again bleed in some solder - hold still for a few second until it has changed colour slightly and Bob's your uncle.

[BottomE]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1336695' date='Aug 11 2011, 04:57 PM']"Tin" the tip of the wire you are soldering by heating it then bleeding in the solder once it is hot enough... you kind of need 3 hands for this
Make sure the area you are soldering it to is clean - preferably desolder it with a solder pump first.
Place your wire on where you want to solder it then apply the iron simultaneously heating both at once then again bleed in some solder - hold still for a few second until it has changed colour slightly and Bob's your uncle.[/quote]
Thanks.

I sort of know about tinning but not sure what you mean by desoldering with a pump? I do have a pump (i think) which came with the soldering kit but am not sure how to use it...

[Ou7shined]

Heat up the old solder joint and.. ahem.. suck it off with your pump.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Ou7shined

[icastle]

This is a rather good example of various soldering techniques.
Ignore the drag soldering at the beginning - the interesting stuff for you starts at about 1.30 and goes on to about 3.20.

Have a few practise runs on some old scrap cable and parts before you start.

Something that's not plainly obvious on this clip is that once you have flowed solder over the joint - keep it totally still until it 'sets' and don't be tempted to cool it down quicker by blowing on the joint.

[BottomE]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1336723' date='Aug 11 2011, 05:15 PM']Heat up the old solder joint and.. ahem.. suck it off with your pump.[/quote]
Might get the missus to do that bit

[BottomE]

[quote name='icastle' post='1336736' date='Aug 11 2011, 05:19 PM']This is a rather good example of various soldering techniques.
Ignore the drag soldering at the beginning - the interesting stuff for you starts at about 1.30 and goes on to about 3.20.

Have a few practise runs on some old scrap cable and parts before you start.

Something that's not plainly obvious on this clip is that once you have flowed solder over the joint - keep it totally still until it 'sets' and don't be tempted to cool it down quicker by blowing on the joint.

[/quote]
Thank you

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='BottomE' post='1336738' date='Aug 11 2011, 05:20 PM']Might get the missus to do that bit [/quote]
Yeah tell her a man off the internet said so.

[icastle]

[quote name='BottomE' post='1336708' date='Aug 11 2011, 05:03 PM']Thanks.

I sort of know about tinning but not sure what you mean by desoldering with a pump? I do have a pump (i think) which came with the soldering kit but am not sure how to use it...[/quote]

It's an aluminium tube with a spring loaded 'plunger' that pushes down and clicks into place.
There will be a button on the side that allows the 'plunger' to fly back to it's starting position.

On the other end you will find a little nozzle.

Heat up the solder you want to remove and, when it's liquid, push the little nozzle into the molten solder and press the button.
As the 'plunger' flies back up the tube it creates a vacuum that will suck the molten solder into the aluminium tube.

When you've finished cleaning the joint, just pull the nozzle off of the end of the tube and shake out the unwanted solder.

[Mr. Foxen]

Masking tape the area around your soldering so errant flying bits don't mar your finish.

[BottomE]

This site is amazing. Thanks guys.

[Big_Stu]

Since it's your first time take pics of the job before you start just in case something goes wrong you know what it should look like. They don't have to be good enough for publication; your phone will do.

[janmaat]

This:



not so much for the magnifying glass, but serves as "third hand".

really useful.

and, get a soldering station: biggest problem is that if you don't have anything
to securely put down / into the hot iron, you inevitably burn yourself, your bass,
or the mains power lead. this looks ok

[url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/40w-soldering-kit-399593"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/40w-soldering-kit-399593[/url]

EDIT: check this page [url="http://www.musikding.de/index.php/cat/c201_Loeten.html"]http://www.musikding.de/index.php/cat/c201_Loeten.html[/url]

Edited August 11, 2011 by janmaat

[Truckstop]

And for gods sake, be careful where you put the bloody iron if you don't have a holder for it!

And, for gods sake! Make sure you're working on a solid work bench/table!

Truckstop

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='janmaat' post='1336867' date='Aug 11 2011, 07:07 PM']This:



not so much for the magnifying glass, but serves as "third hand".

really useful.

and, get a soldering station: biggest problem is that if you don't have anything
to securely put down / into the hot iron, you inevitably burn yourself, your bass,
or the mains power lead. this looks ok

[url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/40w-soldering-kit-399593"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/40w-soldering-kit-399593[/url]

EDIT: check this page [url="http://www.musikding.de/index.php/cat/c201_Loeten.html"]http://www.musikding.de/index.php/cat/c201_Loeten.html[/url][/quote]
I've used one of those blue and orange pumps (first link) before.. stopped working after it's first use.

I'm currently using one very much like the 1,95 EUR one in your second like and it's going great guns.

[BottomE]

Useful info chaps. I like the look of the "third hand". I had a go last night at soldering some random bits of old wire - great fun. What a mess. It slowly got better.

What is the third hand called? Can't find it on Maplins site.

Edited August 12, 2011 by BottomE

[KingBollock]

From Maplins:
[url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/helping-hands-with-magnifier-4017"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/helping-hands-with-magnifier-4017[/url]

Or an alternative that solves two problems, from Amazon:
[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-282589-Heavy-Duty-Helping-Hands/dp/B000T9UCHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313149536&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-282589-...9536&sr=8-1[/url]

They're more often called 'Helping Hands' if you need to search other places for them.

Edited August 12, 2011 by KingBollock

[lemmywinks]

You can usually pick those "3rd hand" things in cheapy DIY shops, i have one as you definitely need 3 hands for soldering!


I never got the hang of the desolder pump and use braided wick instead. Are there any drawbacks to using that? Everybody seems to use the pumps.

[icastle]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1337567' date='Aug 12 2011, 01:05 PM']I never got the hang of the desolder pump and use braided wick instead. Are there any drawbacks to using that? Everybody seems to use the pumps.[/quote]

I use both.
The desolder pump is great at removing 'large' areas of solder but has a tendency to leave enough residue to retain the joint (although mechanically unsound).
Once I've removed the bulk of the solder then I tend to use braid to remove the last of it.

Another problem with the pumps is that they do sometimes have the tendency to lift very delicate copper track off of the pcb along with the solder - so I use braid there as a matter of course.

[Ou7shined]

I'm happy with my pump for guitar work.

I do use one of those copper swarf tip cleaners though (which is a similar concept to braid) instead of a damp sponge. I find it much cleaner and quicker... and more handy - you don't have to get up and trudge off to the sink everytime you've got your kit together and sat down.

[KingBollock]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1337654' date='Aug 12 2011, 02:13 PM']I'm happy with my pump for guitar work.

I do use one of those copper swarf tip cleaners though (which is a similar concept to braid) instead of a damp sponge. I find it much cleaner and quicker... and more handy - you don't have to get up and trudge off to the sink everytime you've got your kit together and sat down. [/quote]
I've got one of those cleaners in my list of stuff to get. I have a spray bottle of water near my desk all the time, so I don't have to trudge off to get water. But the main reason I keep it there is to top up my Taranulas' water bowls.

[BottomE]

Back from maplins with a "helping hand". Cost about a £10 - pretty sturdy and looks like it might be a good investment.

[PaulWarning]

has anybody mentioned flux? dip the wire's in it before you tin them helps no end

[BottomE]

Wait a sec. Flux i hear you say. What is this substance?

[icastle]

[quote name='BottomE' post='1337964' date='Aug 12 2011, 05:56 PM']Wait a sec. Flux i hear you say. What is this substance?[/quote]

It's a chemical that allows the solder to flow smoothly over a surface.
It's not generally used these days for the sort of work you're doing as you'll being using rosin cored solder.