Soldering 101

The first step to soldering is starting with the right setup and a clear work space:

(the temperature gauge should be at 600 degrees)

There are two types of soldering tips, but we found the easiest one to use was the one with the pocket.

 with pocket:

• • solder1

 without pocket:

• • solder 2

You want to make sure that the things you are soldering together are stable (either clamp it or clip it). If you’re soldering a wire onto something (like a circuit board), use pliers to hold the wire to the board.

Now you’re ready to start soldering! First, make sure the tip is hot enough (Put it on the wet sponge. If you hear a sizzle, it’s hot enough. If not, wait a few more minutes.). Once it is hot, you can put solder on it. Don’t worry about the smoke coming from the solder, that’s just called solder flux.

• • video