#47

Should I get hold of a desolder suction pump too? Something I can pick up easy here in the UK would be good.

Thanks again

#48

Yes - but also grab some desoldering wick or copper braid. There are times for both. I really screwed up the SMD soldering of my ornament and crime and the wick was really helpful in resolving the damage. You can use it like a scrubbing sponge for solder - this is a crude description - and wipe it over solder bridges/blobs that you didnā€™t mean to create. The suction pump is helpful for through-hole pieces and getting the initial gob of solder off. Youā€™ll still have to fiddle with it a bit.

1 Like
#50

Iā€™m looking for advice on which tip to get with a Hakko fx 888d?

Also which solder and desoldering wick?

Itā€™s all new to me! (Looking to repair a dodgy banana plug on my Plumbutter)

Thanks

#51

The tip that comes with your iron is probably fine. I believe the Hakko 888 comes with this: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-T18D16P-Fx-888-Station-1-6mm/dp/B004OR9BV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1532897136&sr=1-1&keywords=t18-d16+tip

If yours doesnā€™t, that would be a good tip. In general you want as big a tip as you can work with given the size of the components and the tightness of the space youā€™re soldering in. More surface area = more heat transfer = better soldering.

I was recommended Kester solder when I started and itā€™s served me well: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00068IJPO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you are also doing SMD work you might want a finer diameter solder in addition to something like the above.

I ordered this wick recently and itā€™s been really good at soaking things up: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0195UVWJ8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1

If youā€™re new to soldering, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of keeping your tip clean. In addition to the sponge in your solder station, I recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPGDLA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Some people say that you should clean your tip after every join. I usually do every 2-5 joins depending on if there is a group of things Iā€™m doing at once and Iā€™m moving quickly, but you want to be cleaning often. Clean tip = heat transfer = good.

Good luck!

1 Like
#52

Also donā€™t forget a fan / intake filter, or work in an open breezy place. You donā€™t want to be inhaling too many solder fumes. There shouldnā€™t be any lead in it at the temperatures youā€™d be working with, but the ā€˜smokeā€™ (flux that burns off as your solder) is kind of nasty.

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#53

I like the smell of solder though. Am I alone?

2 Likes
#54

Same here. But I think trying to avoid it is the better idea.
I developed a breathing technique: breathing in and then blowing the fume away while making a solder jointā€¦ can become a way of meditation

6 Likes
#55

Itā€™s like a campfire!

2 Likes
#56

I like it too but try not to breathe too much in :slight_smile: I do something similar to what @reijo said, breathing out when Iā€™m doing actual soldering. I also run a simple intake fan with carbon filter. Certainly not OSHA compliant but better than nothing.

2 Likes
#57

Thanks for the advice :+1:

1 Like
#58

As @xenus_dad says, the one that comes with it is probably fine; I like the C2 (round chisel) tip just for extra surface area. I also have a large flat chisel tip I use with it but I think the C2 is probably better for general purpose stuff).

And as everybody else has said: fat tip, thin solder.

#59

Regarding solder fumes, I can only say: do everything you can not to inhale them. If possible solder in front of an open window, with an extra fan to blow away the fumes, or a small intake fan with filter. I used to solder a lot, but I had to stop, probably because I havenā€™t been careful enough.

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#60

I have been doing a lot of soldering (in a diy sense) lately and forcing myself to use lead free. in the belief its better for me. Mostly fine but it is more temperamental that good old SnPb. Sometimes the solder just refuses to flow properly. My tip is to get the soldering iron tip angled so it is touching the pad on the circuit board- this needs to get hot. if you just touch the component wire you may get a bad join. look it all over with a magnifier every now and then and make my self re-do anything that isnt nice and volcano shaped. A little bit of testing with a multi-meter isnt a bad idea as well.
Also I never decode resisters by their stripes any moreā€¦too small and the brown/red/purples all look too similar. I always test these with a meter.

#61

Another really simple trick I was taught is to breath out as you solder. Seems obvious but a lot of people donā€™t. It also seems to help me keep my hands nice and steady (people do something similar when shooting I believe).

1 Like
#62

Another small tip: if you find sometimes the solder flows clean and easily and sometimes it doesnā€™t work as well take a quick look at the schematic. Some pcbs have a large ground plane (Iā€™m thinking specifically of Random Sourceā€™s euro boards) that might require you to hold your iron to the board trace a moment longer before also heating the component leg and then soldering.

1 Like
#63

Quick question, for solder supplies in the UK are any better than othersā€¦Mouser, Farnell, Amazon?

Thanks

#64

No I donā€™t think so.

Iā€™d stay away from Amazon though in general for buying components.

Check out Rapid Online. UK based and they have a decent range of everything.

For your usual ā€˜bread and butterā€™ stuff (like solder) their website is a lot easier to navigate than Farnell!

#65

:+1: Thanks.

Yes, some of the websites look heavy going and I design them for a living!

#66

I use bitsbox
https://www.bitsbox.co.uk/

less bewilderingā€¦rip Maplins

#67

I always use Mouser. I find their search is decent, you can save projects, and shipping is really fast and cheap (in Canada anyway).