the final step and bane of my existence- wiring

jinx_defusing

New member
Does anyone else have serious problems adding wires to their builds?
I can't quite tell you why I hate doing this so much. Probably because I run into problems during this last step in almost every build. It seems like it should be the easiest part, but something always seems to go wrong. Generally, the issues I run into are related to at least one of the wires needing to be replaced after I've already soldered at least one end of the wire.
These damn things are so fragile. They come apart, but of course, the end of it is soldered into place and then I have to remove it. I have completely destroyed so many projects while trying to remove the solder and the little bits of wire that get stuck to the board.

Could it be that the wires I am using are just cheap? Are some wires substantially more durable and well made compared to others?

Am I being too rough with the wires? Do I need to handle everything in an extremely delicate manner during this step of the build?

Why is it so damn hard to remove solder and then re-apply it again with a replacement wire/component? Is it just me, or are solder suckers absolutely useless? Meanwhile, the effectiveness of copper wicks seems to be hit or miss. This is the part where I have destroyed so many projects. While trying to remove the solder, I may be getting the PCB too hot. I have never done a clean removal of solder. I will end up not being able to get to all of it. Or I end up ripping out the small metal circles and I am left with a PCB that contains holes, but the replacement solder will not have anything to bind with.

is there someway to just .. bypass this step or something. I hate wiring. So much.

Does anyone know of any electrical wire is is exceptionally durable?

how do I remove solder without completing ruining an entire project ?
Please advise.
 
What kind of wire are you using? The quality of the wire can certainly make a difference. I personally like pre-bond wire, it has the solidity and rigidness of solid-core wire but it doesn't break as easily when stressed. I buy 24AWG from BLMS https://lovemyswitches.com/hook-up-wire-24awg-pre-bond-100-foot-spool/

The only way to really bypass wiring is to design your own boards so you do as little of it as possible. I like attaching as much as I can with header pins instead of wires, but you have to have relatively tight design/build/drilling tolerances to make it work.

As for removing solder without ruining a project, I'm partial to the "impact-assisted" solder removal method. I heat up the pad enough that I can remove the wire or component leg and am just left with a pad full of solder, then I heat up the solder until it flows and WHACK it against the workbench. It usually removes most of the solder, and if there's a stubborn bit left over I use solder braid to remove it.
 
I feel ya. For me it’s the LEDs. I hate soldering the effing LEDs.

I’ve tried soldering them direct to the board (on boards that support it), running wires to them, three different types of lenses. I just can’t seem to find an approach that doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out - if I had any.
 
I never got solder suckers to work well either. I had occasional success with braid but finally broke down and bought a Hakko FR-301 after Tayda sent me a bag of mislabeled resistors and I populated them in about twenty builds. It’s amazing but expensive.

I’ve since heard that the trick to getting solder braid to work is flux, but I’m not looking back.
 
The Engineer SS02 solder sucker is a game changer. I don't think it'll allow you to remove and reuse a pot from a PCB but mine has salvaged footswitches, toggle switched and DC jacks that were caked in solder.

I just bought a bunch of 22AWG silicone wire. Nice and flexible but tinning the ends is my weakpoint. It's hard to do inside an enclosure and the untinned sections becomes fragile.

My biggest gripe though is how tiny the lugs on everything are. DC jacks, 3PDTs, breakout boards and that damn stripboard.
 
The Engineer SS02 solder sucker is a game changer. I don't think it'll allow you to remove and reuse a pot from a PCB but mine has salvaged footswitches, toggle switched and DC jacks that were caked in solder.

I second this- the SS02 is amazing. I've not had any issues using it to desolder pots or even switches, and I use PCBs as breadboards 😅
I do usually use a quick swipe of a flux pen when desoldering bigger bits

As for wire, I prefer 22AWG solid core. Easy to bend, and it keeps it's shape. Once it's on the box, it won't be moving around much so don't have to worry about it breaking
 
Also. I don't know of anyone else using this, wire


But I can't say enough good things about it. super flexible, holds up to bending and fiddling, strips easily, and I even think it doesn't melt as easily if you accidentally get it too hot or hit it with the iron by accident.
I’ve posted about the 22ga version of that wire several times, I’ve been using it for years. I specify pads on my board designs that allow drilling out solder fills with a standard Dremel 1mm bit in a pin vise, so I typically don’t have to mess with desoldering beyond removing the duff wire. I do also have a Pace desoldering station and a pretty good touch with braid, and fairly strong board rework experience in general, but why make it hard on yourself? And in many cases destructive component removal is just the best call, painful as it is.
 
I’ve posted about the 22ga version of that wire several times, I’ve been using it for years. I specify pads on my board designs that allow drilling out solder fills with a standard Dremel 1mm bit in a pin vise, so I typically don’t have to mess with desoldering beyond removing the duff wire. I do also have a Pace desoldering station and a pretty good touch with braid, and fairly strong board rework experience in general, but why make it hard on yourself? And in many cases destructive component removal is just the best call, painful as it is.
“Destructive Component Removal” THAT’S the new band name I’ve been looking for! Thanks man!
 
I do plenty of Destructive Component Removal. The hard part is limiting it to when it's intentional.

I've only used solid wire and stranded wire, and I hate stranded wire so much: having to tin everything manually, having blobby bits of tinning that don't go cleanly through things, risking a stray hair that will short on something, yadda yadda. The only downside of solid, as far as I can tell, is that it won't survive as many flexes, although building for myself, it may never matter. The next time I run out, I'll try the tinned/bonded stranded, which does seem like the best of both worlds.

And I have that Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker and it's rad.
 
@jinx_defusing
I’ll be repeating some suggestions, and I bet one not repeated…

When I upgraded to a LARGER solder-suckerupper, that helped tremendously.

Sometimes you need to ADD solder before trying to remove it.

Get a small drill-bit that fits the pad holes (2mm or 1.5mm? 1.2mm?).
HAND-drill the wires and solder out of the bogged hole. A screw-driver type grip to hold the bit is highly recommended. GO SLOW, or you’ll surely brake the bit and getting the broken bit out is even more annoying than the tediously long time it takes to drill out the PCB pad. Once I upgraded to a better soldersucker, I’ve never needed copper-braid nor drillbits again.

Don’t stress over a lifted pad or trace — often you can bodge a connection to whatever component the pad/trace was leading to (so don’t throw away botched projects as you may be able to salvage them later).
 
Solid core teflon wire. It's silver plated and tough as nails. And since it's solid core it stays where you put it. Essential in tube work...

 
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