Soldering Maintenance Myths - Workbench Wednesdays

[@jasonmhite]

This was an interesting series, slightly more advanced soldering tips than you usually get in the "learn to solder!" tutorials there are a million of on KZbin. Also an example of what I think is sponsored content done right.

[@FlyswatterThe1]

Good video. I've been soldering since the early '80's. I've always used tap water wetted sponges and never the metal sponge. Keep your tip well tinned and you'll never have trouble with tip life. I still have good tips from back in my college years. Irons with standby temp control would have been great back in the day. I had to keep mine ready to go at all times. I kind of miss the days of troubleshooting down to the component level. It's all board swapping nowadays.

[@LittleRainGames]

Me too, atleast the tap water part. I wasnt even alive in the 80s.

[@waldenhouse]

Remember - WATER! Never used TAP water! ALWAYS use deionised water = GREAT TIP. LITERALLY! Also, always wipe you’re tip before putting it away (you know, what our Dads taught us!!). Then wipe it again before using it! Good Luck - great series James.

[@LittleRainGames]

Shit. I use tap water every time...

[@javii5326]

LittleRainGames ur to wild for this world..

[@Sheevlord]

I found that of all the T12 tips I have the hooved tip has the greatest thermal mass, meaning that it takes a bit longer to get up to temperature, but also it is much better at soldering elements with a greater thermal mass (like massive ground planes). It's perfect for soldering 3W LED beads to aluminum core PCBs that double as a heatsink.

[@jasonmhite]

I personally like medium-small hoof/well tips as my general purpose tip, because you can use the beveled edge to apply a lot of heat, but you can use the point to do precision work.

[@Davedarko]

And they said Avengers Endgame was the most ambitious crossover ever...

[@MAYERMAKES]

btw. they all die in Avengers at the end #spoilerman

[@bald_engineer]

MAYER MAKES It’s because Tony doesn’t use lead-free solder.

[@00Klingon]

when its time to replace tips, are there any industry standards that allows me to buy any tips or do I have to stick to the ones provided by the manufacturer of my iron?

[@ed-jf3xh]

Sponges should be damp, not wet. Works better.

[@vegtersbaas]

Great tips on cleaning solder tips. I had a bent solder tip, it bent like a tree :(

[@LaserFur]

I like to use a 1/2 inch wide double bevel tip to solder TQFP packages. I just solder all the pins in a giant blob and let the tip wicking effect remove the extra solder. Of course in order for this to work the board has to be vertical, the tip pointed upwards, and the tip has to be tinned back a ways.

[@wartoc3708]

I've been using a copper scouring pad instead of brass and it's been working for me quite well.

[@edmundooliver7584]

I hear that the brass has flux on it.

[@HFkepley9312]

What is the other Weller soldering Iron that is sitting on your desk with the jog wheel

[@garagemonkeysan]

Great video. Been soldering for decades and learned lots from this video. Thanks! : )

[@naderhumood]

Sir. ...Vedio is great.v helpful. .👍

[@johnflower8648]

The so called brass sponge is actually made of steel,try touching it with a magnet.

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

I don't know about you, but this guy sounds like technology connections. Great video.

[@codebeat4192]

Yeah, exactly and the same not funny jokes.

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

@@codebeat4192 I like T.C's jokes :-)

[@e1woqf]

I always turn my iron down to 150° manually when I don't use it for a couple of minutes.

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

What about having the roll of solder inside the solder station and feeding up the umbilical to the tip of the soldering iron and solder will be fed to the tip by pressing a pedal on the floor that also controls the speed of solder to the tip and also means you have a free hand to do something else.

[@aminchawi978]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@TheDefpom]

Weller should send me some equipment to review... just saying...

[@allanknox8216]

Good video. I was horrified by one thing however. Why in the world are you using rosin flux in this day and age? The first thing I try to do when consulted regarding soldering is switching to OA flux. You instantly eliminate the need for alcohol and chlorinated solvents and get a beautiful solder joint. It cleans with warm tap water and produces excellent results on almost anything. I fought changing from rosin a long time but I never look back now. Water based fluxes are soooo much easier. I've soldered a LOT, on all kinds of things. I first soldered in the sixties and worked a lot in RF which means lots of copper planes and bulky connectors, as well as hybrid (miniature) electronics and cable assemblies. I can hand solder down to 0201 case size SMT (0.020" x 0.010"). Also, the wet sponge creates a "thermal shock" which helps remove oxides. Most soldering iron literature mentions this. I've done as many as 500 boards on a weekend.

[@The_Nonchalant_Shallot]

All this advice is exactly why I stopped using store bought tips and started using tips I made myself from 8 gauge copper wire. They do tend to oxidize really badly since it's just pure copper, BUT... I only need to maintain a small area on the tip. The rest of the tip is allowed to oxidize because the rest doesn't matter and since it's just pure copper I can sand it or polish it as I see fit. On top of that I can make all kinds of tip styles and even some I've come up with myself such as the hook tip which wraps around half the diameter of a wire. And to add icing to the cake, the store I get my wire from sells it for 60 cents a foot, and my tips are 2 inches long on average, so about 5 to 6 tips per foot, buying 10 feet of wire at a time affords me a massive space for goofing around with my tips. And to add a little cherry to said cake, I do indeed use a kitchen sponge and my tips still last months. Even with all the abuse I give my tips, I tend to have little no no problems soldering anything and everything on a cheap, 20 dollar 20-40 watt switchable soldering iron I got from radio shack before they went out of business. Still, it's good advice for noobies.

[@NiHaoMike64]

A piece of thick solid copper wire also makes a great soldering gun tip.

[@LittleRainGames]

Please, just the tip. I promise it wont hurt.

[@robertmcfarland9184]

Are you the addohm guy?

[@bald_engineer]

Yes

[@tomwimmenhove4652]

Do you think they are sponsored by Weller at all? Maybe? *CRINGE*

[@marsrocket]

Uh....it's kind of obvious, since he says so in the beginning.

[@codebeat4192]

He is talking with his hands however doesn't make any sense, distract of the subject, not a pleasure to watch.