Could this cause my issue?

[Chuck H]

Folks... When Juan advocates, that's testimony. I wouldn't be surprised if makes his own electricity from nuclear waste!!!

Maybe I'll give the braid another shot when I get some flux... About that "homemade rosin flux"???

P.S. Juan, you can get bifocal readers now. They just popped up in the last year. I'm looking for a pair with no top frame so I can look over them for NO lensing and still have two choices for magnification

[daz]

Chuck, don't give up on braid after one try. Sometimes it doesn't work well the same way some days solder just doesn't seem to flow as well as normal. There are also some brands of braid that don't work near as well. Also, as was said using flux with it can help. But the point is when it works it's amazingly good and will wick solder out of places even a plunger type sucker can't get and it leaves the area clean and shiney.

[dai h.]

re: braid:

-choose the right size for the job
-make sure it isn't old and oxidized (probably a good idea to store in sealable bag, container, etc.)
-sometimes tinning the very edge helps (as a sort of "starter point")

JM wrote:

It cleans better than any sucking system I have ever tried

I think there is truth (though not sure if that's absolute) in this. It can be a sort of "rag" as you have it heated and wipe over areas w/solder residue.

[Gtr_tech]

I use a combination of a homebrew vacuum desoldering station I built, manual solder sucker, and wick. They all have uses depending on the situation. Wick is handy for cleaning up boards after IC removal. All solder wick is not created equal....you must use *good* wick. I have a shit ton of different types and my favorite is American Beauty/Assembly Technology Dri-Wick. Made in good ol' Detriot and does a great job. Blows Tech Spray out of the water and works better than Chemtronics....

[Mick Bailey]

I'm in agreement that most braids don't have anywhere near enough flux. The best braid I've found is from stripped coax pulled straight and flat. I put a smear of flux over it and it removes the solder perfectly. I've also got a desolder station which I use all the time. Should have got one years ago. Fantastic and an absolute joy to use.

I saw some footage of a Japanese assembly station making consumer audio (possibly shot in the early 70s). The size and temperature of the irons was unexpected, but the speed of assembly was astonishing - probably three joints a second.

The biggest iron I've got is to repair chassis joints on Fenders - especially the bus strip where it cracks away. A mere mortal soldering iron will get the entire chassis up to temperature by the time the solder flows, so the heat/time equation really comes in. You need a soldering iron forged by Vulcan himself to do that job.

[Gtr_tech]

I use a Weller W100P iron for chassis connections. Does the job everytime...

http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cat/images/W100P3_700.jpg

[Dave Curtis, dB AudioTech]

I have one of these:



It's Craftsman's version of the Black Beauty. It has no problem at all with chassis work. Before I found it at a flea market I was using the torch accessory for soldering (big copper wedge) clamped on a set of needle nose vise grips and heating it with the torch, metal shop style.