Soldering Irons

fish-head

I've decided to delve into the deep and dark realm of guitar setup and electronics so I'm gonna need one of them thar solder'n ir'ns. Any recommendations for one and a good place to pick one up in Dublin?

Dord

Maplins, there's one on Jervis st.

Paolo_M

I'd recommend one of these

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=4069&doy=22m5

should be good for most jobs you'll do.

Any reasonable quality 25-30W iron should suffice.

fish-head

Ah that Maplins is an epic journey to get to!

But cheers for the advice.. I'll probably end up getting it from there anyways.

Dord

They have a store in Blanchardstown also.

andyl222

You can also get soldering irons in places like B&Q and Woodies. Radionics is worth checking out too. I'd get one with a replacable nib, in the long run it works out cheaper than having to replace the whole iron cos you cant replace the nibs etc. Have fun with the soldering, oh and try and avoid buying one with a matching coloured handle to your screwdrivers, I learnt the hard way by melting the skin off the fingers on my left hand, retarded is not the word.

eoin5

I've had more joy with the soldering guns. The irons are a bit more dangerous and are slow if you want to do a quick job, although you have to be careful not to overheat the gun. Also, the solder that comes in the kits doesnt tend to be great, so get yourself some pre-fluxed electrical solder 1.5mm or thinner to save yourself some frustration.

68 lost souls

Dont use soldering guns with guitars. The magnets in them mess up your pickups, stick with an iron.

eoin5

68 lost souls wrote: »

Dont use soldering guns with guitars. The magnets in them mess up your pickups, stick with an iron.

Generally youre soldering in the main cavity of the guitar, would they affect them from there?

Gary ITR

You're best off going for the iron and a small one at that. You dont want a big load of solder all over your components

fourmations

i'd go with a simple pencil too - 30w works for me
get a stand with the sponge for cleaning - dead handy

get the tip cleaner stuff, saves your tips from going crusty


rgds

4

lethal dose

Spend a reasonable amount on the iron and tip. Weller are high quality but pricey use it as a bench mark though. If you want to mod your guitars then you want to use a decent fux to tin the tip before using the solder. Some solder that you can buy has the flux agent in it.This helps give a nice clean solder joint and prevents containation which results in a better connection. If the finish on the solder joint is dull then it will deteriorate it needs to have a shiny finish.

68 lost souls

eoin not one hundred percent sure cause I havent used a gun myself I just got the tip from the Seymour Duncan website.

I have always been told to use a 40 watt iron. Be careful when it comes to pots too, they are very easy to fry. I did it on my last project with a push/pull pot so there went 15 euro for nothing. Dont let that put you off.

dazberry

I replaced a coil tapped humbucker in one of my guitars a while back, it was straight forward enough until I came to the ground wire - which was much thicker and soldered with a much heavier solder. I ended up having to cut that wire and wrap the new and remaining ground wires together as I couldn't desolder it.

D.

feylya

Get yourself one of these

Paolo_M

feylya wrote: »

Get yourself one of these

Now that's cool!! Is it a bit sad the have GAS for a soldering iron?

Dord

Those cold heat ones are a joke! They work in a different way to normal soldering irons and they can short out semi conductors and other sensitive parts. Best off with a normal soldering iron.

feylya

Not many sensitive parts in a guitar though

johnnyrotten

I have a soldering gun in a case your can have for Free.
PM me if interested

Dord

feylya wrote: »

Not many sensitive parts in a guitar though

What about pots?

I suggest that anyone looking at the Cold Heat soldering iron read this review beforehand, especially the second page.

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/cold-soldering.htm

feylya

Pots aren't sensitive like IC's though. Sensitive to heat alright but the cold iron shouldn't kill them.

I was actually reading that link earlier.

Dord

Yeah I guess. But it'd really screw up your guitar if you had active electronics. :eek:

Johnny Storm

FYI - from the Bargain Alerts forum
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055299703

Eoin Madsen

I'd definitely suggest highish wattage. Low watt irons are a pain in the ass - and you're a whole lot more likely to melt a pot track with a colder iron while you're waiting for solder to stick.

I used an Antex 25 watt for ages, which is grand for leads and such. But I got a 50 watt with variable temperature last year, and it's a lot nicer to use.