Carbon Wire Glue

Question

I've racked up 1,600 points on thinkgeek, and I was wondering if I should get this: https://www.thinkgeek.com/product/b70c/#tabs anyone have any experience with this?

irobot58 · Answer

Two things come to mind ....What is the extra resistance if any from the carbon glue ..and the 2 hour drying time! There are lot of benefits over solder with the glue...except for the drying time! ooops ..13 ohms per cubic centimeter I am liking the bacon scented air freshener a lot

stonewolf · Answer

Hey, I used something like this stuff, but it was a liquid solder in a tube, I tried it when I did some practice soldering on a circuit board on my dvd recorder. The stuff I used work well, still had to heat it with a soldering iron, but it worked :-} I believe I bought it at Lowes, liquid solder :-}

Danger! · Answer

It's your points. Personally, if it were me, I would look for something else. I don't like waiting 15 seconds for solder to cool let alone 12 to 48 hours. Soldering is quick, easy, and proven to work.

Rich · Answer

Not everyone finds soldering quick and easy, I used to hate it with a passion and wasn't too good at it. I'm much better now after forcing myself to practice but go back 10 to 15 years and I would have killed for some conductive glue. That said, learning to solder is the best thing you could do, I'd spend it on something else personally but if you dislike soldering then go for it.

Niek · Answer

I own that exact wire glue. It's not great though, very thick and hard to work with. You're better off mixing graphite powder with your glue of choice.

Antron007 · Answer

@Rich is correct. Soldering can be a pain and takes a little time to get familiar with. After ruining 2 cheap irons on bad practices I'm now to a point where I'm comfortable and even excited for the opportunity to solder. I EZ'd my robosapiean of the past week and I have to say I'm pretty happy with the soldering I did, in tight spaces no less. One thing I can say is, don't forget your tinner. I thought it was something I didn't need until I did some research and found the proper ways to use it. Now that I know to tin my iron after I clean it for storage, I think I'll have this one around for a while. Tip #2: Less is more. I was amazed at how little solder I needed after proper tinning. It really doesn't take as much as one with no experience would think it would to make a good solid strong connection. I'm sure a lot of you know this already but, I didn't so I figured I'd share for others who were in my situation. I hope this helps someone. Just my opinion but, wire glue sounds like a half cocked shortcut that will probably leave you with half cocked results. And a 2 hour drying time as well? My patience is already too short as it is. ("I don't have all day to start felling good."-Sealab 2021)

Rich · Answer

Two cheap irons are the same price as one decent one. I found that out the hard way too... My current iron is a dream to work with and I find myself looking for things to solder just so I can use it. And yep, get the tip tinner/cleaner, it may be expensive but it's worth it. Proper soldering techniques are something else to look up. They really help. Personally I would encourage practising and getting a decent iron, solder (leaded if possible - I can't get it here which sucks!), tip tinner/cleaner, etc. I think all of my stuff come to around 70 but I'm set up for a long time with this iron etc.

Sudo the Banned · Answer

My dad has a fairly good soldering iron, I may dig that up from the basement and practice with it.

Danger! · Answer

You'll get the hang of it in no time. Save up your points for something cool like this, in case the zombies ever do take over stress www.thinkgeek.com/product/17fc/

irobot58 · Answer

Soldering iron accessories? is there such a thing as a 90 degree tip to allow better access in crowded builds? ....enquiring minds! @ Niek I like your " home brew " glue idea!

rgordon · Answer

I tried this conductive glue from ThinkGeek.com and it was a waste of time. Soldering is by far the better way to go. Just like everything else it takes a little practice to get the hang of it but is much better and more long lasting. I found that the conductive glue is also very brittle(not made for flexing) and does not hold very well.

I agree with @Antron007. Tinning is the key to soldering.

Sudo the Banned

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