by Driver » Sat Dec 13, 2008 4:15 am
As someone that is MIL SPEC qualified in soldering (past gov't job) I can attest you definitely need to practice first. I built electronics for over 10 years. Cables, circuit boards, wire wrap prototypes, SMD, Crystal oscillators, etc... Dry joints have been mentioned but don't forget that too much solder can be a issue to. It can cause the wires to be more brittle and break rather than bend when needed. Too much heat and you boil the flux off prematurely and you'll get a dry joint as well. It's like a cake, too much or too little (Solder or Heat) can be bad for it. Practice, Practice, Practice.
What will you be soldering? Two wires together (splice), connectors onto the end of the wire (crimp then solder), etc?
As someone that is MIL SPEC qualified in soldering (past gov't job) I can attest you definitely need to practice first. I built electronics for over 10 years. Cables, circuit boards, wire wrap prototypes, SMD, Crystal oscillators, etc... Dry joints have been mentioned but don't forget that too much solder can be a issue to. It can cause the wires to be more brittle and break rather than bend when needed. Too much heat and you boil the flux off prematurely and you'll get a dry joint as well. It's like a cake, too much or too little (Solder or Heat) can be bad for it. Practice, Practice, Practice.
What will you be soldering? Two wires together (splice), connectors onto the end of the wire (crimp then solder), etc?