HOW TO SOLDER ~ The Young Engineerzz

This guide focuses on soldering for the beginner and explains how you can solder a variety of components using a few different techniques - from the classy to the downright caveman. Although soldering can seem daunting at first, once you give it a try you will see that in most applications it's quite simple to do.

Tools and materials

Soldering is the process of using a filler material (solder) to join pieces of metal together. Soldering occurs at relatively low temperatures (around 400 degrees Fahrenheit) as compared to brazing and welding, which actually melt and fuse the materials themselves at higher temperatures. In soldering the filler material becomes liquid, coats the pieces it is brought into contact with, and is then allowed to cool. As the solder cools it hardens, and the two materials are joined. Soldering is a quick way to join many types of materials, from copper pipe to stained glass. It creates an electrically conductive strong bond between components that can be re-heated (desoldered) if you should ever want to disconnect two items joined together. It's great for joining electrical components and wires and is used in just about everything electronic. In this Instructable I explain how to solder the basics you see in most Instructables: electrical components and wires.

For further information and some more technical specs on soldering check out the wikipedia article.