Soldering For Newbies
Soldering is a way in which electronic components are joined together into circuits, and was used in the early 20th century for the first radios. Despite the passage of time since then, and many generations of lateral thinkers trying to invent other ways of doing things, it remains an important process. It can be done by machines as well as humans: this page is about hand soldering with traditional soldering irons.
Although it isn't difficult to solder properly, there are one or two things you should know before you start - that's why we made this little collection of dos and don'ts.
Firstly we should note that traditional solder contains lead, which is toxic to the human body. When soldering, do not put the solder in your mouth, or inhale the fumes. Always wash your hands afterwards, especially before eating!
Secondly, the soldering process requires high temperatures and the iron is correspondingly hot. So be extremely careful to avoid burns. If you do burn yourself, seek first aid immediately!
Always return the iron to a properly designed holster or stand when you are not using it. Apart from protecting yourself and others from burns, this will help prevent unsightly melt scars in plastic objects such as calculators and mobile phones.
Soldering is a metallurgical process in which the solder forms alloyed boundaries with the metal of the parts being joined, and in this respect it is very different from using glue. The parts to be joined must be clean and mechanically stable before starting the joint.
The tip of the iron should be occasionally wiped on the damp sponge provided in your soldering station. This will help reduce the number of black bits around your joints!
Use the soldering iron to heat up all the parts which are to be joined. Try to make the tip of the iron make thermal contact with all the relevant surfaces. A slight rubbing motion might be helpful.
When everything is hot, feed a little solder onto the joint, watch it rush into all the available crevices and then quickly remove the iron. This part of the action only takes a second or two. Try not to disturb the joint while it cools down.
Good soldering is smooth, round and shiney, whereas bad soldering is sharp, spikey and dull. You should be able to see the shape of the items in the joint on its surface. Don't forget - soldering is different from glueing, and also very different from icing a cake!
Solder contains an active ingredient called flux which helps it flow, but this property only lasts for a few seconds while hot. To remake or touch up existing joints, you might need to add more fresh solder. To remove solder by means of a sucker you might even need to add a little to begin with!