When you solder, hold the soldering iron just as you would a pencil (near the
base) and be careful to avoid touching the very hot tip. Touch the iron to the
elements that will be joined to heat them and then feed solder onto them.
The solder should flow like how water flows around your finger when you
hold it under a running faucet.
When you’re done soldering, pull the solder and the iron away, and let the
solder cool that you applied. Take a look at the joint you made; it should be
shiny and shaped like a little mountain (not a deflated soccer ball).
Here are some tips for good soldering:
Keep it clean.Make sure the parts that you solder are clean and that
your soldering iron has a clean, tinned tip.
See the preceding section for the skinny on tinning.Watch the heat.Be sure to get the soldering iron hot enough and heat
any parts you are soldering before you apply the solder.
Easy does it.You should need to hold the soldering iron on a joint only a
few seconds.If you heat a component for longer than a few seconds, you might
damage it.
The eyes have it.Always wear safety glasses when soldering.Pockets in solder could pop when heat is applied. Your eyes are not the
place for hot solder to settle.
Keep it clean, Part 2.Keep a damp (not dripping wet) sponge handy to
wipe away excess solder on the tip and to wipe the tip clean before sol-
dering each component.Bend before you solder.Before soldering a wire onto a component,
bend the end of the wire in a U shape and insert the U through the hole
in the lug you want to solder to. Use a pair of needlenose pliers to clamp
the wire to the lug. Then you can solder without having to hold the wire,
the solder, and the soldering iron, which is nigh impossible (assuming
you have only two hands).
Read about third-hand clamps in the upcoming section, “Soldering
extras.”Figure 4-13 shows a switch and two potentiometers with wires soldered
to the component lugs.Chapter 4: Running Down the Skills You Need 73