Soldering A Wire

Question

when you solder a wire and they dont touch eachother.can this being seen as, a bad connection?

DJ Sures · Answer

It’s not pretty, and could come loose. Solder is conductive, so the current will transfer correctly. It’s not advised to have solder connections like that because they are fragile. So you can keep It if it’s the best you can do

Nomad 6R · Answer

thanks dj i over size the pic for better understanding.

jstarne1 · Answer

Hello nomad, maybe resoldering it is a good idea. One HUGE tip I can give you is to presolder wire by warming it up and rubbing the solder onto the wire, this will make is easier when you go to solder it to a board or another wire.

DJ Sures · Answer

That's good advice, josh. The process is called Tinning. Meaning, you add a bit of solder to the tip first, then hold it against the wire to heat up the wire. Then add the solder to the wire once it's heated up to absorb in.

Nomad 6R · Answer

hi thats the way i do it too.

Mac · Answer

Also, for the strongest solder joint, remember that you don't melt the solder with the iron. Rather, you want the wire to melt the solder.

Nomad 6R · Answer

hi mac yes indeed. thanks

bborastero · Answer

there's always the NASA soldering technique, a bit much in my opinion.

Nomad 6R · Answer

hi bborastero thanks for the pic.indeed thats alot of soldering.

vertigo · Answer

My solder tip of the day, if you have a 3d printer, print this: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2757071 Most useful thing I printed in the past 5 years Also, use flux.

Nomad 6R · Answer

hi vertigo i have a metal with magnefying glas and light too. the flux is a good tip.

Dave Schulpius · Answer

I really like the looks of that 3d printed wire holder. I've always struggled with getting the wires to hold steady in the proper position. I've tried many tools to assist.

Liquid flux really makes the difference. It cleans the wire when heated and the solder flows nicely and is sucked into the joint. Probably any brand would do but this is the stuff I use. I really like it:

Jameco Liquid Solder

Nomad 6R · Answer

thanks dave i put the link in my fav.i use mostly tape to keep the wire inplace.lol

vertigo · Answer

I have a similar set of metal alligator clamps, but I find they are flimsy, will move and will move the wire when they clamp them. I almost always use my 3d printed helper instead when soldering wires, as the large grippers make it dead easy to align them. Admittedly though, your metal helper clamp thingies do look better designed than mine with a straight rod so you can move them in/out without changing the orientation. Mine looks like this

whenever I need to move the clamps closer, it twists the wires.

Anyway, whatever does the job

Nomad 6R

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