mcrebn Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 ok so i have two open humbuckers and im trying to ground the 2 chrome covers on it. but the joint wont stay on, just turn it down and it falls.... i scratched the surface before soldering it but it doesnt help much. im using Electrical rosin core solder, lead free, SRC300 i got it at home depot. i tried differents places but no results, any tips PLEASE???!!! thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickerwolf Posted March 25, 2007 Report Share Posted March 25, 2007 sonds like your iron isnt heating the covers up enough, scratch a spot ont he cover and hold the iron on for a longer period, just increase the length of time you hold the iron on a little at a time. Eventually you'll heat up the cover enough to form a good joint between it and the solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrebn Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 thank you wickerwolf. but should i put something between the pickup and cover, i think the pickup was waxed cause i can see some on it. but can i add some glue, and if so what type, cause maybe in 2-3 years ill get rid of covers, who knows??(crazy glue might not be the proper one in this case) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 You might need a more powerful iron. I wouldn't even try to solder to such a large piece of metal with my iron, which is 40 watts. Also, if the tip on your iron is really old and not well tinned, it can have trouble heating anything other than solder. You probably know all that, but just in case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickerwolf Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 thank you wickerwolf. but should i put something between the pickup and cover, i think the pickup was waxed cause i can see some on it. but can i add some glue, and if so what type, cause maybe in 2-3 years ill get rid of covers, who knows??(crazy glue might not be the proper one in this case) thanks! You could use glue but id only recomend it as a last resort, what iron do you have? Ive soldered to pickup coers before using a 25watt iron but it was an antex (they heat up the soldering iron tip alot better then a plain iron due to the heating element been encased right by the tip instead of the shaft) On the covers are they held tot he pick ups by screws? if so you can wind the end of the wire round the screw and that should carry the ground intot he cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 On the covers are they held tot he pick ups by screws? if so you can wind the end of the wire round the screw and that should carry the ground intot he cover. That would be a whole lot easier than trying to solder to the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrebn Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 hmm i have a 25watt iron but ive been using it few times and it is very hot, oh well :S my humbucker has no screws, looks like a seymour but with the flat poles only.... (they are stock pups) so if theres another way, id be glad to know it. if i only put crazy glue on the sides, will i get hum, feedback or anything else? thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 (edited) Crazy glue will hold for about 30 seconds. This is my soldering recipe for pickup covers, guaranteed to work with even a 15-watt iron: 1. Use sandpaper or an emery stick to evenly scrape the finish off the inside of the cover and the pickup baseplate. 2. Clean with a pencil eraser. 3. Clean again with rubbing alcohol. 4. Tin the spots you cleaned with solder. 5. Apply thin bead of silicone to the top of the bobbins. 6. Use a pair of large vice grips or a small C-clamp to press the cover firmly on the pickup (be careful). 7. Use a "wicking method", which means touching the soldering iron to the tinned areas and moving it around in small circles to spread the heat, apply liberal amounts of solder to the tinned areas until they wick together. 8. Unclamp, install, enjoy the noise. BTW, in a couple years if you want to remove the covers, the solder may not melt. Apply more fresh solder to the joint and that will allow the heat from the weaker soldering iron to melt the old solder so you can wick it away and remove the cover. The silicone bead, applied to reduce feedback, will just peel off when you remove the cover. Edited March 26, 2007 by crafty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrebn Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 DONE! havent skipped one step! thank you so much, i knew a lil about soldering, but this pickup was just so greasy and even sanded it couldnt stick... the eraser to clean the surface and the alcool to sterelize it, was an incredible tip. thanks again! now the guitar squeals like a baby and it has no feedback or hum! how great is that? keep rockin mates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 No prob. Surface prep is the key. People think you need a crapload of heat to solder the big stuff, instead a little pencil eraser and iso alcohol will work wonders. Use the same technique when you go to solder to the lugs and the back of the pots, guaranteed you'll get perfect hershey kiss solder joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro_10s Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Nice one.... I was just trying to do some soldering and i couldn't get the stuff to stick to the back of the volume pot, I'm using a 40w iron and the stuff wouldn't melt. Anyway, I've cleaned up the tip and it was better but then I saw this about surface prep. I just used some White spirit (Mineral spirits to the Americans) to clean the surfaces AND the solder too. worked great, much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 i use wire wool on the backs of volume pots (and electronic components) helps the solder stick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 The most important thing I learned in my soldering course back at vo-tech was surface prep. Solder is not an adhesive! It's an amalgam that joins two metal surfaces together at the molecular level. Solder cannot bond with a non-metallic component like glue can, so if there's any non-metallic residue on the surface of either component, the joint will either never bond or fail quickly. A lot of people try to use heat to "evaporate" away any surface contamination, but all you're doing is ruining the component, the surface, and you'll probably make a joint that's doomed to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 FWIW, the one time I put metal covers on a pair of 'buckers, the fit was so tight that positive contact was made without soldering. I put a little piece of copper shielding tape on just to be sure, but I probably didn't even need that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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