The basics of soldering.

[eastern57]

if i solder my saber toethor than wanted to add US2 or something can you reheat the solder so it comes apart?

Uncertainty is one thing, but come on... think about what you're about to ask - before you ask it.

[astromech_kuhns]

i have soldered before but no i have never needed to resolder anything. and srry eastern your right.

[eastern57]

No harm - no foul. I feel okay laughing at this one because I know you'll realize how silly it was

Solder = resolder

[astromech_kuhns]

lol all right. and thanks.

[Novastar]

I'm not certain if these have been posted here before, but... me wanna post it-think I should?-Gonna do it-here it go...

Judge Wapner's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpb4NfiGLMk

Erv-a-zoid's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdnGUMi7lQ

Nova-Claus's'ss'sss:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR9r_lGYGoQ

Yes I'm being weird, but... hey, what's wrong with that. It's all about freakin' toy LED sabers for heaven's sake...

Heheheh... seriously though--for those who need some soldering help... I think these 3 vids should be sufficient. You may not even need to watch them all. Or you can. Or not. I don't care. Just like I don't care if you're glad I'm eating nachos right now or not. I just don't care. hehehehhe

[Mandalorian]

Listen to Novastar. Those are some of the most helpful tutorial vids around here. There's even more to learn from them than just soldering. They teach that very well, but there's more as well.

[Tradeliphine]

I may have to adjust my set up, my iron has to heat the parts for like 10-30 seconds some times. It seems clean, I wipe it often, and from the vids it looks like im using a larger diameter solder than you guys, might have to look at that too. Im using a 45w craftsman iron at the moment, you cant adjust temp on it.

[Jedi-Loreen]

That sure doesn't sound right to me. It shouldn't take that long to heat up your parts. My 33W iron only takes a few seconds.

[Novastar]

Agreed with J-Lo... even in my minimal experience with soldering and after buying "el-junko" irons and abusing them like I should (and do)... I can solder most anything in a second or two.

Those who know me also know that my iron is friggin' akin to soldering with a bloody BASEBALL BAT, and poor Gundamaniac (Brian) had to use it in the CF Wiring Guide video...

...although he liked it, go figure.

Anyhow. Heating parts for >3 seconds or so = not a good idea... or something is wrong. Maybe it IS your solder... I don't know though...

[Mandalorian]

I just had my first soldering experience tonight, and I must say, it's a lot easier than everyone makes it up to be. I practiced a lot on some spare wire, but I got the hang of it really quickly. In less than an hour, I made my first solder and went on to make the basic LED hilt in Tim's tutorial.

So for all you fellow noobs, don't be afraid. Once you see how it's done and give it a try, it's not too hard.