Soldering volume pots

[copacetic]

Been doing some repairs on a few basses. Need to do some soldering work for connection pots etc. My local hardware said I should check the amount of degrees to make sure not too hot or enough heat to melt the solder... Any advice on the type or degrees for a soldering gun?

[slinkp]

I know from experience that pots are hard to solder - specifically, the ground connection to the pot's case for shielding purposes.
That needs more heat than you need for most basic electronics work, and may need some flux too.

I suck at it. My only advice is get advice from someone who doesn't suck at it, and don't be like me

The lugs are easy though.

[drbassman]

When soldering pots, the main thing is to be sure the pot is clean, no grease, oil, even oil form your fingers can mess us the adhesion.  I use a 100 watt iron and standard electronic instrument solder, the high quality stuff.  Can't recall the specs.  When heating up the spot I'm working on I keep the iron on the wire and apply the solder from the side.  Once I get a good bead built up, I turn the iron off and keep it on until I can see that the solder is cool enough it won't let go when I remove the iron.  Not necessarily the text book method, but it works for me.  I don't use flux on pots.

[exiledarchangel]

Also it helps if you scratch a bit the pot surface with a piece of sandpaper, but be careful to cover the scratched area completely with solder to avoid corrosion.

[Pilgrim]

I use a Hakko soldering station:



Having variable temp handy is very nice.  Got this on Ebay a couple of years ago. 

I agree about cleaning the surface of the pot.  The pot acts as a heat sink and you need enough heat to get it to soldering temp before you cook its internals.

[Lightyear]

My two cents worth is to make sure your iron is completely hot and to melt a bit of solder onto the tip before you touch it to anything.  This will help conduct the heat to your components.  That and keep your tip clean 

[Highlander]

I still have quite a bit of high-lead content solder down the shed that I use... mostly tend to use a quick-heat type or my gas-solder tool for smalls works that I use for work - up to temp pretty quick and has a protective cover that means I can but it straight back in the tool belt...

[Pilgrim]

I still have quite a bit of high-lead content solder down the shed that I use... mostly tend to use a quick-heat type or my gas-solder tool for smalls works that I use for work - up to temp pretty quick and has a protective cover that means I can but it straight back in the tool belt...

I have this image of a well-stocked tool belt.

Repeat after me:  "I'M BATMAN!" 

[Rob]

Sand the pot
Tin the wire
Get a small bead to stay on the pot
combine the two pieces
clip and wire tips extemding from the little pool of solder.

[chromium]

I use a Hakko soldering station:

I love that iron... I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my Hakko 936.  Too bad they stopped making 'em




I usually run mine at around 725 deg for PC board work, and maybe 775-800 deg for soldering to potentiometer cans.

I still have quite a bit of high-lead content solder down the shed that I use... mostly tend to use a quick-heat type or my gas-solder tool for smalls works that I use for work - up to temp pretty quick and has a protective cover that means I can but it straight back in the tool belt...

Kester 44 and I go wayyy back.  So nice to work with.  The RoHS directive is such a pain in the a$$ for musical instruments.  I get why the EU is so strict on this (what with today's mobile devices ending up in a landfill in 3-5 years)... but for restoration work and building music gear that is possibly dependent on defunct parts (ge diodes, old through hole components, etc) leaded is sometimes the only way to go.

I just recently switched to lead-free for new builds, but would still go back to leaded for restoration work or guitar mods.

[Dave W]

I've never had to sand the back of the pot. Then again, it depends on your equipment.

[drbassman]

I've never had to sand the back of the pot. Then again, it depends on your equipment.

Sanding is a common practice among plumbers before soldering copper.  The scratches and clean surface make a nice place for the solder to grab onto.  The real problem is grease and oil.  A clean pot is a happy pot when it comes to soldering.

[amptech]

I've never had to sand the back of the pot. Then again, it depends on your equipment.

Good pots don´t need sanding. There are of course some cheap chinese ones that is tough to solder.

[Highlander]

I have this image of a well-stocked tool belt.

Repeat after me:  "I'M BATMAN!" 

... made by Snickers... no nuts...