
Introduction to the course and a little about me.
Practice proper soldering safety by wearing safety glasses and using ventilation or a fume extractor. Keep the iron away from flammable liquids, wash hands after work, and mitigate hazards.
Explore essential and optional soldering tools, from a temperature-controlled iron to rosin core lead or lead-free solder, flux, wire sizes, cleaning supplies, and safety gear for reliable joints.
Set up your soldering station to minimize mistakes and hazards by placing the iron on the right, solder on the left, keeping brass sponge nearby, and tools within arm's reach.
Prepare soldering pieces by cleaning components and boards to remove oils, oxidation, and dust that hinder solder wetting. Bend leads before cleaning, and wipe with IPA to prevent wetting issues.
Dial temperatures for lead-based (600–650°F) or lead-free (650–700°F) solder, tin the tip, and select the right tip size to optimize heat transfer for components.
Inspect the solder joint for a shiny volcano shape, ensure through-hole solder covers the leg and opposite side, then trim leads perpendicular and clean with 99% IPA.
Learn practical troubleshooting for common soldering issues and fixes, including ugly solder joints and removing components, with clear methods you can apply quickly.
Learn to use solder wick to remove solder, apply flux for better flow, and fix common solder joint issues such as cold, overheated, bridged, or lifted pads.
Finish the soldering foundation course and empower you with knowledge to tackle nearly any soldering activity, while inviting feedback for more detail.
The reason I chose to make this course is because soldering is such an important foundational tool to have in your maker tool chest. By taking a little bit of time and effort in this course to learn the dos and don’ts, you’ll learn a valuable skill that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.
If you’ve tried soldering before and can’t seem to get it right, or if you’ve never soldered before…you’re in the right place.
What you’ll learn:
· Preparing your project for soldering
· The right (and wrong) way to solder
· Common terms in soldering
· The equipment you’ll need and what it’s used for
· Some optional equipment to consider
· Cleaning up your solder joint
· Troubleshooting your soldering issues
· How to fix any issues with your solder joints
This course is designed to be simple and to the point. We go step-by-step on what to do with plenty of zoomed-in footage so you can see what’s going on. The course is designed to take you from knowing nothing about soldering to being able to solder with confidence on just about any project that you can imagine. Even if you’re not new to soldering, there’s likely to be some great information to supplement what you already know.
This course focuses on thru-hole soldering, but the principles can be applied to any soldering method.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Take care!