I bought desoldering braid

[Billkwando]

Today, I am a man.

 

[shadowkn55]

Congrats on your first step into a brave new world.

 

[Xian Xi]

You're a teenager. Once you get a desoldering station then you become a man...lol

 

[Anselm]

 

[Fritz]

Anselm means serious business. What did that cost you?

 

[Anselm]

Used on Ebay for like $250. It was a steal compared to the cost of a new one. I knew what I was looking for though since I spent 5 years of my life as a microscopic circuit card repair tech.
The only flaw it has is that it won't switch to Celsius. Since I am an American, I really don't care :P

I bought it when I got my first Neo Geo board (6-slot), and it had no sound out of the left channel. 30some capacitors and two op amps later, I fixed it...the hard way. hehehe.

~Anselm~

 

[Professor Plum]

I bought desoldering braid Today, I am a man.

I think once you cap your first monitor you are a man. There are many arcade collectors who have been using copper braid for many years and swear by it.

 

[Dion]

I don't use the braid for monitors. The solder pads are so big that it is easier to use a desoldering iron. I do use the braid on game pcbs though. Good stuff.

 

[Billkwando]

I don't use the braid for monitors. The solder pads are so big that it is easier to use a desoldering iron. I do use the braid on game pcbs though. Good stuff.

I bought it as a "just in case" kinda thing, so I could practice at some point, since I may have to do a cap kit or something one of these days, and I'd also been wanting to try to desolder a chip from some old broken PCB.

Well... I was doing a control pad hack last night and ended up soldering the wrong contact, and then later dropping a big blob of solder across 2 or 3 existing solder points (seriously thought I ruined my board), so the braid ended up coming in really handy, and my board did not end up being borked.

 

[shadows]

You have a lot more patience than I do, to remove what looks like 40-50 caps with braid.
Braid comes in handy to fix bridges on SMD components, clean up pads and removing solder from big ass pads. Increase the heat on the iron for big pads and it works great.

 

[hyper]

 

[Anselm]

I don't use the braid for monitors. The solder pads are so big that it is easier to use a desoldering iron. I do use the braid on game pcbs though. Good stuff.

Just the opposite for me. Both have their uses. A desoldering iron is more precise. The braid is great for larger areas, and wicking away residual solder when the desoldering iron doesn't get a clean extraction. For smaller areas, like PCB resistors, the braiding has a greater chance to cause crazing and burns. But like anything, you have to use the right tool for the job. I.E. the correct size braid/desoldering tip.

~Anselm~

 

[Billkwando]

Just the opposite for me. Both have their uses. A desoldering iron is more precise. The braid is great for larger areas, and wicking away residual solder when the desoldering iron doesn't get a clean extraction. For smaller areas, like PCB resistors, the braiding has a greater chance to cause crazing and burns. But like anything, you have to use the right tool for the job. I.E. the correct size braid/desoldering tip.

~Anselm~

What does your desoldering iron look like?

 

[shadows]

What does your desoldering iron look like?

Its something like that. Solder collects in a glass tube inside the handle.

 

[Billkwando]

Its something like that. Solder collects in a glass tube inside the handle.

How does the solder get sucked up? Also, does one recycle solder? I'm always cleaning up little splats all over the place (I tend to use my washing machine as a work bench so they pop right off). I was piling them up and using them for tinning. lol

Speaking of, what order should one do the steps in while soldering? I have iron, solder, tip cleaner/tinner, and sponge. I get mixed up on how often and in what order I should use some of these things.



Edit: and yes, all my shit is from rat shack.

 

[shadows]

The tip is hollow and theres a hose that connects to a pump inside the station. When the trigger/button is pushed , it creates a vaccum sucking the solder up into a container.
First time I hear someone recycling the solder. With recycled solder the rosin core is gone, so it wont work as well or at all if whatever part/iron tip youre trying to tin is oxidized.
A pound of it is like 20-30$ for a good brand like Kester. That would last you a long time or a few life times.

Tip cleaner/tinner isnt needed, unless your tip is oxidized and you cant tin it with regular solder. But with proper maintenance its not needed at all.
Simply keep the tip shiny looking at all times. Wipe it on the sponge, tin it with solder, wipe it again. Thats it.

 

[Billkwando]

The tip is hollow and theres a hose that connects to a pump inside the station. When the trigger/button is pushed , it creates a vaccum sucking the solder up into a container.
First time I hear someone recycling the solder. With recycled solder the rosin core is gone, so it wont work as well or at all if whatever part/iron tip youre trying to tin is oxidized.
A pound of it is like 20-30$ for a good brand like Kester. That would last you a long time or a few life times.

Tip cleaner/tinner isnt needed, unless your tip is oxidized and you cant tin it with regular solder. But with proper maintenance its not needed at all.
Simply keep the tip shiny looking at all times. Wipe it on the sponge, tin it with solder, wipe it again. Thats it.

Awesome. I'll just toss my little splooshes in the trash, and keep the cleaner for when I haven't used the iron in a while. Thanks for the info.

 

[Anselm]

Everything said about the desoldering iron is correct. You can buy different sized tips to fit whatever you are working with. Pro tip: Coat the aluminum sleeve inside the glass tube with mineral oil. It prevents the solder from sticking to it. Makes emptying it out a breeze. They also sell disposable cardboard tubes instead of glass. More expensive but allows you to just discard the whole thing when it fills up.

~Anselm~

 

[Billkwando]

Everything said about the desoldering iron is correct. You can buy different sized tips to fit whatever you are working with. Pro tip: Coat the aluminum sleeve inside the glass tube with mineral oil. It prevents the solder from sticking to it. Makes emptying it out a breeze. They also sell disposable cardboard tubes instead of glass. More expensive but allows you to just discard the whole thing when it fills up.

I was gonna ask you how you got the solder out of the tube, or if you just had to keep getting new ones! The glass tube thing was what made me wonder about recycling it, or where the solder went after. Not that I'll probably ever need to worry about it. Your desoldering iron is too pimp for my budget, I'd imagine. I'll prolly end up with one of those blue $20 solder pullers, or a rat shack bulb iron. Damn you impulse buys!

 

[Anselm]

Those blue tube things suck balls. You always end up melting the end of it and it never works as well. I would take braid over those things anyday.

~Ansem~

 

[Dion]

Those blue tube things suck balls. You always end up melting the end of it and it never works as well. I would take braid over those things anyday.

~Ansem~

+1 I hate them but some people swear by them. If you are doing something delicate, the kickback can cause problems also.

If anyone wants to learn to solder better check out some youtube videos. There are some great ones out there. Also, watch some videos of newer hot air rework stations. They convinced me I need one now for newer pcbs.

 

[Xian Xi]

Great timing. My desoldering iron just died. Good thing the heater replacement is only $30.

 

[brad_irc]

Those blue tube things suck balls. You always end up melting the end of it and it never works as well. I would take braid over those things anyday.

I absolutely swear by using a solder sucker if I am working on something not near my desoldering station. That being said, there are some *very* shitty ones out there.

This is the king of solder suckers: http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=DS017

PS: Be careful using braid, as if the bottom side of the braid cools it is very easy to lift traces off these old gameboards. But I suppose I mostly work on stuff from the 70s/80s

 

[Anselm]

PS: Be careful using braid, as if the bottom side of the braid cools it is very easy to lift traces off these old gameboards. But I suppose I mostly work on stuff from the 70s/80s

I slide the braid out before removing the iron for just that reason

~Anselm~

 

[Billkwando]

This is the king of solder suckers: http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=DS017

PS: Be careful using braid, as if the bottom side of the braid cools it is very easy to lift traces off these old gameboards. But I suppose I mostly work on stuff from the 70s/80s

Yep, that's the blue thing I was referring to. I think you linked to it in another thread.

I slide the braid out before removing the iron for just that reason

That's good advice guys. I had the braid stick a little to the controller board I was working on last night, cos I wasn't using proper technique.

Here's something embarassing. I JUST figured out that the traces are the light colored lines on the board, not the dark ones. I had to scrape a trace to solder a wire to it, and I found out the hard way. Luckily I didn't screw the pooch too bad, and all worked out.

I also just figured out that to test continuity on a controller, I have to set the multimeter to the ohm symbol (Ω).

I really like to learn everything by backing into it ass-first. It's like I have to get my ass kicked by a kung fu master a little before I'm willing to take the first lesson. I guess I learn by doing, and doing just enough research to follow directions or a tutorial, and then I go back and learn the theory and concepts later.