Blowing of steam

[CET]

I just wrecked my NB. I'm really cranky right now. My hands are shaky, so I can't solder worth a damn. I don't know what to do with half of the parts that I have. I'm seriously thinking of throwing my tools and parts away and writing this off as a bad idea for a hobby.

Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

How did you wreck your NB?

[Miraluka]

Throwing away good tools and parts is never a good idea

[CET]

I was using a cheap 25 watt soldering iron and through a series of frustrating events I accidentally popped off the metal on the lead that goes to the battery. Now I have a board lead with no metal, which means that the circuit path is unconnected.

I'm not throwing anything away, I was just really frustrated. I actually doubled-down and upgraded to a 100 watt soldering iron after I wrote this. I'm not done yet, but definitely need a timeout.

[Silver Serpent]

If you've damaged the board, send a PM to Zook. He's the repair guy in the US for the Plecter Boards.

Definitely take a time out. Doing saber work while upset is never a good idea. I've tried it once or twice, and had to go back and redo things each time. Don't worry, it gets easier.

[Bark]

Sorry for the bad experiences. Hopefully you can recover and continue on. I currently have three sabers in progress and no time to work them. It will probably take me years to complete, but I try to enjoy the work itself when I do find the time without thinking of the goal.

[CET]

Thanks for letting me vent guys. I let the dark side take hold for a minute. I'm OK now though.

[Sevinzol]

Sorry to hear you had a build up of Bogons, it happens to the best of us.

I actually doubled-down and upgraded to a 100 watt soldering iron after I wrote this.

I don't think using more power is going to help, after all, it was TOO MUCH HEAT that got you in trouble in the first place

If you're new to soldering; trash pick a broken computer (anything with a circuit board) and practice soldering and de-soldering on it for a bit.

[Scarecrow]

If you can spare a few bucks, may I suggest investing in a soldering station with temp control? If you plan on building in the future it will pay for itself in no time. There are some decent Weller clones for under $50. I tried a cheap iron back in the day when I started working on guitars and always got frustrated when I was soldering grounds on the pots.

[Greenie]

I bought a soldering iron for ?8($12) and it does the job just fine
Practice and patience is the best way