Soldering Pot Grounding

[lalibi]

Hi guys, think I'm going to install a pair of Phat Cats in my LP soon.

One thing I've been worrying about is of course the soldering. It'd be my first go on soldering things; I did practise a bit with some junk wires tonite, think I could handle the hot lead part.

But the other part does really worry me, i.e. the soldering of the ground to the pot...

I have been reading lotta stuff online, but still not sure about it. For e.g. in this Gibson article: http://www.gibson.com/Gear_News.aspx?AliasPath=/Products/Accessories/Gear/News/Pickup the Pace

It says that one could even re-use the solder which held the old pick-up's ground (if there's enough amount left on the pot) to attach the new pick-up's ground. Is it really the case?

Anyone got tips on doing that part? I'm using a 40W iron. I'm only worrying about ruining the pot...

I know it must have been asked million times here, and I did actually search and read through some posts...particularly that another one about the pot not taking the solder...which made me worry a lot about the pot part...

Some said it's easy, the others had certain troubles...I certainly wanta try it myself...

Please enlighten me, :thanks:

 

[Artie]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Let me warn you that what I'm about to tell you goes against "convention". Just don't solder to the back of the pots. I emailed CTS tech support a couple years ago and they confirmed that they aren't designed for that kind of heat. It really serves no function other than in an industrial wiring scheme. Make your grounds to the "sleeve" terminal of your output jack. Or, use the "ground lug" of the volume control. Both work equally as well with the small wires of a guitar.

One last point . . . don't discount all the opposing views that are about to follow.

There's a lot of folks here who have been wiring guitars a helluva lot longer than I have.

Artie

 

[PoorMan]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Let me warn you that what I'm about to tell you goes against "convention". Just don't solder to the back of the pots. I emailed CTS tech support a couple years ago and they confirmed that they aren't designed for that kind of heat. It really serves no function other than in an industrial wiring scheme. Make your grounds to the "sleeve" terminal of your output jack. Or, use the "ground lug" of the volume control. Both work equally as well with the small wires of a guitar.

One last point . . . don't discount all the opposing views that are about to follow.

There's a lot of folks here who have been wiring guitars a helluva lot longer than I have.

Artie

Wow. Never heard that before, Artie. I've always soldered to the pot body (as I'm sure, like you said, most have) and never had a problem. Interesting info nonetheless. Maybe the CTS employee thought we were running around with 1000 watt soldering guns? LOL! BTW, Artie, I ordered that soldering station you recommended. I think it's going to be perfect. Thanks!

To address the question of soldering to the pot (should you decide to do so), I scuff the body of the pot with a little sandpaper, apply flux and then wipe it off to ensure it is clean. I use a 40 watt iron. Hope this helps.

 

[Artie]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Wow. Never heard that before, Artie. I've always soldered to the pot body never had a problem with it. Interesting info nonetheless. Maybe he thought we were running around with 1000 watt soldering guns? LOL!

Don't get me wrong, if I'm doing a quick pup swap, I do it too. Its not a sin, just not absolutely necessary. I never do it when doing a complete electronics upgrade.

As for the 1000 watt . . . the problem is the exact opposite. Its the guy with the 25 watt RS iron that will fry his pots. The iron doesn't have the guts to compensate for the pots virtual heatsink, and you'll cook the innards waiting for the solder to flow. A 40-watter should work ok. A nice temp-controlled station works better.

You can do it, you just need the proper tools and skill. For beginners, I say . . . skip that step. Different strokes . . . . .

 

[PoorMan]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Don't get me wrong, if I'm doing a quick pup swap, I do it too. Its not a sin, just not absolutely necessary. I never do it when doing a complete electronics upgrade.

As for the 1000 watt . . . the problem is the exact opposite. Its the guy with the 25 watt RS iron that will fry his pots. The iron doesn't have the guts to compensate for the pots virtual heatsink, and you'll cook the innards waiting for the solder to flow. A 40-watter should work ok. A nice temp-controlled station works better.

You can do it, you just need the proper tools and skill. For beginners, I say . . . skip that step. Different strokes . . . . .

All excellent and thought provoking points as always, Artie.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

I'd wager there's more of us who have fried a pot than those who have not. Like Artie said, you're more likely to boil the innards with a 25 watter than a 40 watter. I keep two pens, a 40 and 25 watt, on hand when doing electronics. 25 is easier for everything but grounding the pot casings. 40 watts can be way too much for the lugs of a DPDT switch.

While there are a couple different places to ground to in a guitar circuit, fact remains that none or as convenient as the pot casings, especially when we're talking about the braided grounds found on single conductor pickups. Those are two big to work around small lugs.

I'll reuse solder on the back of a pot... no qualms about that, just make sure that if you are going to do that you have a 40 watt iron, because trying to melt existing solder on the back of a pot with a 25 watt iron is exactly how you fry a pot.

 

[lalibi]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Thanks for all the prompt replies, think I have a better idea now...

I'll try to bear in mind all your advice and soldering ABCs I learnt these weeks...

Having a different zone, and it's time to hit the bed for me...Will let ya guys know if I'm lucky to have it done well!!

Again, :thanks::thanks::cool2:

 

[PoorMan]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Thanks for all the prompt replies, think I have a better idea now...

I'll try to bear in mind all your advice and soldering ABCs I learnt these weeks...

Having a different zone, and it's time to hit the bed for me...Will let ya guys know if I'm lucky to have it done well!!

Again, :thanks::thanks::cool2:

Good luck.

 

[Pete Galati]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

40 watts is fine. I use a soldering station because it has the wet sponge for cleaning the soldering iron tip, but the electronics fried, so I just plug the 40watt soldering iron directly in. I always had it turned up all the way anyhow.

If you clean the soldering iron tip on a wet sponge, before and after each solder, your solders will be a lot cleaner.

I've almost never messed up pots by soldering to the back of them. Takes a little practice to solder a braided cable to the back of pots, but after you've messed with them for a while, it looks killer.

Pete

 

[Artie]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Takes a little practice to solder a braided cable to the back of pots, but after you've messed with them for a while, it looks killer.

Pete

Yeah, I'll concede that point. If you have a vintage-style braided cable, and you dress the end just right, it looks killer to have the braid go to the back of the pot with just enough center-conductor to reach the terminal. Achieving that is an art form.

 

[johnny blackwater]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Put a drop of fresh molten solder on the tip of your iron, when you touch it to the old solder on the back of the pot, it will cause the old solder to flow much quicker, use at least a 30w iron

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

How do you know when you've fried a pot? Does it just stop working altogether? Is there a way to check if you've made a less than perfect connection? ie. with a multimeter

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

To test connections, set your multimeter to measure ohms (resistance). Put one probe on one end of the wire and the other probe on the other end. A good connection will read 0. A bad connection will read infinity.

 

[LunaticFringe]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Thanks

 

[lalibi]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Thank you guys, will let ya all have the good news, I hope!

 

[lalibi]

Re: Soldering Pot Grounding

Thanks everyone above, I've installed my Phat Cats alright, and have been enjoying them...

It's easier than I imagined...though I did all the steps very carefully...

Patience might be the key.