The Easiest Way to Solder Wires Together

Soldering wires together is a part of almost any electronics project. While most soldering will occur using a "helping Hand" Or a "Third Hand", I find that most of my wire soldering go much easier and quicker with this tool i made instead of a helping hand. This helper tool is mobile, not constrained as a helping hand (comes in very useful when your soldering off work bench, in the car or everywhere else...).

In the following steps, i'll explain what went into consideration when building this tool.

Here's what you need:

• Soldering iron
• Solder wire
• Solder paste
• 2 X small alligator clips (3cm long)
• 2cm length piece of wire, 1~1.5mm diameter. (i got mine from a toy car i stripped. Use your scavenging skills...)
• Metal ruler
• 220 grit sandpaper

Step 1: Preperation:

First, be aware that soldering anything requires a clean surface, and in our case, this means sanding the parts to be soldered.

To get a proper joint that will hold you'll need to sand the clip and the piece of wire. Make sure to clean with alcohol or acetone so no residue is left.

Step 2:

Attache the two alligator clips on the metal ruler making sure you space them apart 2cm. The metal ruler will make sure the clips are aligned and leveled.

Step 3:

Place the piece of wire on the back end of the alligator clip about 2~3mm from the edge. You can hold it in place with another alligator while you are soldering it.

Place solder paste on both sides and solder the wire to the alligator with ample solder so it will cover the wire and bond seamlessly.

This part is a bit tricky if you are a novice in the world of soldering, the key here is to sand, clean properly, apply enough heat and let the solder flow. If it doesn't go right, clean and start over.

Step 4: Finished Tool:

Step 5: How to Use:

After the tool cooled down we can test it.

As you can see, my example consist of 2 wire cable, which I've soldered the first one, flipped it over and soldered the second.

The 2cm gap i chose comes from the wire gauge i usually use in my projects. You can widen the gap but i suggest don't go over 3cm.

I hope this tool will bring anyone who uses it great help as much as it gave me.

Thanks!

Comments

[KenT62]

I liked the idea, but was concerned it might be sufficiently rigid. I took a small piece of heavy copper wire, e.g. 12 gauge, and bent it to form the three sides of a rectangle. I found the alligator clips that have a tubular end, instead of yours with the bendable prongs. I inserted the ends of the wire into the tube ends, and then soldered. I then wrapped with some red silicone tape, to make it easy to find. The result is very rigid.

[Rubberducky]

Very nicely done Sir!

taking my idea and making it a bit different and even easier to solder since you can crimp the wire before you solder.

Will try it on my next batch.

[antonioposter]

hey even I (as a solder-idjit) could do this. Chunk of coat hanger wire would probably do, and then the alligator clips should be easy enough to find. brilliant!

[antonioposter]

As lame as this sounds, I'd be thrilled if I could buy a few of these (rather than make them). I was in desperate need of such a thing this evening while trying to make a repair on an RC car for my kid... wire came off the connector where batteries hook up. Having a devil of a time trying to reconnect them without something to hold the ends stable. This is a once-in-five-years kind of need for me, and I'm a fumble finger with my (underpowered) soldering iron.

[BobberW]

This is what it's all about, sharing and improving ideas to make a life better>,not my art, but a special blender artist>

[HogHunter]

An unbelievably simple and obvious solution, I can't think of why I never did this.An add on of a small rod attached to a base would be nice. Using a coupling nut and a bit of threaded rod it could be attached and removed easily. Perhaps when I make mine, I'll do that and show you what I mean. I've attached a few pictures of the hardware I'm talking about.

[kelms1]

You just made my day!!

[crazypj]

That's a great solution, wish I had thought of it

[Rubberducky]

:-) well, you can take comfort in making one...

[Gregarious]

A very neat solution to a very common problem. Good clear 'ible.

[Rubberducky]

Thanks!

[lor123]

simple but effective!

great!!

[bradk3]

Brilliant! This will save me some swearing and burned fingertips.

[BillJ1]

excellent idea, great job!

[pteppic1]

Nice idea.

Just one small suggestion: if you wrap the tips of the alligatorclips in tape or heatshrink you won't get those bitemarks in the insulation if you accidentally heat the cables too much

[Rubberducky]

Liked your suggestion!

I'm using heat shrink sleeve on the wires as you can see on the pics, so the bite marks don't really matter.

Thanks!

[twitting]

I like it! I'm going to make a few of them.

[amberrayh]

This looks like a handy little tool. Thanks for sharing!