CONTEST Fig's Happy Hot Holiday

CONTEST
fig

fig

Village Idiot
Good News Everyone!

It's time to step up your game! Yer solderin' game that is! ❤️‍🔥

Share a solderin' story ( as real as you make it ) or sing a song about solder...build a pedal with a solder theme, etc, etc,...

... your DIY creativity might win this;

Pace 8007-0579 ADS200 AccuDrive Soldering Station 120V with Setback Cubby https://a.co/d/1b8ERie

Submit yer sesquipedalian saga no later than Dec 15th.

Any duties or customs charges are your responsibility (should you win that is) ;)
Batteries not included, or needed.

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I learned how to (not) micro solder on my $3000 video field monitor/recorder. The (BS) mini hdmi pins got crunched from an overzealous assistant so it needed pulled and replaced. The manufacturer is actually located about two miles from my house but they wanted 1/3 of the cost for the repair. I researched and practiced for six months before nuttin up and trying. I pulled three traces up even with the low melt solder. Total fail. I had to get an SDI converter and go in via BNC, way more pro anyways. If I win a nice station maybe I'll revisit this monitor of shame now that I'm much more experienced / MORE FLUX!@!!
 
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My soldering brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's Hotter than yours
Damn right, it's Hotter than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge

My soldering brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's hotter than yours
Damn right, it's hotter than yours
I can teach you, but I have to charge

I know you want it
The flux that makes me
What the guys go crazy for
They lose their minds
The way I unwind
It’s soldering time

La-la, la-la, la
The boys are waiting
La-la, la-la, la
Warm it up
La-la, la-la, la
The boys are waiting
 
I might as well tell my whole soldering journey.

The first thing I ever soldered was a kit guitar. I couldn't tell you how many videos and articles I read about soldering or pot cavity wiring. I had to do it with my dad's iron that he had for decades and was used only a handful of times. Since he's used an iron more than me he was more "expert" than I was and showed him what I'd done to see if they were good joints. Melting metal with a 750+ degree iron was super fun and that's when I got the bug and couldn't wait to solder again. Then I decided to make a pedal (tubescreamer) and put it together with dad's iron. Now the addiction really starts to sink in.

Fast forward a few months and my wife and I are in our new home. I finally have my own man cave and needed to get with it. So, I purchased a $10 iron from Amazon. Just like a wood burning kit, this one had a cord on it that was only a few feet long, maybe 3. I didn't have a workbench yet, so in order to build pedals I have to lay on the floor on my stomach in the basement (there was carpeting so it wasn't that bad). The iron also didn't come with a stand of any kind, or at least I don't remember if there was one, so I had to lay it on a piece of cardboard to not burn up the carpet. That was my normal solder process for about a year.

Eventually I got sick of not having an iron stand and upgraded to a $20 iron with digital temperature control and a separate stand that was maybe $10. OMG, this thing was incredible compared to the other one. No more guessing when the iron's ready! By this time I finally have a workbench and can sit in a chair to do the deed. For Christmas the following year my wife got me an actual soldering station. Now we're in the big leagues! Sleep mode, temperature control, display in Fahrenheit or Celsius, I couldn't ask for more! I haven't had any problems with it since.
 
There was that one time in one of my firsts build where I was wondering why my pot would not act as it should and decided it was a bad pot. Few weeks later, before putting the bad pot in the trash, upon inspection. I don't even understand how I did that bad, I must have soldered it as it was already inside the enclosure.
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I keep that pot in my box just as a reminder.
 
I grew up in a house with schematics tacked to the wall, racks of equipment in the basement, and my dad often repairing electronics at the kitchen table. Despite all that, I didn't get into building or repairing stuff til I was in my 20s and I had to learn everything on my own. Now my dad asks me to inspect his work and asks me for help
 
I've got a Weller WE1010NA and thought I was set but soon discovered that brass sponge tip cleaners were better than the wet sponge that came with it.... so I bought one of these Weller brass sponges
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I found this brass sponge to really work well and was using it a lot. I like to keep my work area clean and everything was going well but I picked up this Weller brass sponge and holder to clean my tip and didn't realize the bottom would pop out. Well, I pressed the tip in firmly and POP! Out goes the bottom and the brass sponge.. bounced off my desk and onto the carpet. Man, there was a lot of SOLDER inside that thing. It went everywhere and I was right in the middle of soldering my PCB at a critical time. After lots of cursing I went ahead and finished up my soldering. Then I had to go get the vacuum and vacuum the desk and the floor. I was so mad.:mad:🤬

Moral of the story is be careful with these cool little Brass Sponge doohickies and make sure it is flat against something when you press your tip in. That rubber is flexible and the little round metal plate in the bottom will pop right out and make a huge mess right when you are in the middle of soldering at a critical point.
 
Like many here, I learned soldering on guitars and started with cheapie Radio Shack Irons. I still use a cheapie from Amazon that burns hotter and it gets the job done just fine for my purposes! Here's my song! I'll see if I can craft something dedicated to solder. @fig please take me out of the running! I'd like to participate but want someone else to benefit from your generosity!

Friends in Low Traces
'Cuit Brooks

Blame it all on my tools, I showed up with spools
And soldering iron in hand,
The last one to solder, the last one to order
I was the last one you thought would repair
And I saw the surprise and the doubt in your eyes
When I fixed that circuit so fine
And I told you, "Honey, it's no question, who,
With these skills of mine"

'Cause I've got friends in low traces
Where the solder flows and the wires trace their paths with grace
And I'll be A-OK
Yeah, I'm not big on fancy cases
Think I'll heat up the soldering bases
Oh, I've got friends in low traces

Well, I guess I was right, I soldered through the night
Every connection was tight and secure
Everything's just fine, now your gadgets all shine
And I'm the tech hero for sure
Hey, I didn't mean to steal the spotlight scene
Just give me some solder and then
Well, I'll be as hot as that solder pot
That you're pluggin' in

'Cause I've got friends in low traces
Where the solder flows and the wires trace their paths with grace
And I'll be A-OK
Yeah, I'm not big on fancy cases
Think I'll heat up the soldering bases
Oh, I've got friends in low traces
 
All I wanted was a good compressor at an affordable price. I couldn’t find one that wasn’t outrageously priced, so I explored building one. I’d never soldered anything ever, so I watched tons of solder videos, read tons of threads and explored irons. I finally settled on a soldering station that was on sale for $14.00. I used it for 10 years, and it still works. I read so many troubleshooting threads to find one common denominator. Soldering, bad soldering. That was 12 years ago. I don’t even have that compressor anymore, but I built another just like it. Doesn’t work? Reflow your solder. Still doesn’t work, do it again. After that compressor came to life, I was hooked. Solder is the whole key to what we do. Did I win?
 
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