tips and tricks to keep your soldering fun and frustration free!

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Step 1: Soldering Iron Tip

One day you decide to do some soldering. But to your horror, the soldering iron just wont melt any solder, no matter how long you wait. Chances are you have a dirty soldering iron tip. Lets go offer some solutions

1 get a new tip. depending on what type of soldering iron you have, you can get new tips. There are many different kinds you can get.

2 clean the tip. if you don't already have one, it's a good idea to invest in a tip cleaning sponge. after each soldered connection, clean the tip on the sponge (after getting the sponge damp). You can also buy soldering iron tip cleaners. you put your hot soldering iron tip in them and it will clean the tip, but there will be a lot of smoke.

Step 2: Step 2

Whew! now your soldering iron tip is clean again. time to start soldering. Oops! Oh no! you made a mistake and have to remove some solder. but how?

1 You can buy solder removing wick. It's a metal wick that when placed over solder and heated with a soldering iron, removes solder.

2 You can buy a solder removing vacuum tube! Yay! after heating the solder to its liquid form, you can use the tube to suck up the solder.

Step 3: Step 3

Now that the soldering error has been fixed you start soldering again. you solder a connection, but cant tell if its a good one or not. what can you do? Look at the diagram!

Step 4: Step Four

So now that you know how to make good solder joint connections, you start to solder again. Hmm you think. I wonder if there is more than one type of solder?

1 Yes, there is! There is lead and tin solder, which is 60% tin and 40% lead, and there is lead free solder which is usually tin and silver

Yay! I'm going to use lead free solder, you think to yourself! So you go out and buy some, but for so reason your soldering iron just cant seam to melt the solder. How come?

1 lead free solder requires more heat to melt, so your soldering iron might not be strong enough. 40 watts is enough to melt it, so you can get a 40 watt soldering iron, or higher

2 still not melting? Refer to step one.