Wilsons Sandbox

OK guys, I have some stubby little short wires to join. I can solder decently, but the splices I make are atrocious. Does anyone know a good "how to" reference or on line location for how to join wires in a neat way?? My searches only turn up vast numbers of folks selling equipment. I got good strippers and soldering stuff. Just tell me best way to join the wires pre solder. CC

I use a bare crimp connector to join the wires before i solder them. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

IMO the most important aspects of soldering are: 1) Ensure that the joint areas are mechanically clean. Which means removal of rust, dirt, oil, other stuff down to bright metal. 2) Chemically clean the joint areas. Which means use of a soldering paste intended for the materials being joined. For wires, the material looks like yellow Vaseline.Wires are usually quite clean so little attention will usually result in an adequate joint however radiators and such can be quite difficult to both mechanically and chemically clean. This is where attention to detail makes the difference between a solid joint and not. An acid based soldering flux or "for the purpose" flux is crucial for soldering materials other than wires. Many people believe that they are adequate at soldering because they succeed in sticking wires together but completely fail on other materials. This is because their technique is flawed but wires are so easy. Make it clean! 3) A solid mechanical joint is needed when soldering because any movement in the joint while the solder is cooling will result in fracturing of the solder. This condition is usually referred to as a "cold solder joint" and can sometimes be identified visually because the solder will be grey rather than bright silver. Wires can usually be twisted together in order to mechanically join the joint before soldering but other joints may have to be clamped or attached in some manner. Remember than movement is very bad for solder quality. 4) The joint area has been mechanically cleaned immediately before beginning the process. Don't clean it the day before and think that it will not oxidize..... Soldering flux of the right type has been applied either before or after mechanically joining depending on the project. Choose the correct solder for the purpose. As a general rule, the smaller the materials to be joined, the smaller diameter the solder should be. It is difficult to manage the temperature of a tiny wire joint while introducing heavy solder because the mass of the solder transfers so much heat from the joint. Use small diameter solder, which is sometimes referred to as "electronics solder" in some circles. On the other hand, trying to pour in feet of tiny wire solder to a radiator joint is a nuisance and compounds the difficulty in avoiding over heating of the area. Choose a reasonably sized solder. 5) Do you use solid or flux cored wire solder? I'm sure that you are not intending to use bar solder on a motorcycle project...... Which flux type? Acid core? Rosin core? Depends.... Acid core is usually used for heavier materials such as radiators, battery cable ends, etc. because the residual acid can be enough to eat small wires down the road. On the other hand, trying to solder heavy materials, particularly used materials, by the use of rosin core solder can be an exercise in futility and frustration. For wiring, choose a small diameter, rosin cored solder. For heavier materials use heavy diameter acid core. If you intend to solder wire such as 10 and 12 gauge, I recommend heavier diameter rosin cored solder. Given the modest cost, one may wish to have both small and larger diameter rosin core on hand. A small roll of acid core can be a life saver for a nasty job where the joint can't seem to be made clean enough. 6) What about 50-50 or 30-70 solder? The 50-50, 30-70, etc. refers to the percentage of lead to tin in solder. Lead is the first number. I prefer 50-50 for wiring because the joint strength is sufficient and the 50-50 melts at a lower temperature than 30-70. The down side of 50-50 is that it isn't as strong but this is not a factor in wiring and the ease of using the lower temperature melt makes this ideal. For radiators and the like, some prefer 30-70. What have I left out???? I've taught over a hundred people to solder but haven't thought about it for some time. Course syllabus and stuff are at home in boxes so I'm just at the cottage winging it. (VBG) 7) OK, mechanically clean, chemically clean, mechanically stable, flux applied, solder selected, now for heat. 8) Heating a solder joint is not as easy as most people believe. Unless the materials are heated sufficiently, solder will not adhere to the materials to be joined, period. Many joints succeed in having solder melted around the materials intended to be joined but one or both of the materials are not hot enough or not clean enough for the solder to adhere. I have seen joints with lots of solder melted onto them but which would not conduct electricity. On the other hand, most novices over heat the joint badly. This often succeeds in making a joint but can burn the flux within the joint such that it forms a layer of crud around one or both materials, resulting in a bad joint. We want the joint to be hot enough, evenly heated, but not too hot. Heating the joint by means of a soldering "iron" is often better technique than use of an open flame in terms of the ability to manage the heat. A handy technique for introducing heat to the joint is to place the soldering "iron" against the middle of the wire joint and heat for a few seconds. Then introduce the solder into the connection between the iron and the joint. The solder will melt against the iron and flow around the joint, helping to transfer heat. In addition, the solder will begin to flow as soon as the joint has reached sufficient temperature so it will cover the joint materials and help to prevent oxidization of the surfaces. The solder will also serve as an indicator of the temperature of the joint, reducing the likelihood of over heating. Watch the solder, it should flow into the joint very quickly and evenly. Stop and maintain the joint in one position to avoid a cold solder while allowing it to cool. Avoid the temptation to grab and crush the joint with a pair of pliers. Doing that will result in cold solder because the joint will be stressed and moved. Placing the soldering iron on the bottom of the joint and allowing the solder to flow upward by capillary action is often best to ensure that the joint has been hot enough. Maintain temperature sufficient to allow the solder to flow nicely but avoid pouring the heat to it. Starving, coffee is on, I can smell it. Time to eat, shower and ride. Hope I haven't left something out. If someone is having trouble with the quality of solder joints, it may be worth considering the above as there may be some useful information. HIH Norm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Once upon a time I took a NASA certified soldering and component repair course. 8 weeks in Jacksonville Florida paid for by the Navy. My enlistment expired 6 weeks later and I hauled ass to civilian life (military intelligence). The way I do my splices is to use rosin core electrical solder and I make an in line joint. If you push the two stranded wire ends together in a straight line the strands will interleave and make a smooth joint. The trick is to hold this joint while soldering as it takes four hands. Use of hemostats and or alligator clips to hold things still works or give your buddy a beer to hold the hot ends until it sets. Done correctly the finished joint is only slightly larger than the wire diameter and has no bumps lumps or knots. Your heat shrink slides over easily and it looks sexy as hell. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.11.6/938 - Release Date: 8/5/2007 4:16 PM [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]