cyberpunk409
New member
I'm about to install some brand new pots and was just wondering how you make hot solder stick to the back of a shiny new pot?
what are some of your tips/tricks?
what are some of your tips/tricks?
Making solder stick?
- Thread starter cyberpunk409
- Start date
fourmations
New member
Re: Making solder stick?
im sure some experts will chime in here but heres my 2c
the pot must be heated up to take the solder,
degrease the back with some sort of spirit type cleaner
and then steel wool to get a bite if you like,
(i dont bother with the wool)
its quite easy, just make sure your iron is at full heat
before you start heating the pot
some people like to use a higher heat for pots
as its a bit of a heat sink, but i have no problems doing it with a 30w iron
(its better to do it as fast as possible, a hotter iron will achieve this)
rgds
4
im sure some experts will chime in here but heres my 2c
the pot must be heated up to take the solder,
degrease the back with some sort of spirit type cleaner
and then steel wool to get a bite if you like,
(i dont bother with the wool)
its quite easy, just make sure your iron is at full heat
before you start heating the pot
some people like to use a higher heat for pots
as its a bit of a heat sink, but i have no problems doing it with a 30w iron
(its better to do it as fast as possible, a hotter iron will achieve this)
rgds
4
cyberpunk409
New member
Re: Making solder stick?
i heard you can overheat a pot and damage it? did i hear wrong???
I never tried your method, was always too scared of killing the pot... anyone else?
i heard you can overheat a pot and damage it? did i hear wrong???
I never tried your method, was always too scared of killing the pot... anyone else?
metalspider
New member
Re: Making solder stick?
you can even clean it with an eraser.
killing the pot only happens on the lugs,the body is a large chunk of metal that can take a lot of heat and sometimes thats what you need.
just remember to make as much contact between the soldering iron's head and the pot casing as possible and you'll be ok.
you can even clean it with an eraser.
killing the pot only happens on the lugs,the body is a large chunk of metal that can take a lot of heat and sometimes thats what you need.
just remember to make as much contact between the soldering iron's head and the pot casing as possible and you'll be ok.
MikeS
Bengalsologist
Re: Making solder stick?
I steel wool or sandpaper the back of the pot. I also keep my soldering to the edges of the pot.
I've burned up a pot by overheating the casing, not by overheating a lug. I suppose you could do it by overheating a lug, but you typically see pots burn because the casing acts as a heat sink and thus requires more heat to adhere the solder.
Otherwise, a good iron and the right solder should stick easily to a prepped pot casing. My favorite solder is a 60/40 .050" diameter rosin core. The 60/40 is easier to work with than the lead free solders and the diameter is just right for guitar lugs.
I steel wool or sandpaper the back of the pot. I also keep my soldering to the edges of the pot.
I've burned up a pot by overheating the casing, not by overheating a lug. I suppose you could do it by overheating a lug, but you typically see pots burn because the casing acts as a heat sink and thus requires more heat to adhere the solder.
Otherwise, a good iron and the right solder should stick easily to a prepped pot casing. My favorite solder is a 60/40 .050" diameter rosin core. The 60/40 is easier to work with than the lead free solders and the diameter is just right for guitar lugs.
MattPete
New member
Re: Making solder stick?
Rough it up with a screwdriver.
Even better: don't solder to the pot. Thread a screw-eye into the wood and use that as a common grounding point. That way, you don't have to worry about overheating a pot*.
* Never tried it myself, but considering how difficult it can be sometimes to solder to the back of a pot, a screw-eye makes a lot more sense to me.
Rough it up with a screwdriver.
Even better: don't solder to the pot. Thread a screw-eye into the wood and use that as a common grounding point. That way, you don't have to worry about overheating a pot*.
* Never tried it myself, but considering how difficult it can be sometimes to solder to the back of a pot, a screw-eye makes a lot more sense to me.
cyberpunk409
New member
Re: Making solder stick?
makes more sense to me too! that way you have 1 common grounding point, im sure it would reduce any hum-related grounding problems. should be the standard as far as im concerned. well pointed out
makes more sense to me too! that way you have 1 common grounding point, im sure it would reduce any hum-related grounding problems. should be the standard as far as im concerned. well pointed out
Artie
Peaveyologist
Re: Making solder stick?
I agree, but for a completely different reason. The back of pots isn't designed to be soldered to. This was confirmed by an email to CTS. However, the purpose of making that ground isn't to create a common grounding point. The concept of "ground loops" within a guitar is a myth, or misunderstanding, of what ground loops are.
I used to be a big advocate of not grounding pots, until I discovered something myself. I had installed a small DPDT switch to do splitting with. Whenever I touched it, the guitar "buzzed", until I grounded it. Then the light bulb in my head went off.
The reason we want to ground the casing of guitar controls is twofold:
1. Our bodies, comprised of about 80% water, pull in and conduct stray electrical noise very efficiently. When we touch something on a guitar, we induce that noise into the guitar circuit. (Even if its a plastic knob.)
2. A typical guitar amp is a very high-impedance input, thus, it amplifies that noise quite well.
So, it is important to ground the controls, but soldering to the back of a pot isn't ideal. What is ideal, is to use those little pot grounding lugs, like this. That one isn't ideal, however. The kind that look like "internal toothed star-washers with solder terminal" are. But they're getting hard to find. They're ideal because they place the ground between your fingers and the circuit, and, they require no soldering to the pot.
If anyone finds a good source, let us all know. Google produces spotty results.
My 2-cents worth.
Artie
I agree, but for a completely different reason. The back of pots isn't designed to be soldered to. This was confirmed by an email to CTS. However, the purpose of making that ground isn't to create a common grounding point. The concept of "ground loops" within a guitar is a myth, or misunderstanding, of what ground loops are.
I used to be a big advocate of not grounding pots, until I discovered something myself. I had installed a small DPDT switch to do splitting with. Whenever I touched it, the guitar "buzzed", until I grounded it. Then the light bulb in my head went off.
The reason we want to ground the casing of guitar controls is twofold:
1. Our bodies, comprised of about 80% water, pull in and conduct stray electrical noise very efficiently. When we touch something on a guitar, we induce that noise into the guitar circuit. (Even if its a plastic knob.)
2. A typical guitar amp is a very high-impedance input, thus, it amplifies that noise quite well.
So, it is important to ground the controls, but soldering to the back of a pot isn't ideal. What is ideal, is to use those little pot grounding lugs, like this. That one isn't ideal, however. The kind that look like "internal toothed star-washers with solder terminal" are. But they're getting hard to find. They're ideal because they place the ground between your fingers and the circuit, and, they require no soldering to the pot.
If anyone finds a good source, let us all know. Google produces spotty results.
My 2-cents worth.
Artie
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Making solder stick?
The potis are intended to be mounted in grounded metal and hence the poti's casing is grounded without soldering it.
That concept of soldering to the poti casing it is a result of guitar makers being too lazy to properly shield guitars and instead using our guts (or balls in the case of Les Paul players) for shielding.
Now, I still solder to the back of the poti, because I'm too lazy to make a metal plate for the inside of the cavity, too. But when doing something from scratch I now carry the ground of the guitar on a thick long strand of copper wire, and I connect the poti's casing to it once with one wire. I don't re-heat the poti everytime I change a pickup or capacitor. Unfortunately that doesn't go well with selling guitars because people think that bunching everything to the poti is the master's way of grounding. Oh well.
The potis are intended to be mounted in grounded metal and hence the poti's casing is grounded without soldering it.
That concept of soldering to the poti casing it is a result of guitar makers being too lazy to properly shield guitars and instead using our guts (or balls in the case of Les Paul players) for shielding.
Now, I still solder to the back of the poti, because I'm too lazy to make a metal plate for the inside of the cavity, too. But when doing something from scratch I now carry the ground of the guitar on a thick long strand of copper wire, and I connect the poti's casing to it once with one wire. I don't re-heat the poti everytime I change a pickup or capacitor. Unfortunately that doesn't go well with selling guitars because people think that bunching everything to the poti is the master's way of grounding. Oh well.
T
TheArchitect
Guest
Re: Making solder stick?
The 45. Even that is a bit of overkill. I've never used over 30
The 45. Even that is a bit of overkill. I've never used over 30
Similar threads
