btw I wonder if you guys are using soldering iron a lot, because I really need your help to fill this questionnaire – if you don’t mind. I need to collect this data for my final project which is designing a new soldering iron. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=0rO4w1hQ_2fGDoWmFejskjeA_3d_3d
Thank you so much for your help and I really appreciate it. :)

It probably would’ve kept me from desoldering the LED off my 360 controller.

i use a soldapult solder sucker for big glops and the braid for smaller bits. i also use a soldering tip cleaner in addition to a wet sponge. it is a metal cup with something that looks like a brillo pad in it- curls and curls of brass and just stabbing it gets bits of solder, flux and broken components off.

and i always use a flux pen. it is super simple, handy and readily available. the best one for my purposes is kester 959T, which is no-clean and fumes up less than other fluxes i have used. for cleaning i often use cotton swabs soaked in IPA solvent or contact cleaner. tweezers, hemostats and a small pick are the tools i use most often for gripping, guiding and such.

most of the items i have mentioned here are all ordered from techni-tool.

I would like to make a few suggestions if you don’t mind:

When purchasing soldering irons, select one that has variable temperature capability and different size tips. This allows you to 1) extend the life of the tips by controlling the iron temperature 2) saves money on having to purchase different irons for different jobs by changing tip sizes and shapes instead.

When soldering be sure to melt some solder on the tip prior to placing into the iron stand. This will extend the life of your tip by preventing the hot tip from oxidizing, and ultimately, melting away! If the solder keeps falling off of the tip when placing back in to the iron holder, try touching the tip with melted solder on a piece of kim wipe or paper towell. This will remove the excess flux from the core of the solder…

Use the sponge to “shock” the iron tip instead of using it to clean the tip. Instead of wiping the tip of the iron on the sponge, wipe the old solder off of the tip with a disposable kim wipe (or small (5” x 5” or so) square of paper towel) and use the sponge to “shock” the tip of the iron. This will extend the life of the sponge and allows you to get your iron to your work by momentarily cooling the tip before the tip starts to oxidize again. Oxidation is what causes pits in your work. The sponge should wet enough so that when you press your finger on the sponge the water will pool around your finger (not the sponge).

The difference in the percentage of lead to tin in solder is what controls the plastic state of solder. Solder is in one of 3 states: liquid, plastic and solid. The 63/37 mixture is a mixture that has no plastic state and is therefore the best one to use for soldering. If another mixture is used (ie: 60/40) and the component being soldered is moved, even slightly, while cooling, the finished product will have cracks in the solder and cause intermittent connections and those are the worst to troubleshoot! Also purchase solder that has a rosin flux core.

When using desoldering braid, twist the braid between two fingers to get a tight twist, then wet the twisted braid with some liquid flux. This improves the wicking capability of the braid. There are also different sizes and types of desoldering braid. I recommend using the plain copper braid (vice tinned copper braid). Select the size that fits the work that you are doing: It should be wide enough to lay across the conductor that you are working on (before you twist the braid).

Flux is used in soldering to flow contaminates away from your work and helps to prevent pits from appearing. Rosin/resin flux is the best flux to use for soldering. It won’t corrode your circuitry if left on the board like acid flux will (which is used for soldering pipes) and it is easily cleaned off with alcohol. If you can’t find rosin/resin flux then rosin flux is the next best thing. I recommend that you have both liquid and paste flux on hand to use for different types of jobs. Paste is best when you want to control the amount of flux on the work you are doing and liquid is best when you want to wet the desoldering braid…

For solder suckers, be care with the bulb type: They can induce static electricity and damage the more ESD sensitive components. Solder braid is better or the plunger type of solder sucker that is designed for ESD sensitive components (it usually has a black tip) is preferred over solder sucker bulbs.

When preparing your project for soldering, cleanliness is next to godliness: prepare all soldering surfaces by cleaning, tinning, and recleaning prior to soldering: 1) Use kim wipes (or cut up paper towels) moistened with alcohol to wipe down the conductor and the solder. 2) Apply a thin coat of rosin/resin flux to the conductor and tin the conductor with a) the previously cleaned solder and b) an iron tip that has been cleaned by flowing solder over the iron tip, solder wiped off with kim wipe and shocked with sponge. 3) Wick up the solder from the conductor and clean flux from tinned conductor with either a Q-tip or kim wipe moistened with alcohol (I prefer the Q-tip). 4) Apply some fresh flux on the conductor, clean the iron tip again, and then solder. These steps also apply to component leads as well as wire ends…Following the above steps will help to prevent pits caused by oxidation from the conductor, the solder and the iron tip…

Sometimes you can recycle the length of woven copper braid found around the crt screen of old tv’s as desoldering braid.

I’d advise against filing or grinding down any but the cheapest of soldering iron tips, as most only have a thin layer of white metal coating a copper core, and removing too much of that can result in cold spots at best and complete failure of the tip at worst.

On choosing an iron – go for the best iron you can afford, with temperature controlled tips and, for preference, a temperature/current control dial on the base unit. In the UK, the most commonly used make in the commercial sector is Weller, who make a great range of irons and soldering stations.

On cut/solder v. solder/cut – A quick squirt of insulating spray-varnish means you can use the “easy but untidy” method of bend/solder/cut over the “fiddly but neat” method of tack/cut/solder

On solder types – for non-experienced solderers, I would stick with good old rosin multicored 60/40 tin/lead solder (in the UK, this comes on a red bobbin as standard) rather than any of the new eco-friendly tin/silver solders with water based flux (blue or green bobbind in the UK). The old stuff just flows better, in my opinion, and it takes a LOT of patience to solder a decent joint with any of the other types of solder.

The reason this is such a worthwhile upgrade has to do with tip corrosion. Unregulated irons, even 10W irons, will eventually heat up to 750-800F which will cause the tip to oxidize in no time at all. That oxidation prevents good metal-to-metal contact which prevents decent heat flow into the joint. Being able to maintain the tip at 500F or so will put off this oxidation for a half-hour or more.

Also, the previous tip on the bronze-wool cleaner is great. I’ve got one now, but before I had it, I used copper-wool from the grocery store. Those Xytronic irons I mentioned above actually come with one. The abrasive surfaces help to clean any oxidation and excess solder from the tip more efficiently than a sponge and it has much less thermal mass than a wet sponge which means you’re not putting as much thermal stress on the tip. The rapid cooling from the water in the sponge will stress and potentially crack your tip over time.