Proper voltage for

[Dirtystranger]

capacitors? I want to replace the caps in an LP and I see both 400 and 500 caps. I intend to use 15 uf and 22 uf.
Also - what is the proper soldering gun heat setting for wiring guitar electronics?

Thanks,

 

[AdmiralB]

Doesn't matter at all. Guitars rarely approach one volt. Bigger caps often have stouter leads, which are easier to work.

I use 650F for just about everything except pickup covers; I go up another 100 there.

 

[Dirtystranger]

Thanks Admiral

 

[KGWagner]

Speaking of bigger leads...

Soldering iron tip temperatures can change very rapidly depending on their shape/mass and the part(s) you're solding to or together. I see more people have trouble with soldering because they use under-powered irons with pointed tips than for any other reason. a 25W iron is the bare minimum you should use, with 40W being more useful in a guitar, and I've never seen a use for a pointed tip on anything other than replacing IC chips on a PC board. They lose heat so fast as soon as you touch something that often the solder, if it'll melt at all, will just ball up and roll away. Trying to solder to a pot body or a trem claw is all but impossible as they act like heat sinks, making the problem even worse. Then you end up holding the iron on the part until it's ruined or damn near so waiting for the iron to heat the part to the point where it'll take solder.

Get a replacement tip with a chisel shape, and life will get a lot easier for you. There are a lotta iron styles out there, but something that looks more like this..

than this...

Will make you a lot happier. They don't cool off so quickly/easily, and transfer heat better. You'll make much better joints with less chance of damaging parts.

 

[VaughnC]

An adjustable temperature soldering station is the best approach so you can tailor the heat for the job at hand. Overheating small connections and underheating larger (pot shell ground) connections can equally cause componant damage.

 

[galibier_un]

The reason you'll prefer the screwdriver/chisel type tip is because of better (faster) heat transfer. This will help when you're soldering grounds to the body of a pot (or trem claw as KGWagner notes).

One thing you'll learn as you're technique develops is that higher temperatures are actually more efficient and safer for components (along with good tip hygiene - cleaning and tinning your tip for each joint). People apply far too much total heat to a part with a cold temperature than they do with a hotter temperature. Take note of KGWagner's excellent advice about this.

... Trying to solder to a pot body or a trem claw is all but impossible as they act like heat sinks, making the problem even worse. Then you end up holding the iron on the part until it's ruined or damn near so waiting for the iron to heat the part to the point where it'll take solder.

Get a replacement tip with a chisel shape, and life will get a lot easier for you. There are a lotta iron styles out there, but something that looks more like this..

Cheers,
Thom

 

[vortexxxx]

Try to get an iron that if fairly powerful. It will make soldering much easier and quicker.