Soldering wires without using soldering irons: how to replace a soldering iron

Using the tinning method when soldering

How to make a dimmer for a soldering iron

A quick way to solder wires is tinning. To do this, you can use an ordinary nail or a piece of copper wire, the end of which must be flattened with a hammer. Soldering is done as follows:

The ends of the wires, stripped of insulation, are twisted.
Flux is applied to the twist.
Solder is converted into powder using a file or needle file.
The flux on the twist is generously sprinkled with lead-tin chips.
A metal rod (nail, copper wire, etc.) is heated over an open fire. A gas burner or a blowtorch can be used for this.
The hot core is passed along the twisted wires until a tinned connection surface is obtained.

What happened?

The main task was:

A. it just had to work;

b. it was necessary to identify all the pitfalls of the artisanal soldering technology.

Actually, there is no particular point in driving a 35-watt processor in various tests (on my motherboard its multiplier is blocked), although even in the simplest tests that I conducted for myself before and after, I did not notice any particular difference, literally a degree or two , although all this could have been the result of a coincidence.

I note that if my sample previously worked smoothly with RAM at a frequency of 3533 MHz, then after this procedure it lost the ability to operate stable while maintaining previously existing parameters, and I had to roll back to 3466 MHz. This is also a reason to be wary and rethink everything thoroughly.

Features of soldering in the groove

Soldering iron repair

Connecting both single-core and multi-core cables with a cross-section of 3 mm2 without soldering equipment is possible in an original way:

twist the stripped ends of the wires;
a piece of foil is bent so as to form an elongated bath;
a twist is placed in it;
Flux is applied to the stripped wires and tin powder is added;
the foil is heated with an open flame from a lighter or other flame source;
during heating, the twist is rotated around its axis;
upon completion of soldering, the remaining foil is removed;
the soldered twist is wrapped in shrink film and heated until a dense layer of insulation is obtained.

Soldering dishes or containers

Over time, metal utensils can rust. There is no need to rush to throw away a leaky pan; it should be sealed.

Changing the soldering iron temperature using a dimmer

How to do this without a soldering iron? There is a simple way to do this. For the sting you will need a piece of metal strip 30-40 mm wide and no more than 1 mm thick. This is something that can be used instead of a soldering iron. You also need to prepare a piece of lead-tin alloy, flux and a blowtorch or gas torch. The work is carried out in several stages:

The metal strip is cut so that it is convenient to hold it with your hand. This side of the strip is wrapped with heat-resistant material.
The second end is cut in the shape of the letter V. It is sharpened with a file.
The pan is turned upside down. Some material with a metal plate is placed under it so that the metal fits tightly from below to the hole in the bottom.
Use sandpaper to clean the surface around the hole.
Solder is cut into pieces ø 3-5 mm.
Flux is applied to the cleaned surface.
Then pieces of solder are placed around the hole.
The working end of the strip is heated over an open fire.
A homemade soldering iron is used to tin the repaired area of the bottom of the pan.
After cooling, the solder is polished with emery.

Note! To solder dishes and various containers for preparing food, you need to use a food alloy, which consists of 90% tin. This metal is absolutely harmless to human health.

What you need to know when using alternative methods

There are no significant differences when using analogues. They, just like rosin, are applied to the work surface or the soldering iron tip is dipped in them.

The only difference can be in preparation. The fat should be transferred to a small container and slightly warmed. You need to make a solution from aspirin. Amber and resins can be used without any preparation.

Instead of rosin, you can use not only acids, but also other available means. They will act as a good flux that protects the surface from oxidation.

All of the above analogues are suitable for soldering, since they have characteristics similar to traditional rosin. However, before use, it is important to study the features of each material.

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Solder paste for soldering without a soldering iron

Solder paste includes flux and solder. This is very convenient when soldering without a soldering iron. There is no need to tinker with these two components separately. It is enough to apply the paste once to the junction of the wires and then heat it to the melting temperature of the solder.

Solder paste consists of metal powder, flux, and fixative (an adhesive substance to hold the alloy in a liquid state within the soldering area). The paste contains tin and lead powder with the addition of silver. The proportions of the composition vary depending on the purpose of the product.

Soldering with a lighter

When heated, the flux instantly evaporates, the solder firmly and tightly covers the entire twist of wires. The result is high quality soldering. The applied composition allows you to do without soldering irons and soldering stations.

For food soldering, it is recommended to use the following brands of pastes: POS 63, POM 3 and others. Paste soldering is used to work with microcircuits, where instead of soldering irons, thin metal rods are used, heated by external heat sources.

Solder paste

How to make solder for soldering silver

Solder for soldering silver is distinguished by a relatively simple manufacturing method. It can be made from silver and brass. At the same time, to obtain high-quality silver solder you will need the purest 925 sterling silver.

Brass can be taken from old coins or other brass items. To melt these components, you will need a fairly high melting temperature, about 1080 ° C.

In addition, you will need a container for preparing solder at home. It is best if it is a small cast iron bowl. But you can use another container, but it is important that it does not melt faster than silver or brass.

Foil soldering method

Foil can successfully replace solder. This is a thin aluminum film that requires minimal thermal energy to melt. This soldering method is convenient for connecting thin wires that Chinese manufacturers use in their many electrical and electronic products. Proceed as follows:

the wires are cleared of insulation along the ends of 1.5-2 cm;
the veins are twisted;
the twist is covered with a thin layer of solder paste and wrapped in foil;
the resulting compound is heated with a gas lighter or a candle flame;
within 1 minute a strong soldered connection of wires is formed.

Then I took up crystal

It didn't turn out very neatly

Here, in general, history repeated itself. The silicon was not wetted by solder at all; homemade flux helped again.

I’ll say right away that I managed to solder it properly only on the fifth attempt; before that, I did one crash test, tearing off the soldered cover from the crystal to look at the wetting spot.

On the one hand, in the place where the solder wetted the crystal well, I tore off the solder along with a thin layer of silicon, this was visible visually. That is, it is probably impossible to achieve better adhesion.

Another thing is that despite the fact that I had previously tinned both the lid and the crystal, the actual wetting of the crystal clearly did not exceed half the area, and maybe less; there was a large number of voids, which is very bad.

Soldering wires for garlands and headphones without a soldering iron

On the radio market, almost all garlands and most headphones are made in China. Chinese manufacturers, in their struggle to save materials, use wires in their products that are so thin that it is quite difficult to solder them to each other with a regular soldering iron.

Therefore, when performing repair work, it is better to do without a soldering iron at all. The stripped ends of the wires are twisted into a tight connection. Take a pointed rod of copper wire ø 1-2 mm. The twist is coated with solder paste. The rod is heated with a candle at a distance of 3 cm from the tip of the tip. Simultaneously with this tip, twisting is carried out, obtaining high-quality soldering. This is one of the best methods on how to solder thin wires without a soldering iron.

Soldering with a candle

There is another ingenious way to solder thin wires. An ordinary paper clip is used as a soldering rod. It is bent so that it is convenient to solder, holding the rod with pliers.

Now the soldering procedure itself

I placed the thermal distribution cover on the soldering table, setting its temperature to 135 °C, on top I placed the crystal with the base upside down, pressing it down with a weight (about 300 g).

I kept everything at this temperature for about 5 minutes so that everything was guaranteed to melt, after which I lowered the temperature of the table to 50 ° C and waited for everything to cool naturally.

The most difficult thing in all this turned out to be to align the thermal distribution cover evenly in relation to the crystal, especially since the bulge under the crystal is not located exactly in the center, and the cover kept falling over; we had to orient the load in such a way that its center of mass compensated for the cover falling to the side. But setting the dimensions based on the inverted lid turned out to be quite difficult. In the end, everything worked out on the fifth try.

Now it was necessary to glue the cover back. For a number of reasons, I decided not to use a sealant for this, but used epoxy glue consisting of a mixture of PO-300/ED-20 resins and titanium oxide. I took a syringe with a thin needle and carefully smeared glue into the crack under the lid and smeared it a little on the outside for strength. Dried on the table for two hours at 70°C.

In general, the thing turned out to be very oak; I would not have been able to tear off the processor cover again in order to maintain the integrity of the structure, but I absolutely guaranteed the mechanical integrity of the new thermal interface.

Soldering wires to the board without a soldering iron

There are cases when the wiring comes off the board. What is the best way to solder a wire to an old place in an electronic device circuit when you don’t have a soldering iron at hand?

A heating source will be required. If there is a gas burner or a blowtorch nearby, this will be the best condition. In the absence of them, an ordinary lighter and any pointed metal object, preferably a nail, will be useful. The thinner the metal, the faster it will heat up from the flame of a lighter.

As a rule, there may be remnants of solder and flux in place of the old soldering. Even if there are none, then the tip of the torn wire is cleaned and pressed with a hot nail to the old attachment point. You need to act carefully so as not to damage the board itself. The same operation can be performed using a sewing needle.

Additional Information. Some home craftsmen use an ordinary pencil. It is cleaned so that the graphite rod is 1.5 cm long. A wire loop connected to one of the wires of the 12-volt power supply is placed on the end of the pencil. The other wire is connected to the twist. In contact with the solder paste on the strand, the graphite heats and melts the solder.

In addition to the soldering methods described, you can find many more ways to do without soldering equipment. The main condition in this matter is to ensure a strong, inextricable and safe connection of the wires.

How can you replace rosin at home?

Pine rosin can be divided into three types depending on its production. This changes the properties and characteristics of the soldering material:

Zhivichnaya. The juice is extracted from the trees, from which crude rosin is released through heat treatment. Cleaned with chemicals. In the production of this type of material, pine sap is used. This makes rosin cheaper. The finished composition does not contain fatty acids.
Talovaya. The starting material for producing melted rosin is sulfate soap. It is released during the paper production process. The highest category varieties resemble gum rosin in composition and properties.
Extraction. This material is isolated using a solvent containing crushed wood. Visually darker than other varieties of rosin. The composition contains about 12% fatty acids. The material softens at a temperature of 58–60 degrees Celsius. To improve the characteristics of the extraction rosin, a chemical clarification process is carried out.

Depending on the type of material, the price also changes. Gum rosin is considered the best among other soldering compounds.

Expert opinion

It-Technology, Electrical power and electronics specialist

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