Ugly Solder Joints

[kevinT]

...wanted to get folks' opinions/tips/suggestions/solutions/reactions...... And I can't be the only person that has this happen...this is a rambling two-part question/survey...

How do you manage your solder joints when/if you discover, after you have soldered on a cover, that the cover is scratched or damaged and you have to replace it... and resoldering a new cover on the pickup begins to make the joints on the baseplate look less than perfect . ...I have tried the solder sucker, and desoldering braid to remove excess solder but I don't think they work that well and still don't tidy up nicely. The joints on the baseplate can start looking a bit funky. I also don't cut the joints like some folks (which would probably help) ...I use the razor blade technique and reheat the solder joints to remove the cover and I re-attach with a little more solder.

In rare instances I have had to replace a cover twice because of discovering damage ...by this time the joints are beginning to look a little unwildly. I don't want to trash the pickup because it's fine and transferring everything over to a new baseplate/harness is a real headache and a time eater..but the solder joints appear less than perfect by my standards. The pickup is fine and the replacement cover is fine...but the solder joints are a little blobby.

First, do you have any suggestions that would help?

Second, let's say you're fillling an order for a customer, what would you do if you had a pickup with less then perfect solder joints? Pick one answer...

a. Not worry about it if the joints look a little blobby because some old Gibson pickups and even PAFs had blobby joints.

b. Trash the pickup and start all over again because you're afraid that your customers will think less of you and talk about you like a dog on the forums.

c. Transfer everything over to a new harness which will put you further behind schedule and cause your backlog of customers to damn you to hell....

d. Other_________

[David King]

d.) Try a utectic solder?

[Spence]

I know what you mean Kevin. The stupid thing is that people never gave a shit about the baseplate in the good old days.

But you should be able to retouch those joints and make them look better by adding a little more solder if needs be.
I use a 100 Watt soldering iron too so it gets hot fast. I can literally hold the baseplate while soldering without burning myself. That's how quick it is.

[Possum]

...

The beauty of the razor blade method is you can get in and out twice and not mess it up. But yeah it happens, the solder flows towards the middle of baseplate, oh shit.... I am perfectionist that way too. Usually I'll just spread both joints out bigger if it happens so they are both the same. I think a hotter iron is the best thing to use, I use 60 watt irons but they're not all the same heat range, I think hotter is better in the long run. Pointed tip too....

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

Like Spence said - if you have enough heat, you can do a really clean job. I've done cover swaps several times and had it looking untouched each time. Get yourself a nice heavy wick, and go to it. I use an 80w iron with a tip that's about 1/2" wide. Needless to say, it ONLY gets used for the cover/baseplate joint! The wide tip also means you don't need to move it around to spread the heat, which will mean you don't get that wavy quality to the solder. When resoldering, I'll cut off a bunch of solder and double or triple it up so that it goes on much heavier and faster, that saves some time so I'm spending less time with the iron pressed to the baseplate.

That is pretty much my rule of thumb for all kinds of soldering... you shouldn't have to keep the iron to the piece longer than a couple seconds ever, or else you might damage the work, or at least get funny looking joints. I find it easier to work with too much heat than with not enough.

I'm not sure just how neat you want the solder joints to look, but when I do it this way, they tend to be slightly neater than you typically see on Gibson, Duncan, etc.

Spence, do you find you have to use the iron a bit cooler to keep it from burning the rosin? If I plug mine in and leave it plugged in too long it just burns the rosin and it all turns black very fast. I have to unplug it and replug it to get the right temperature.

[Down Time]

I use a 45 watt Weller iron with a large chisel tip. I then heat the joint and quickly slide a single edged razor blade between the cover and the frame. The solder will not stick to the razor blade. Once the cover is removed its easier to clean the solder off the frame if needed. You can use a desoldering bulb first to remove an unusual large amount of solder, then proceed to the single edge razor. This method has always worked fine for me.

[SkinnyWire]

Remove the cover, then apply flux the solder remaining on the cover and frame and flow the solder into a thin/smooth layer on both the inside of the cover and on the frame (you might be able to remove a bit more solder with the soldapultz once the cover is removed). Put the cover back on and now you have a well tinned surface for a neat joint.

[RedHouse]

Having one of those big sheet-metal type soldering irons helps. It gets the heat on there without lingering too long which is why the solder tends to flow toward cooler areas.

In this picture, the one labeled 3138 is the kind I'm talking about:

(but with a chisel-tip instead of a pointed tip)

[Joe Gwinn]

Having one of those big sheet-metal type soldering irons helps. It gets the heat on there without lingering too long which is why the solder tends to flow toward cooler areas.

In this picture, the one labeled 3138 is the kind I'm talking about:

(but with a chisel-tip instead of a pointed tip)

Are these temperature controlled? This makes a big difference, because a temp controlled iron can have twice the wattage and yet be in no danger of overheating. So, things go really fast, which is good.

[soundmasterg]

Yah temp controlled are where its at. My soldering skills took a huge leap forward when I got a temp controlled iron. I've got a couple nice Wellers now....one for amp work and one for guitar work.

Greg

[SteveJ]

The brass base plates give me fits. I had to solder some covers on Dimarzio's for someone. The brass absorbs the heat so fast that it's hard to get a good joint. Any tips for those?

[Possum]

...

Kevin T send you a PM, let me know...

[Joe Gwinn]

The brass base plates give me fits. I had to solder some covers on Dimarzio's for someone. The brass absorbs the heat so fast that it's hard to get a good joint. Any tips for those?

Yeah. You need a BIG iron (if no temp control) for that, or alternately a STRONG iron (with temp control).

An undersized or underpowered iron will cook the whole assembly as it struggles to get the joint up to temperature. If one must err, err on the side of too big, so the joint comes up to temperature fast.

I haven't tried to unsolder any covers with my Weller 50-watt WES51 temp controlled iron, but I bet it will work if I use the wide screwdriver tip. The WES51 cost $100 on sale.

If 50 watts isn't enough, Weller makes some big temp controlled irons for stained glass makers.

I like the heat and separate with a (blunted) razor blade approach.

[RedHouse]

Yeah. You need a BIG iron (if no temp control) for that, or alternately a STRONG iron (with temp control).

An undersized or underpowered iron will cook the whole assembly as it struggles to get the joint up to temperature. If one must err, err on the side of too big, so the joint comes up to temperature fast.

I haven't tried to unsolder any covers with my Weller 50-watt WES51 temp controlled iron, but I bet it will work if I use the wide screwdriver tip. The WES51 cost $100 on sale.

If 50 watts isn't enough, Weller makes some big temp controlled irons for stained glass makers.

I like the heat and separate with a (blunted) razor blade approach.

I doubt you will be cosmetically successful with a 50W. In my post above I was trying to show how one needs a BIG iron (not huge, but not a standard size one), then heat the joint fast and move off.

It's much like the 5-second rule in soldering silicon, get in, do the deed, get out in the least amount of time. Lingering makes the solder flow where you don't want it, and lingering also brings the baseplate up to a temperature than can start to do things you don't want.
(melting tape, melting/shorting connection wires, bobbin edges etc)

[jrfrond]

High heat, short work time is the key. Many people tend to solder with far too little heat, and things like chassis, pickup covers and baseplates, etc. tend to sink away lots of heat.

The best tool I have found is a good ol' Weller Solder Gun that you can buy in Home Depot. I've got a Weller gun here in the shop that does 100/250W. Even the heaviest of chassis don't stand a chance! Also, to improve heat transfer and boil off insulating oxides, always use some RMA paste flux, or even a bit of fresh rosin-core solder to get the joint going.