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When you’re ready to solder, make sure you attach the best tip for the job; a

smaller conical or chiseled tip is your best bet. Then, make sure that the sol-

dering iron is firmly seated in its holder. Finally, wait for it to reach the right

temperature, somewhere around 700°F. Just touch the end of your solder to

the tip, if the solder quickly melts, the iron is hot enough.

Before using a new solder iron — and periodically, as you use your iron —

you should tinit (coat the tip with solder):

1. Heat up the iron.


2. Clean the tip by wiping it on a moist sponge.


3. Apply a little bit of solder to the tip.


4. Wipe off any extra solder with a moist sponge.

Working with solder .............................................................................

Solder is a rather soft metal, and the most common type for electronics pro-

jects is a 60/40 rosin core. The rosin core contains flux,which cleans the sur-

face of the wires being soldered. This helps the solder stick to the wire surface.

Solder also comes in different diameters. You don’t need super-thick solder for

electronics projects. We use 0.032" diameter solder on the projects in this book.

Molten solder sends out fumes that you wouldn’t want your worst enemy to

breathe. Lead-free solder helps you avoid toxic lead fumes. Keep your work-

space well ventilated no matter what kind of solder you use.

When you solder, you press the cold (solid) solder to a part and then apply

heat to a part you want to join, not to the solder itself (see Figure 4-12).

Solder

Soldering

pencil

Wire between

solder and

Figure 4-12: soldering pencil

In this

example,

apply the

iron to the

wire, not

the solder.

72 Part I: Project Prep