Soldering 42 AWG plain enamel wire to the hookup wire

[Mack Guitarworks]

Dear Members,

I like to wind my own pickups for my guitars, mostly humbuckers.
I use my own designed winder, mostly mojotone bobbins, Addiction FX magnets and Remington (Eletrisola) 42 AWG plain enamel wires and 7 stranded AWG 28 (i think) for the hookup wires.

I'm feelin not really comfortable to solder the bobbin wire to the hook-up wire.
With a fender-like singlecoil i have no trouble, because of the eyelet.
But with the humbuckers... another story.

Mostly i use 7-10 turns from the pickup wire on the hookup wire, then try to solder the joint with normal resin core solder (i use solomon 965 soldering iron (25 W). Mostly, the solder runs just from the point, and will not stick on it, like on a pot-soldering-pont.

I tried to use some fluid chemicals for a better solder, or remove the plain enamel with fine sanding paper,
but i just can't get a nice and clear solder joint, like on all soldering points on a guitar.

If i use too much heat to the 42 AWG, the wire will burn, like a little fuse.

How do you make it? How do you get a clear solder joint?
What's the point to get a clear solder joint with these hair like wires?

Thanks for the answers.

[LtKojak]

You need to sand-off the pe coating; solder doesn't stick to or melt the coating.

HTH,

[David King]

We've had this discussion in some depth and detail but I'm not finding it now.

[big_teee]

It's fairly easy to do, start with a good hot iron.
Lightly pull several inches of the end of the 42PE through some wore out fine 400 grit sand paper.
Don't over do it.
Tin the 28 gauge bare end.
wrap the PE around the tinned 28 gauge, making a pigtail connection.
Then apply the heat and solder to the 28 gauge, start soldering at the end away from the roll. soldering the 28, and 42 gauge together.
If the solder doesn't make a puddle around both wires then it did not solder together.
Don't know if that makes sense, but how I do it.
T
**I'll try to take a picture of a soldered connection tomorrow.

[Chuck H]

Just a thought... I might just flash the magnet wire with a Bic and then buff it with a scotch bright pad. After that the spiral wrap and solder described by Terry should work fine, I assume we all use flux core solder.?.

I'm not sure what modern magnet wire is coated with, but once upon a time you could just buff the end with lacquer thinner and it would strip off the coating. It's a nasty solvent though. Probably why T just uses abrasion. I'm not a pickup guy though.

Probably best to keep the iron at or near 710*F. A big, clumsy "soldering iron" could damage the fine wire. So in this case a soldering "station" with temp control is WAY better than a generic "soldering iron" where the temp is uncertain.

JM2C

[David King]

Chuck,
I don't thick lacquer thinner touches PE, I wish I knew what did.

[tedmich]

molten KOH or NaOH are very effective at stripping even the finest magnet wire
Chemical and Mechanical Stripping Operating Instructions for Litz Wire and Magnet Wire | The Litz People!
also
https://www.eraser.com/products/wire...ire-stripping/

Eraser's Dip Strip melts at 260C and will dissolve almost any polymer
Partial Listing of Insulation Types Dip Strip
Will Remove:
• Thermosetting terephthalic polyester and amide
type imide overcoat and thermoplastic
polyester cement.
• Triple polyvinyl acetyl resin and butyral adhesive
overcoat.
• Polyurethane and 6/6 nylon and butyral adhesive.
• Heavy polyimide.
• Polyurethane and 6/6 nylon overcoat.
• Hermetic polyvinyl formal acetate resin.
• Nylon/Polyester.
• Polyimide/Polyester.
• Esterimide.

A 50/50 mole percent mixture of KOH and NaOH melts at only 170C (its eutectic point) but also destroys most polymers.
even PTFE and FEP are no match for molten alkali metal salts!

PS they are VERY dangerous

Rinsing stripped wire in dilute HCl then distilled water neutralizes the alkali and leaves bright copper

Aggressive paint strippers like Klean Strip spray (dichloromethane) also dissolves many plastics (not nylon)

a hot solution of calcium chloride in methanol will dissolve nylon 6-6, and hopefully won't react with the copper too much.
Phenol or Cresol totally dissolves nylon at room temp.

[J M Fahey]

^^^^^^ Incredibly useful post
Thanks.

[Mack Guitarworks]

Yesterday i made a test, and sand off the enamel with P600 sandpaper.
After pulling the wire 2-3 times under my finger - pushed gently against the sandpaper -, most of the enamel is gone.
It seems to work, the soldering looks like it should. I just can't made real sharp photo with my cellphone...



Working with chemicals on a hair-like wire makes me nerveus, but maybe i just have to try.
Do they strip wires with chemicals in the factory like Seymour or Gibson? How do they make it?

Anyway, thanks for the help guys, i really appriciate it.

[tedmich]

The main pitfall of molten alkali salts is that they have to be super DRY. And KOH and NaOH are both very HYGROSCOPIC. They suck water out of the air very rapidly, with nice dry pellets becoming wet and oily in a matter of minutes when their bottle is opened. So they must be heated very gently until they can lose their water.

If the wire is wet when plunged into molten salt it will spatter like an ice cube in a deep fat fryer, and the spatter is Draino that turns skin/eyes into soap.
BE CAREFUL!

[Mack Guitarworks]

Yes, NaOH can cause blindness immediately.

I use it for darkening fretboards, if it's necessary.
It help to solve the natural oils from rosewood, to use them as a natural stain.

But beware for all they read this thread: ALWAYS wear CLOSED security glass, when working with NaOH.
Even a small residue on your finger - rubbing into your eye can cause blindness, wich is nonreversibel.

For me, the sandpaper-method works fine, the result is exact match, what i was looking for.

[Beef Coon]

Sanding the insulation off is super simple, easy, and safe. For me, chemicals are typically a last resort.

One important thing is to have really really good lighting on your bench so you can see. I use a couple desk lamps at the same time so light reflects @ different angles and makes it really easy to see if the insulation has been stripped, & double checking solder connections etc w/out straining my eyes.

[copperheadroads]

Try this ..... don't sand the PE insulation now try to solder is if the insulation was sanded only now apply some pressure on the joint with the tip (you will need something hard that wont melt ,I've always used a block of wood for soldering humbucker leads
I don't normally use this method but i know it works .