How to Solder

Being into the DIY part of guitars means knowing how to solder. From swapping pickups and pots to building and modding stompboxes and amps, it’s an essential skill. And it really isn’t that hard. Soldering correctly is all about the details. If you approach it with the mindset of ” gluing” the parts together with solder , you’re going to fail. Molten solder dripped onto two pieces of solderable metal will not stick. You need to heat the parts you are trying to bond till they’re hot enough to melt the solder themselves.

Another thing that trips some people up is getting the heat from the soldering iron to transfer to your parts efficiently. The key factor here is cleanliness. The soldering tip itself needs to be constantly cleaned and maintained to do it’s job properly. You can keep it clean while soldering by wiping it on either a damp sponge or a brass tip cleaner, which I prefer. And always keep the tip covered in solder as it will quickly corrode without it. Then always dip the tip in some tip tinner when your done soldering. If your soldering tip is all black and pitted and has a hard time melting solder, you need a new tip.

This tip needs to be replaced

The parts your soldering need to be clean as well. The easiest way to ensure this is to use rosin core solder. This is solder that has some rosin flux running through the center of it. The flux dissolves any oxidation on the metal, which the solder won’t stick to. It then briefly acts as a barrier to oxygen, preventing oxidation from taking place as you solder. You can also by flux separately usually as a paste. I like to spread some of this on more difficult to solder items, like the ground wires you need to attach to the back of your guitars volume and tone potentiometers. I’ve heard so many people complaining how hard this is and that you need at least a 40 watt iron and heavy chisel tip to do it. I have no problem doing this with a 25watt iron and pointed tip because I flux the back of the pot and the wires. You also always want to pre-tin your wires, which is simply melting some solder on the end of the wire you are about to solder. It helps the heat transfer more quickly.

Here’s a really good demonstration on how to solder I found on CuriousInventor.com. This guy explains everything you need to know. Pay attention to all the details and soldering will go from an intimidating task to a skill to help in your quest for your ultimate guitar tone.