Soldering is a process where two items are joined by melting a filler metal into the joint causing the two items to be joined. This process can be used to join two wires together to extend their length or connect a circuit. These instructions are for beginners first learning to solder and wishing to learn how to join wires together.

Solder is a material with a very low boiling point and a good conductor which are very useful properties for joining two wires together. Solder will be used as an essential tool to join the two wires together.

Heat Shrink Tubing is a synthetic polymer designed to shrink when exposed to heat.

Ensure when operating the soldering iron to wear PPE gear such as safety glasses and have good ventilation in the room.

Supplies

The tools we will need to accomplish this are:

Soldering Iron · Reel of Solder. · Wire Strippers. · Wire Cutters. · Heat Shrink Tubing. · Good light source.

Step 1: Preparing the Wires.

Turn on the soldering iron to allow it to warm up.

Using the wire cutters, cut the two wires to the desired length but ensure they can extend past one another.

Using the wire strippers, strip the plastic coating from the end of each wire exposing the copper. Ensure there is at least a 5mm length of copper exposed.

Using the wire cutters, cut a section of the heat shrink tubing and ensure it will cover the exposed wire at both ends.

Insert the heat shrink up to one of the wires as this will help protect the solder later.

Tidy both ends of the wires ensuring all the exposed wire is straight and packed together. Then twist the two wires together to securely hold the wires.

Step 2: Soldering

The soldering iron should be hot now. Caution! Do not touch the tip of the iron as it will burn you! With the soldering iron in one hand and wire of solder in the other hand, bring the wire of solder up to the exposed copper and touch the solder with the tip of the soldering iron. The solder should be melting now and forming around the exposed wire.

Feed more solder into the area being soldered as the soldering wire gets used up. When the solder wraps around the copper wire successfully, allow the area to cool. If the solder is not being melted by the soldering iron, the temperature may need to be increased or the tip of the soldering iron is dirty and may require to be gently cleaned with very fine sandpaper.

If there are any large bumps of solder between the wires, use the soldering iron to carefully melt it to remove it. Be careful not to disrupt the pull of the wires during this time.

When the solder has cooled and hardened, slide the heat shrink over the exposed wire and then using the soldering iron, heat the heat shrink tubing. This will cause the heat shrink tubing to shrink in size and clamp down over the wire thus covering the exposed wire.

Step 3: Conclusion

The two wires should be soldered together with the heat shrink tubing protecting the solver and insulating the wire. Without the heat shrink, the exposed wire would be a major hazard as it could begin sparking off a surface and cause a fire, or someone could potentially get shocked by the wire. Test the wire using a multi-meter and test to see if the current is flowing through the wire. If it is reading 0A then there is no current and so the solder has not connected the wires meaning the process will have to be repeated.