quick soldering question

demogo

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If I'm going to do some through-hole soldering of components (diodes) and wires, should I pre-tin the diode legs and wires before soldering?

Should I pre-tin them before they are inserted or after? I'm afraid if I do it before then I won't be able to get them through the hole because they'll be too thick.

Pretty basic question but I'm trying to learn to do this the right way.

Thoughts? Comments?
 
Thanks Dokert.

If I do pre-tin components or wires, is it necessary for me to apply flux first?

I'm trying to reconcile the various videos that are available to me on the subject.

What if I don't apply flux -- will it not work?
 
OK, one more:

Do I need to pre-tin the hole before I put the component leg through it?

Again, one video shows it being done this way, the other I've seen does not so I'm not sure what the correct approach is.

Thanks!
 
Dokert,

You're THE man!

Thanks!
 
OK I have soldering question too, what is the appropriate way to remove soldered in IC's, RAM, sockets, etc. Would a heat gun work for this?
 
ok well I have used the iron/sucker combo, and have had various results. It is a tedious procedure at best...

It really is...

If I have the spare parts and I know the part in question is bad... I'll cut the legs off the chip while it's still on the board, then remove them one at a time... so much easier (sometimes).

For sockets... if they're bad, they're probably the ones that you can remove the black frame from... leaving just the contact pins, then I remove the pins one at a time. Again, sometimes easier, sometimes takes the same amount of time. Just depends on the mood I'm in.

If I'm replacing RAM, I'll do everything I can to keep the old RAM viable (in case it was good in the first place). I just did that on my Galaga board where I removed the 8 smaller RAM and replaced them with 2 larger. There's no way all 8 would be bad, so I removed them all as whole pieces just in case I need any in the future.

I use solder wick when I have it, but a solder sucker and a little flux will do the job most of the time.
 
OK I have soldering question too, what is the appropriate way to remove soldered in IC's, RAM, sockets, etc. Would a heat gun work for this?

For this kind of work, a wick, though tedious, may be the easiest method. A heat gun probably would work to remove the components, but you run a fairly substantial risk of killing the board in the process depending on the gun. Only time I think I'd use a heat gun is if I just wanted the components off the board and was going to scrap the board itself.
 
Thanx for the replies. Yea lately I have been removing RAM from PP boards, and it has been a chore. I have some wick and will try that next.
 
Having just bought my first solder sucker (Soldapullt) yesterday, I'm curious as to why a wick would work better?

Are wick's generally better at this? If so, why did I waste my money on the solder sucker?

Or is it a "your mileage may vary" kind of thing where each tool has their fans?

Thanks.
 
Is there a rule of thumb I could use to decide which to use in a given situation?
 
if the leg is really tight in the hole, sometimes wick works better, but for the most part, the soldapullit works fine.
 
...then your technique is bad... always flow on now solder before trying to suck... and always suck while the iron's still on the pin...

I always do before trying to remove components, but often the solder on the parts side doesn't want to come out. Any hints for dealing with that?
 
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