Soldering tinsel wire again, my method

Whatever works. I would almost be wiling to try some conductive adhesive, like for auto glass heating strips.

Thanks for the very detailed description of your technique. (The devil is in the details...)

Cheers.

Any idea of the iron temperature? sounds as though it may be lower than usual solder work, you need to melt the insulation but not carbonise it presumably

snipped-for-privacy@whidbey.com wrote in news:ai0bp8tu2gh6tmeqgll656emr24c2s50pn@

4ax.com:

This is the same basic technique I use for fine litz wire for RF work. Litz wire is pretty similar to a lot of the tinsel wire used in headphones, and I wouldn't be surpised if some vendors use litz wire if they can get it already made up in the size they need. All the modern litz wire has the solderable insulation ("Soldereze", 'Nyleze", etc.). A drop of liquid flux helps to keep the keep the dross and the toasted plastic from gumming up the works.

I use a Metcal iron, and I think the 700 degree tips work a bit better than the 600 degree tips, but mostly I use whatever is in the handle at the time, so it isn't exactly critical.

Doug White

TYhe temp I use, according to the scale on my soldering iron, is about

630F. My iron just has LEDS to indicate temp. My next iron will have a digital readout. But who knows if the numbers on the display are accurate? Eric

You're right about digital temperature readouts for soldering iron tip temps.. Depending upon the quality of the controller design, the readout may only be accurate for a (small) portion of the span of the temp control.

One can periodically check the tip temp at various settings with a thermocouple, in the way that routine calibrations are required in some areas of assembly work. The tip temp will show a lower temperature with the thermocouple readout if the tip is basically dry. A decent sized blob of solder on the tip will improve the heat transfer to the thermocouple junction, for a more stable and accurate reading.

FWIW, I stopped using dampened sponge tip cleaners a number of years ago, and instead use the kitchen pot scrubber type of tip cleaner. The damp sponges tend to drop the tip temp quite a bit, and I suspect the thermal shock probably impacts the service life of the iron clad/plated tips. The Edsyn plated tips I've been using for maybe 8 years have been greatly outlasting any other tips I've used in the past. Some sellrs refer to these types of materials as wool, although metal ribbon might be more accurate. It has the appearance of lathe turnings. There are several metals used for the commercial tip cleaners and the pot scrubbers, but I've been using the stainless steel ribbon without any problems.

Many years ago I used steel wool for tip cleaning until a tiny piece of a strand was transferred to a circuit board unnoticed, and the signal generator suddenly developed new faults. It took quite a while to find the fine wire bridge, and that was the last time I used steel wool.

Another Tip tip I picked up here in SER (Andy Cuff used to mention it) is to leave a blob of solder on the tip when shutting the iron off. I'll do a final couple of jabs into the metal tip cleaner, then add solder to the tip and turn the power off. The tip is protected by a thick layer of clean solder until the next use.. and easily cleans off leaving a bright well-tinned tip.

A cleaned tip won't be protected by only a thin film of solder, which will oxidize and be more difficult to clean off, IME.

--
Cheers, 
WB 
............. 


 wrote in message  
news:l1ocp8hqa54ad0h0tlf97575fukbh32gsg@4ax.com... 
> On Fri, 17 May 2013 11:06:39 +0100, "N_Cook"  
> wrote: 
> 
>> wrote in message 
>>news:ai0bp8tu2gh6tmeqgll656emr24c2s50pn@4ax.com... 
>>> I know this has been kicked around plenty but I just soldered a new 
>>> plug onto a pair of ear buds and the method I use works fast and works 
>>> well and has worked every time for me. I melt enough flux core solder 
>>> on the soldering iron tip to cause a large drop to hang from the tip 
>>> when held horizontally. I then pass the tinsel wire, which I have 
>>> already twisted a bit so the strands stay together, through the 
>>> hanging drop. Sometimes I have to pass to wire forward and backwards a 
>>> couple times for it to tin completely. I then wipe or shake the solder 
>>> off, apply new solder, and do another wire. When I use the above 
>>> method the burned insulation and used up flux seem to rise up to and 
>>> over the iron tip while the solder drop hanging below stays  clean. 
>>> Eric 
>> 
>>Any idea of the iron temperature? sounds as though it may be lower than 
>>usual solder work, you need to melt the insulation but not carbonise it 
>>presumably 
>> 
> TYhe temp I use, according to the scale on my soldering iron, is about 
> 630F. My iron just has LEDS to indicate temp. My next iron will have a 
> digital readout. But who knows if the numbers on the display are 
> accurate? 
> Eric

You're right about digital temperature readouts for soldering iron tip temps.. Depending upon the quality of the controller design, the readout may only be accurate for a (small) portion of the span of the temp control.

One can periodically check the tip temp at various settings with a thermocouple, in the way that routine calibrations are required in some areas of assembly work. The tip temp will show a lower temperature with the thermocouple readout if the tip is basically dry. A decent sized blob of solder on the tip will improve the heat transfer to the thermocouple junction, for a more stable and accurate reading.

FWIW, I stopped using dampened sponge tip cleaners a number of years ago, and instead use the kitchen pot scrubber type of tip cleaner. The damp sponges tend to drop the tip temp quite a bit, and I suspect the thermal shock probably impacts the service life of the iron clad/plated tips. The Edsyn plated tips I've been using for maybe 8 years have been greatly outlasting any other tips I've used in the past. Some sellrs refer to these types of materials as wool, although metal ribbon might be more accurate. It has the appearance of lathe turnings. There are several metals used for the commercial tip cleaners and the pot scrubbers, but I've been using the stainless steel ribbon without any problems.

Many years ago I used steel wool for tip cleaning until a tiny piece of a strand was transferred to a circuit board unnoticed, and the signal generator suddenly developed new faults. It took quite a while to find the fine wire bridge, and that was the last time I used steel wool.

Another Tip tip I picked up here in SER (Andy Cuff used to mention it) is to leave a blob of solder on the tip when shutting the iron off. I'll do a final couple of jabs into the metal tip cleaner, then add solder to the tip and turn the power off. The tip is protected by a thick layer of clean solder until the next use.. and easily cleans off leaving a bright well-tinned tip.

A cleaned tip won't be protected by only a thin film of solder, which will oxidize and be more difficult to clean off, IME.

--
Cheers, 
WB 
............. 


 wrote in message 
news:l1ocp8hqa54ad0h0tlf97575fukbh32gsg@4ax.com... 
> On Fri, 17 May 2013 11:06:39 +0100, "N_Cook"  
> wrote: 
> 
>> wrote in message 
>>news:ai0bp8tu2gh6tmeqgll656emr24c2s50pn@4ax.com... 
>>> I know this has been kicked around plenty but I just soldered a new 
>>> plug onto a pair of ear buds and the method I use works fast and works 
>>> well and has worked every time for me. I melt enough flux core solder 
>>> on the soldering iron tip to cause a large drop to hang from the tip 
>>> when held horizontally. I then pass the tinsel wire, which I have 
>>> already twisted a bit so the strands stay together, through the 
>>> hanging drop. Sometimes I have to pass to wire forward and backwards a 
>>> couple times for it to tin completely. I then wipe or shake the solder 
>>> off, apply new solder, and do another wire. When I use the above 
>>> method the burned insulation and used up flux seem to rise up to and 
>>> over the iron tip while the solder drop hanging below stays  clean. 
>>> Eric 
>> 
>>Any idea of the iron temperature? sounds as though it may be lower than 
>>usual solder work, you need to melt the insulation but not carbonise it 
>>presumably 
>> 
> TYhe temp I use, according to the scale on my soldering iron, is about 
> 630F. My iron just has LEDS to indicate temp. My next iron will have a 
> digital readout. But who knows if the numbers on the display are 
> accurate? 
> Eric

I guess you're so emphatic about proper soldering iron use that you felt you needed to post it twice! Har Har. Anyway, that bit about leaving solder on the tip is a good tip and I do it. I also have found that when soldering somewhere, like under the hood of a car, where it is inconvenient to wipe the iron tip I just apply fresh solder to the tip and shake it off. This then leaves the tip clean and ready for fresh solder and the next joint. It does leave solder spatters on the driveway though. Eric

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With my luck, the solder splash would somehow short two electrical terminals together, resulting in a dead battery the next day after an unseen light was turned on all day and night .

Wiping excess solder off onto a clean cotton cloth or even (cautiously) onto a clean paper towel will work. It will become apparent if the cloth is polyester.

-- Cheers, WB .............

With my luck, the solder splash would somehow short two electrical terminals together, resulting in a dead battery the next day after an unseen light was turned on all day and night .

I get plenty of splatters on the floor soldering indoors.. particlarly if I want to remove some excess solder from a part or cable end (and don't want to get a desoldering station), I'll heat it on the iron tip and let it slip off the tip flicking the excess away.

Yeah, double posts only happen when one I'm sending gets hung up in the Outbox and I try to send it from there.

-- Cheers, WB .............

I switched too to the scubby pad in a metal cup tip cleaners too (Hakko

599B).

The only thing I still use the wet sponge for is cooling down a tip after tinning it when the irons gets shut down. Big chisel tips can take a while to cool off.