How to Solder Wires and Electronics

Turn on your solder iron. Conventional irons need to heat up for a couple of minutes. Solder Guns heats up in seconds.

Set up your connector using tools that will keep your parts stationary. I will be using an electronics vise.

Apply the tip of the iron to the connector/wire joint, not the solder itself. The solder wont stick properly to cold parts.

After a few seconds touch the solder to the connection joint. If its hot enough the solder will melt into the joint. Its important to remember to let the solder melt from the heat of in the wire. This ensures the best quality solder joint.

Important note: The smaller the metal parts, the faster they will heat up. The larger, the slower they will heat up. Keep this in mind if you are soldering in a chip or IC circuit. The legs on the chip will heat up very fast. A second is all you need before you apply the solder.

Check your work for cold solder joints. A cold joint is a joint that was not made properly and can be spotted by its dull grey appearance. A quality joint will be shiny like silver.