How to solder - with Ben (Fablab)

Slides from the session covering main points plus some advice on choosing tools:

R4R Soldering 2018-07-24.pdf (150.5 KB)

When & where?

:clock2: 14:00-15:30
:compass: Fablab

Why you should come to this session

Soldering is a key skill in electronics repair. Not only does good soldering enable quality, lasting repairs, soldering skills open the door to modification, hacking and other creative activities such as (gasp) MAKING STUFF!

Our events are all about sharing and learning - sometimes we learn a new concept or attitude for repair, and sometimes we learn how to use a tool we didn’t know before. This session will focus very much on the practical, as soldering can be simple and easy, but is often misunderstood.

Hosted by Ben Skidmore, we will go over the concepts of soldering, health and safety considerations, good tools to have, and crucially the secret of a good solder joint.

Session outline

There will be a brief presentation explaining the mechanics of soldering, and some useful information on good practise.

This will be followed by a demo of basic techniques and some useful repair procedures. Ben will show us how to remove a solder joint, replace a component on a circuit board, and repair a broken wire using a solder join and heat-shrink insulation.

After this, we want to get hands-on! Expect to join at least two electronic components together and have a go at the various methods we’ve discussed. We will be bringing as many soldering irons as possible to ensure plenty of practical time, but a small amount of tool-sharing may be necessary.

About the facilitator

I’m @benski, a graduate electronic engineer who has been tinkering with electronics my whole life. I have worked in guitar repair, sustainable energy and currently work in broadcast - so I’m no stranger to wires and hot irons!

Repair and sustainability is an important topic for me, but just as important are practical skills. I have lots of woodwork experience and I feel that a physical skill or hobby can offer great rewards for mental health and happiness. I also love teaching, learning and sharing things with new people - which is why the Restart Project has been so much fun!

Help us document this session!

This is a wiki post, meaning anyone can edit it by clicking on the ‘Edit’ button at the bottom of this post: Edit%20button . Feel free to make edits and add your own notes :wink:
You’re also welcome to leave comments below to help us document the session, e.g.:

  • what happened in the session?
  • what did you learn or find interesting?
  • who did you talk to and did any actions come out of the conversation?

Thanks for this session, Ben, I found it really useful and informative!