Connecting wires without solder

[3602]

So basically...
I was making LODs and interconnects all without soldering guns or solder. What I do is simply twine the wires together and fix them in place with super glue. If exposed too much, usually I wrap a ferrite core around it to hide the stuff.
Thing is, I don't have the least idea on how to solder. How do I use the soldering rod? Flux? Desolderer??
Anyway. I simply want to know how this'll hold up on the long run. I recabled a healthy amount of headphones all like this.

 

[iriverdude]

Quote:

What I do is simply twine the wires together and fix them in place with super glue

FAIL. I'll have to remind myself not to buy cables from you. Youtube should have videos on how to use a soldering iron.

 

[FraGGleR]

I was trying to get creative about how to do things without soldering, but found that I had to try harder at that and risk failure than I eventually did learning how to solder. Like iriverdude said, there are tons of videos online which will be much easier to follow than written directions. Especially for cables, it really isn't that hard to do once you have practiced up a bit. I have no idea how well your non solder connections will hold up. Wiggle them like crazy to simulate normal use. If they sound good to you, then from that standpoint, they are fine. I would worry that superglue can be brittle. I would have gone with hot glue, which is what I use to seal my connections once I have soldered properly.

Soldering is way more fun than I ever would have imagined, so I highly recommend you get an iron and start practicing. And like iriverdude said, if you ever try to sell a cable, I don't know if anyone on this forum would want something that hadn't been soldered properly.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Just get a soldering iron, watch the YouTube videos and start fooling with it.

Even a $5 iron and another $5-$10 in materials will give you something to practice with.

You'll get the hang of it in an hour or two and then you'll kick yourself in the ass for taking desperate measures to avoid something so easy.

Not to beat up on you, but this is something I've been seeing more and more lately. People throwing up their hands when confronted with something new and then making ten times the effort to get around learning it. That drives me crazy.

If there's something I want to do and haven't, I read up on it and then make several failed attempts (and yeah, I screw things up) before figuring it out.

So go get an iron. Screw up and learn what doesn't work. Then get busy soldering. There's a lot of great stuff to build out there.

 

[johnwmclean]

It’s definitely Tangent time.

Tangent Tutorials

 

[Lyel]

+1 to the Tangent tutorials. Just grab an iron and go - it is WAY easier than it seems before you start. If you've got any broken equipment, you can play around by removing and resoldering components, or just practice on some wires, anything really. Uncle Erik has a bunch of great points - it'll take an hour tops to get the hang of it.

 

[Juaquin]

Soldering (at least wires or through-hole parts) is ridiculously easy. Turn iron on, wait for it to heat up, push it against metal pieces you want to solder, and add solder. Remove iron. Done. Of course this is simplified, and doing truly good work is much more complicated than this, but that should be enough to get started making interconnects and such. Don't be afraid of it.

 

[3602]

Nah. I DIM strictly for myself, so don't worry about me selling DIM cables.
Thing is, now I am broke to the point that I cannot even spend a buck on hot glue. I am running on $25 (twenty-five) CAD per week and
Quote:

[...]a powerful need to eat some time this month. --Malcolm Reynolds

I sold my computer to buy my current gear (see sig), and to not declare bankrupcy in the near future, I am selling my Archos, my bike and just about anything I can to enjoy as high-quality sound as I can. Next year I'll go join the Canadian Forces (screw school thank you very much) and God knows when I'll be downed by a little sheet head, so I'm just enjoying as much audio pleasure as I can.
Going off topic, eh? When (if) the days get better, I'll go buy an iron and start doing stuff.

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[TheKisho]

You might want to spend a bit more and get 62/36/02 (tin/lead/silver) solder rather then the standard 60/40. It's nicer for the fact that it's either liquid or solid, no in between state. I don't recommend trying to learn with "silver solder"/"lead free" it's impossible, and frustrating.


P.S. There is ways to connect wires properly without soldering (it involves conductive electrical paste). Soldering is better option.

P.P.S. Don't paint the solder on to your wires with the iron, if the guy in the tutorial is doing so go on to the next tutorial.

P.P.P.S. This is all advice for when you start to learn how to solder.

 

[Juaquin]

Uh...you recommend 62/36/2 and then say that you DON'T recommend silver solder? I'm confused.

Personally I'd recommend 63/37. It's the same price as 60/40 in most cases, and is eutectic (the term for going straight from liquid to solid with no pasty stage). 62/36/2 is nice if you're into the silver thing but it has a higher melting point and is a little harder to work with.

 

[TheKisho]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juaquin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Uh...you recommend 62/36/2 and then say that you DON'T recommend silver solder? I'm confused.

I should of said silver, lead free solder mixes. Beside it still has enough lead to be easy to work with. And what I don't recommend is the silver solder that has no lead in it or any lead free mixes, RoHS compliment lead free solder.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Juaquin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally I'd recommend 63/37. It's the same price as 60/40 in most cases, and is eutectic (the term for going straight from liquid to solid with no pasty stage). 62/36/2 is nice if you're into the silver thing but it has a higher melting point and is a little harder to work with.

63/37 is another one of the mixes that doesn't have an in between stage between solid and liquid. Yes it's eutectic but it's not like someone new to soldering should have know that at first (develop skills, terminology can always be learned later). I don't notice the melting point is significantly higher then 60/40, and 2% silver is not at all unmanageable (it's just as hard/easy to use as 60/40). It's really the lead that determines the low melting point.


P.S. Whatever you do, don't confuse plumbing solder for electrical solder.

 

[3602]

How 'bout leadless (lead-free)?

 

[TheKisho]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif How 'bout leadless (lead-free)?

You can try lead-free solder if you want, but you must really hate yourself. You'll most likely melt or burnout or otherwise overheat whatever your working on due to the high melting temperature. You'll need about another 30F to melt most lead-free solders vs the normal 60/40 mix. With a lower wattage iron (cheaper) you might have problems even getting the lead-free solder hot enough to melt. With lead-free solder you have to be really good at soldering and you have to get the job done quickly or you'll just end up damaging whatever your trying to solder.

 

[3602]

Alright. I'll just wash my hands after using lead solder.
BTW, what does flux do and how do I use it?