The AM Forum

Chassis soldering? Need some serious heat?  Something to try.

:-)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79uD6XwBg5E

Do it right stupid, drill a hole and mount a terminal lug. Then with a low wattage temperature controlled soldering pencil there's no worry about overheating a component. If you're worried about not making a good electrical connection flow solder over the lug with the right tool for the job, my trusty horse leg 100W Hexacon that gets hot and STAYS hot. Speaking of worrying, anyone who says "sole-der" worries me.

I too would use a lug.

But there are times for "field expedient" methods, and not everyone owns pro grade equipment.

Also, this technique might find other applications.

Is the "L" silent in "solder" or not? Yeah I think so, in Texas.

The techniques of making and changing soldering gun tips are for those who use the imagination to find new ways to work. The practice is decades-old.
It isn't any more stupid than drilling a hole in a classic item and using a lug. Shameful drillers of holes! Distasteful!
I agree that a lug should also be soldered to the chassis; nut, bolt, and all. Bonded with whatever tool is appropriate whether definite purpose or versatile. That's more along the lines of ruggedization.

If there's worry about overheating a component, the technique is wrong. Guns give control over temperature if one understands how to use them. Someone with skill can use a 140W gun with a custom tip on SMT stuff down to a certain size and to remove SIP packages in a couple swipes without harming a thing. Just takes practice.

There's really no difference between changing tips on a gun and changing tips on a temperature controlled pencil, or having several pencils and a hog leg. A soldering gun is professional grade equipment as much as any of the others.

I can see he does not like to use soldering guns (presumably on tube chassis like the one in the video) because he feels they are punishment, but that's an opinion I don't share.

There are few electronics hand tools as manly as a 260W soldering gun except maybe a Weston 633-60. Like many things in life, it's all in the wrist.

In one of his videos he makes it a point to mention that h pronounces the "L" in solder. Must be a Canadian thing!

I'll give that one whirl the next time I have to So L der a PL259 connector

I don't believe the lady in the purple shirt is going to hang on to that solder iron when it heats up !

I wonder at what point someone is going tell the young lady to plug the iron in - that oughta be exciting

al

yeah -  the photographer: "Please! Hold still and stop fidgeting or we'll never get this done!".

They used to sell surplus some worthless junk boards for beginners to use for soldering practice.

Somewhere around here where I haven't seen it in years is a 120-150W 'pencil'. If I could find it I would use it for some of the big jobs because its massive tip is a huge energy reservoir. Huge wooden handled unit from the 1940s. The grand-daddy of that snazzy 'horse leg' mentioned. There is also a butane torch powered one here. The soldering tip uses a catalyst heater and gets mighty hot.

In the video, note that he shows the older style Weller with the brass chucks/nuts that screw in from the front and which uses tips with 90 deg bends in the legs. The modern Wellers have a setscrew so that straight legged tips can be inserted easily. It's easier but I feel not as strong/long-lasting. No matter I'll always be proud to use Weller in my lab among the Hakkos and others.

One recent thing (as in past 10-15 years) with Wellers, the round plug and socket connection sometimes needs repair because the pins 'burn', it seems they get a bad connection and overheat when the unit is old.  The connector was very cheap on those. I suppose I am not accustomed to cheapness in good tools.