soldering?

George Herold wrote:

On Aug 15, 11:51 pm, TVisitor <tvisi...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm comfortable with soldering components to a board (mostly thru-hole
stuff), but I still struggle greatly with soldering wires to parts.

What is the process for soldering a wire to a connector?

Let's take 2 examples - soldering a wire to a bridge rectifier lead
(the lead is 1/4" square, pretty large), and the second example is
where you need to solder a wire to a 1/8" headphone jack.

So far, I've been tinning the wire, tinning the lead on the component,
then heating the lead till the solder melts, then holding the wire on
the lead for a second or so with the iron in place, giving the solder
on the wire a chance to flow.  then remove the iron, hold in place to
give the solder a chance to cool.

The 2 problems I have:

1.  There is invariably a hole in the lead, for you to feed the wire
through.  Does it *really* matter?  [assuming of course the wire can
fit].  There doesn't seem to be a good way to push the wire through
the hole and have the wire flush up against the lead to make a good
solder joint.  If the joint is good, I've been told there is no reason
to have to have the wire in the hole.

2.  While holding the wire waiting for it to cool, invariably the head
tracks up the wire and makes my fingers hot and I can't hold it.  Or,
if I try to hold it with a pair of tweezers, the head deforms the
insulation and it looks ugly.  Perhaps the iron is too hot (I have it
at 700 degrees F), but how do you hold the wire against the part while
waiting for it to cool?

If someone could walk me through it, or point me a to a link online,
I'd appreciate it.

All good suggestions from Dan.  I like to twist the lead and wire
together (making a mechanical joint) and then solder them.  Trim off
any excess wire when you are done.
Perhaps one of the finickiest tasks is soldering wires into a multi-
pin connector.  Then I do like to have a ‘third hand’ to hold the wire
in place while I solder it.  I don’t pre tin the wires and I apply the
heat to the connector pin.  A ‘third hand’ is any sort of clamping
device that can hold the wire at the right place.  I’ve got some
alligator clips on movable joints.  (sorry that’s not a good
description.)  The connector is held in a vise.

  I prefer to pre-tin the wires, then use a single drop of Kester RMA
flux on the pin. Then you align the wire and reflow the solder. You can
get perfect joints without spending all day.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

George Herold wrote:

On Aug 17, 6:05 pm, "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terr...@earthlink.net
wrote:
George Herold wrote:

On Aug 15, 11:51 pm, TVisitor <tvisi...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm comfortable with soldering components to a board (mostly thru-hole
stuff), but I still struggle greatly with soldering wires to parts.

What is the process for soldering a wire to a connector?

Let's take 2 examples - soldering a wire to a bridge rectifier lead
(the lead is 1/4" square, pretty large), and the second example is
where you need to solder a wire to a 1/8" headphone jack.

So far, I've been tinning the wire, tinning the lead on the component,
then heating the lead till the solder melts, then holding the wire on
the lead for a second or so with the iron in place, giving the solder
on the wire a chance to flow.  then remove the iron, hold in place to
give the solder a chance to cool.

The 2 problems I have:

1.  There is invariably a hole in the lead, for you to feed the wire
through.  Does it *really* matter?  [assuming of course the wire can
fit].  There doesn't seem to be a good way to push the wire through
the hole and have the wire flush up against the lead to make a good
solder joint.  If the joint is good, I've been told there is no reason
to have to have the wire in the hole.

2.  While holding the wire waiting for it to cool, invariably the head
tracks up the wire and makes my fingers hot and I can't hold it.  Or,
if I try to hold it with a pair of tweezers, the head deforms the
insulation and it looks ugly.  Perhaps the iron is too hot (I have it
at 700 degrees F), but how do you hold the wire against the part while
waiting for it to cool?

If someone could walk me through it, or point me a to a link online,
I'd appreciate it.

All good suggestions from Dan.  I like to twist the lead and wire
together (making a mechanical joint) and then solder them.  Trim off
any excess wire when you are done.
Perhaps one of the finickiest tasks is soldering wires into a multi-
pin connector.  Then I do like to have a ‘third hand’ to hold the wire
in place while I solder it.  I don’t pre tin the wires and I apply the
heat to the connector pin.  A ‘third hand’ is any sort of clamping
device that can hold the wire at the right place.  I’ve got some
alligator clips on movable joints.  (sorry that’s not a good
description.)  The connector is held in a vise.

  I prefer to pre-tin the wires, then use a single drop of Kester RMA
flux on the pin. Then you align the wire and reflow the solder. You can
get perfect joints without spending all day.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hmm, I guess with the connectors I've been doing lately the wire
'just' fits.  I'm afraid if I tin it there will be some solder 'bluge'
left on the side and then I can't get it in.  Perhaps I don't have the
proper technique.

   You only need enough solder to fill the space between the strands. If
you get too much, just re-heat it and tap it of the edge of something to
allow the excess solder to hit the workbench.  Just don't get careless
and let it go somewhere else.  A pair of safety glasses or Goggles will
help.  I've soldered for 50 years, now and have tackled a lot of strange
problems.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -