Kids and soldering irons

Hi, My nephew is 10, mad keen on electronics. What minimum age do people think is appropriate for owning a soldering iron?

Reply to
bruce varley
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Depends how careful he is and how worried his parents are...

I got my first soldering iron when I was about 7, but only used it with a parent there at first. It is likely that at least minor burns will occur unless he is a very careful person. I thought I was pretty careful but still burned myself quite a few times (once right across 4 fingers). I think 10 is ok with an adult in the vicinity.

Daniel

Reply to
Daniel Watman

people

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Agreed. We all learn how hot the tip is the hard way ("The man who never burnt his fingers never made anything!") so for a youngster supervision is really a must for some time.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Taylor

I got my first soldering iron when I was 10. Admittedly I've hever actually burned my fingers. But I did burn my foot when I accidentally knocked my soldering off the table.

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Wing Wong.
Reply to
Wing Fong Wong

I started with one heated on our gas stove when I was about 9 or so - at 10, if he is sensible, he should be OK but naturally supervised when he starts

David

bruce varley wrote:

Reply to
quietguy

Interesting topic this one. I think I first got a soldering iron at 9 or 10, but then again at the same time my brother (2years older) and I were also using lathes, welders, griders etc, and used to drive our go-kart that we re-built along the back street. My father owned a car dealership and the workshop was a matter of metres from our backdoor so we grew up with, and were taught, that all these things can be dangerous (That and I think we were too scared to injur ourselves because we knew dad would kick our asses and never let us in the workshop again). For the most part we were actually unsupervised, and never seriously injured ourselves. Just the occasional scratch, bruise, burn or small cut.

That said I'm pretty sure I wont be so keen to let my kids loose unsupervised in my workshop when they're 9 & 10, but I'll certinally encourage supervised usage of power tools etc....how else are they going to learn the proper way to do it.

Yeah I know I'm just rambling on but it really got me thinking.

James

Reply to
James

I was about 8 years old when Dad taught me how to solder up a crystal set with a soldering iron. I also got one of the old Radio Shack 50-in-1kits when I was about 10. This had a panel which was loaded with all sorts of components, and had springs attached to the components. You just connected up the springs and made all sorts of projects. Jaycar has a similar kit called "Short Circuits Book and Project Kit" for $36.95. (KJ-8502). This eliminates the need for a soldering iron, and can lead the way for more complex circuits later on.

Reply to
dmm

I think I was about 9 or so too. I still remember I got a whole kit including multimeter and other stuff. That was great! I still have the tool box it came in.

I had a close call when I was about 13 when I was installing an alarm system to my room. I was soldering two wires together at ceiling height and a blob of solder fell onto my face about 2cm away from my eye!! From then on dad made me wear eye protection every time I soldered. That lasted about a couple of months before I reverted back to no eye protection.

One thing I am a little worried about is lead poisoning. For many years, my bedroom had all of my electronics in it and I would often not wash my hands after working with solder. Also, it wasn't an ideal place for solder fumes either. It must be stressed that lead is terrible for the health of especially younger people, so make sure the message gets across and stays that way. I'd recommend a designated area- not a bedroom and not the family table- for soldering.

Reply to
Heywood Jablome

people

10 should be plenty old enough, just teach them the basic safety rules. Eg, it's hot, solder splashes (wear eye protection), and don't sniff the fumes (use a fume extractor if possible). Purists will of course say that's all half the fun :->

Although you don't need to solder to play around with electronics. The Tandy/DSE/Jaycar "100 in 1" type kits with the spring terminals are excellent, and you can do endless stuff with a breadboard.

Dave :)

Reply to
David L. Jones

G'day Bruce.

I'm with Daniel and Ken. That's a perfectly good age if he has the keen interest AND someone is going to supervise initially. Might also pay to explain how to make a decent joint and how to spot a dry joint. Sounds like Uncle Bruce has a bit of work there ...

At ten I didn't have a soldering iron, but was busy melting lead and pouring it into all sorts of moulds. One was a concrete mould and was wet. The molten lead spat back at me in spades and left me with little splatter marks over face/arms/feet etc. You learn from these little life experiences. He WILL burn himself, but with that initial supervision and cautionary advice he'll be right. Shite, I probably still burn myself while soldering at least once a year.

Reply to
budgie

He will burn himself (once) It will not threaten his life or limb, but will be a useful learning experience. Insisting he wear glasses will be the best thing anyone can teach him.

Reply to
T.T.

My first irons at about 9 were a Wahl Clipper rechargable and a Scope iron. Both needed a finger on a button or level to operate them which would make it a bit safer as the power is cut if you drop them. The Wahl had such a tiny tip it cooled down almost immediately power was cut.

Reply to
Mark Harriss

Reply to
Jim Gregory

My close call was unsoldering a jumper wire in a phone exchange: some clown was too lazy to replace a jumper and had stretched the wire guitar string tight and then soldered it on, some years later I touch it with a hot iron and it lets go flicking molten solder into my eye: If I hadn't blinked at that moment it would have got me in the eye but as it was it flowed around the eyelashes and stuck the eyelid shut over the eye with a hiss.

You'll find you are more likely to suffer from sinus problems from the flux fumes which condense into a dust on cooling, than from lead poisoning, I had a test recently done which showed nothing after 30 years of soldering. You can take calcium tablets when working with lead which helps with heavy metal exposure somehow.

Reply to
Mark Harriss

no

Cmon, start him out with an 80W iron and a roll of 1.6mm solder.

Then tell him he has to *not* destroy the LED or rip tracks off PCBs =)

-mark

Reply to
Mark H

people

Rosin flux fumes gradually sensitise the lungs, eventually producing instant asthma at the faintest whiff of rosin fume. Once sensitised, a person basically cannot solder ever again, unless they have fantastically good fume extraction. TAFE and Uni and many workplaces use good extraction to prevent rosin sensitisation. You can get extraction at the iron, extraction by a "funnel on a pipe" and extraction by fan with absorbent pad. I also recommend low flux solder - not the stuff from your local retail shop - low flux solder produces remarkably little fume and works OK provided you are not soldering tarnished old component leads. Farnell and RS etc have a range of low fume solders.

If you Google for *Solder Fume* you can find more.

As far as lead exposure goes, always wash the hands after working with solder and before meals. I recommend plenty of soap and a scrubbing brush for the fingernails. If your nephew is a nailbiter, you will have to enforce nail scrubbing after soldering.

I have been soldering since my childhood, and as a result I have permanent asthma and basically cannot solder anymore. And I knew nothing about lead. In those days nobody gave safety a thought.

Roger

Reply to
Roger

These are valid points which are rarely given thought. I am only in my mid twenties and never had any safety lessons about lead smoke, lead contact and various fumes. Admittedly I only get the soldering iron out when its time to do some wiring or repair a PCB, but I've never been taught/told to wash hands after use and I started using the iron just under ten years of age.

Reply to
Tsunami Australia

Great. Now I find this out. Blessed with a bad chest all my life, in the early 70's I accepted a PMG traineeship which was then at North Sydney, where the first four weeks were learning how to solder.

Dropped out because I had a uni offer, but spent the first year at uni on asthma medication that basically left me with the shakes and any notes as crap.

Still able to solder, if I sit over a fan, so can still do hobby stuff.

Reply to
Terry Collins

"bruce varley" wrote in news:428f0d99$1 @quokka.wn.com.au:

This link explains well the dangers of rosin flux

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Reply to
Geoff C

They're also highly addictive. A whiff of rosin and the sight of bright molten solder are enough to make me build something.

I'd especially agree that learning how to make a good solder joint is important. It's very encouraging when things work.

Reply to
Robert Murphy

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