Soldering guru's

[beanydc]

After some advice. 

 

Hoping to upgrade my pickup shortly and I'm a bit of a faffer so will give it a go myself. 

 

In work we use this solder, would that be ok for wiring up a pickup or does it need to be a higher spec or a thinner gauge? 

 

Thanks in advance 

[Downunderwonder]

Definitely not an expert but you are dead right about needing an appropriate gauge. I tried putting a new end on a cable with some thick stuff and had to cheat it onto the iron because the wire insulation was melting before I could get it to flow. Ugliest mess ever. You don't want that with your nice new bits and bobs.

[beanydc]

Just now, Downunderwonder said:

Definitely not an expert but you are dead right about needing an appropriate gauge. I tried putting a new end on a cable with some thick stuff and had to cheat it onto the iron because the wire insulation was melting before I could get it to flow. Ugliest mess ever. You don't want that with your nice new bits and bobs.

 

Yeah Im sure I've seen pics before and people using shinier and thinner stuff than we use in work (telecommunications). It's like me, quite fat and dull looking 😂

[itu]

63/37 is lead tin, and very good to use. I certainly would use that. If you think it's too thick or thin, use accordingly. Save that roll for later use!

 

If your iron is weak, under 25 W, pot casings may be hard. First file some corner to shiny metal and it is slightly easier to solder. I still suggest a +40 W unit to bigger metal parts.

 

(Modern lead-free, like copper based ones need higher temp, and are far harder to use.)

Edited November 4, 2023 by itu
writing is hard today

[beanydc]

12 minutes ago, itu said:

63/37 is lead tin, and very good to use. I certainly would use that. If you think it's too thick or thin, use accordingly. Save that roll for later use!

 

If your iron is weak, under 25 W, pot casings may be hard. First file some corner to shiny metal and it is slightly easier to solder. I still suggest a +40 W unit to bigger metal parts.

 

(Modern lead-free, like copper based ones need higher temp, and are far harder to use.)

Yeah we use like plug in irons in work but no temperature setting just heats up and that's that. 

 

I will keep in mind what size watt iron il get. Don't need anything mega but if it makes life easier I'm all for it. I seen a video and the guy suggests around 375° for soldering to make it easy

[paul_5]

If you using lead/tin solder you MUST use it in a well ventilated room, preferably with an extractor fan - lead does really nasty stuff to people, and it’s ridiculously easy to inhale!

 

It flows beautifully at slightly lower temperatures than lead free stuff but it’s a cumulative toxin.

[sandy_r]

9 hours ago, itu said:

... pot casings may be hard...

...just a general comment about grounding pot casings (since @itu has mentioned it in passing)...

 

i suspect that the practice of grounding all guitar control pot casings originated in the early days, before conductive paint and metallic foil started to make an appearance

 

If the wiring routs are fully-shielded, it shouldn't be necessary to ground the pot casings; this would save a lot of stress, solder, potential dry-joints, and unnecessary heat-trauma to the potentiometer parts!

 

It's worth leaving out this step of grounding pot cases, until you've tested the new wiring  with (correctly-shielded!) pickguard/rout covers back in place - no hum? no need!

 

Better to spend the time confirming/installing complete (sides, under & over) enclosure of the wiring spaces/channels by something conductive (and itself well-grounded)

 

(It's hopefully well-known that any wires actually needing to be grounded should all be grounded together at one point - the ground lug of the 1/4" jack is the best contender)

 

...just my 2 cents worth...

 

[PaulThePlug]

Sometimes the serrated lock washer, if used... can cut through the foil, or paint, reducing the effectiveness of the contact... so a link of stretched TCW is a good call, or run all grounds to the Jack... easier with a simple single pup less wires... dont forget the bridge earth.

 

EDIT: Sometimes the serrated lock washer, if used... can cut through the foil... Meant the foil on the back of scratchplate, not copper foil lining of a cavity...

Edited November 5, 2023 by PaulThePlug

[sandy_r]

13 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Sometimes the serrated lock washer, if used... can cut through the foil, or paint, reducing the effectiveness of the contact... so a link of stretched TCW is a good call, or run all grounds to the Jack... easier with a simple single pup less wires... dont forget the bridge earth.

 

...serrated washer(s) only need to be outside the control plate, locking the nut above it?

[beanydc]

50 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Sometimes the serrated lock washer, if used... can cut through the foil, or paint, reducing the effectiveness of the contact... so a link of stretched TCW is a good call, or run all grounds to the Jack... easier with a simple single pup less wires... dont forget the bridge earth.

 

That's great thanks. I'm pretty green to it all so my thinking was to just mirror what's already there and solder it the way it was and hope for the best🤞 😂

[itu]

14 hours ago, paul_5 said:

If you using lead/tin solder you MUST use it in a well ventilated room, preferably with an extractor fan - lead does really nasty stuff to people, and it’s ridiculously easy to inhale!

 

It flows beautifully at slightly lower temperatures than lead free stuff but it’s a cumulative toxin.

It's here again.

 

Lead does not produce those fumes. No. It is the resin. Neither is it healthy, but fumes definitely are not lead.

 

Pb:

melting point 327.5 °C

boiling point 1749 °C

Edited November 5, 2023 by itu
accuracy

[tauzero]

On 04/11/2023 at 22:27, paul_5 said:

If you using lead/tin solder you MUST use it in a well ventilated room, preferably with an extractor fan - lead does really nasty stuff to people, and it’s ridiculously easy to inhale!

 

It flows beautifully at slightly lower temperatures than lead free stuff but it’s a cumulative toxin.

 

I was corrected on this a while ago. You don't inhale the lead, but if you handle food after playing with solder you can transfer lead to the food and ingest it. Ditto having a cigarette IIRC.

[nekomatic]

I just decided I didn’t want to be responsible for any more lead entering the environment, however small the quantity. With a temperature controlled iron (which I recognise is an expense) and the right size bit for each job, I’ve found lead free works fine. If you look around you can get stuff that melts at 217 degrees rather than the standard 227, which may help a little.