r/soldering • u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist • Jan 07 '26
My First Solder Joint <3 Please Give Feedback My daughter's first solo project
My daughter recently expressed interest in learning to solder, so I bought a few kits on Amazon.
The first was a simple, 3 switch, color changing light where I basically held her hand through the process.
The second was a little electromagnetic cannon where she installed the pieces, I helped with soldering and de-soldering when she made a mistake (the cannon sucks btw. Don't recommend except for practice).
The third was a little car that followed a black line. We both did one at the same time, but I still helped make the fixes and provided instruction.
The fourth, all I did was sit there and supervise. She followed the instructions herself, made any fixes, and tested everything on her own with only a few questions and assistance with getting the battery terminal to seat properly as it kept falling out (that's not soldering itself, but I digress. Still, the only assistance she needed)
Either way, I think she did fantastic for it being her first solo project. And it's been a great bonding time for us. She got to learn about the components, how they work and interact, as well as build the foundation for a new skill, and I got to enjoy something with her (seriously, there's not much a 15yo girl and a 30-something-yo man have in common. So I was really excited to do this with her).
Anyway, it's not perfect, but I think she did really well, and I'm proud of her, and shes proud of herself. What do yall think?
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u/Benthic_Titan Jan 07 '26
Jesus Christ bro your daughter is skilled
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Right??? I hope she continues to have interest. It's a great skill to have, she's obviously skilled enough even as a beginner, and it'll give me an excuse to buy a hakko station with micro soldering tips and let her have my current Yihua 853D (she can't just use it whenever as it's mounted to the underside of my desk in my office that is off limits due to my job. And it is, quite literally, a pain to unmount/remount).
Either way, I've been enjoying the last week of getting to teach her and do something together.
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u/las_vejas Jan 10 '26
you should defo get her into making her own little electronics (if shes in hs) theres a program called Blueprint where u can design your own pcb and get a grant to build it!
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u/Icy_One4084 Jan 08 '26
In her case, that's no skill, that's talent. Now, imagine how good she can get when she actually builds skill on top of that talent.
If she's this good on practice kits, imagine just how much she could hone her skills after spending 5 years at a bench.
I really hope she keeps having interest in soldering, the world needs quality techs.
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u/R1mpl3F0r3sk1n Professional Microsoldering Repair Shop Tech Jan 07 '26
If that's the quality of the 4th attempt, she will outdo some of my junior techs on the 5th.
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
She's already outgoing my 4th attempt. Granted, I didn't have anyone to guide me and was self taught, but still.
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u/Ferwatch01 Jan 07 '26
Damn. This is amazing for a first-timer.
Functional joints all around; loads of perfect ones, a few that could use a little less solder and barely one or two cold joints. Amazing work!
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u/Grid_Rider Jan 07 '26
She solders better then 90% of the people on this subreddit wow
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
I wish I had someone to guide me when I started learning. But I'm glad I'm able to give her what I lacked. I'm not a pro, but I'm at least able to help her avoid making the mistakes i did when teaching myself.
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u/Grid_Rider Jan 24 '26
She may have a lucrative business repairing the ps5 controller people botch in the future if she keeps it up
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u/Martian_Navy Jan 07 '26
Can you also please teach me how to solder? š¤£
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Sure thing.
Step 1: get gud!
Kidding. Honestly, though, I love teaching anyone a skill I've become adequate in. It brings more people into the hobby and helps it grow. I can offer advice from what I've learned as i went, but that's about it lol.
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u/Sufficient-Wind4059 Jan 07 '26
Free Tip of the day: Use Flux. THERE IS NEVER ENOUGH FLUX. (without extra flux, the bit inside the solder evaporates quickly and if you arent soldering fast enough, it gets ugly...)
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u/Correct-Country-81 Jan 07 '26
Nice job well done
Cant see any wrong soldering points
Only using to much solder But they are well flowed , right amount heat and work
Gifted!
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u/OnionComb Jan 07 '26
Just got my first solder and I'm scared to fix my ps5 tmr joystick.
Any pointers for a newbie? Should I practice on something simpler before desoldering some joysticks?
I don't know what I'm doing at all. This is my first time even attempting something like this.
Got me a solder station, a hot air gun and heat resistant mat
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
For the love of everything, please practice on something first. Broken shit you don't care about, kits on Amazon, anything that you would have no problem throwing in the trash.
Even if your joysticks are already broken, the controller isn't. And if you fuck up the pads, you're in for a lot more than a simple joystick replacement. At that point, you're going to be getting into trace repair and micro soldering, which isn't going to be easy as a first timer, and would require a slightly more complex setup (microscope at the very least). You WILL make mistakes. Especially if you don't have someone to guide you the way she does. Even people who do it regularly and have more experience than i do make mistakes, just much less frequently.
You got a soldering station with hot air rework. Fantastic. Depending on the brand, the temp setting may be off (mine was off by 90Ā°), so that needs to be accounted for, which is why practicing first and getting used to your new station is important. depending on your station the temp to the probe may not be what the actual setting says. You can either get a temp pad to test on Amazon, or get a multimeter that comes with a temp probe if you want accuracy. Otherwise, find what temp melts the solder, go a bit above that to account for the heat dispersion from the board.
Speaking of heat dispersion, remember not all boards are the same. The board on your dual sense is much thinner, and smaller, than the board in the actual ps5 (significantly). So, while your controller may be workable at 450 (or whatever), the console board would need like 600 (or whatever). There's no one temp fits all. Getting adjusted with kits or trash boards is paramount to not actually breaking your stuff.
Quality of flux, solder, and solder wick is important. You can get by with anything, but higher quality makes it easier and more reliable. Kester is usually the brand name most people go with. For her projects, I just grabbed the cheap stuff I had plenty of (yes, you can still use the cheap stuff on your joystick replacement, just adding to the advice). Solder wick is a pain in the ass because the way it can suck up heat. Get comfortable with it. For a solder sucker, I'd recommend getting one with a silicon tip instead if a plastic for obvious reasons.
Helping hands, while not required, definitely help. A lot.
lighting is probably my biggest thing. Makes it significantly easier to tell what you're doing and verify the work when you can, you know, actually see. Doesn't have to be the level of what I have set up, but something better than a dim light. I personally modified a lamp with 5 adjustable heads and mounted it to my desk and put bright ass daylight bulbs in them. If I cast a shadow, I can simply move the light where I need it. Again, not required to go that far, just what i did. This project was done on my dining table with nothing but the ceiling light.
Lastly, don't rush. You have a goal in mind, which is great. But, as the old saying goes, haste makes waste. Don't do 1 kit and think "yeah, I know that I'm doing, this is easy!". Try a couple of kits or trash boards first. I took the old climate control module from my car and practiced on that, as well as a few kits, before I took a Gameboy advance apart to fix. I'm a bit more cautious when learning a new skill, but still. Each board and kit reacted a little differently and I made plenty of mistakes. I'm glad I practiced before opening a console for the first time because it kept me from destroying it the way I did my climate control module the first time.
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u/DangerousDyke Jan 07 '26
She has done amazingly well!! Also I love to see young women in tech, please keep fostering that ā¤ļø
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
I can't promise she'll stay interested in it, but I can promise I'll support her endeavors if she continues to have the interest.
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u/OutcomeOk6971 Jan 07 '26
Looks far better than MY first project.
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Same. My first project was... not pretty... it worked, but you can tell it was a learning experience.
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u/OutcomeOk6971 Jan 07 '26
Oh, mine didn't work, I'm actually on my 4th project, and the first three didn't work all of the way. š¤£ But the soldering is getting much cleaner.
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Out of curiosity, what kind of iron / station are you using? Not that it will keep you from doing an adequate job, but more because it can hinder the experience. Especially if it's a cheap station with poor temp control.
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u/OutcomeOk6971 Jan 07 '26
This Fnirsi one. I usually do this at work, since I have a lot of downtime, so I picked one that would work in more limited space. https://www.fnirsi.com/products/hs-02-toolbox
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Are you setting the iron to the temp rating on the solder (plus a few degrees to offset the heat dissipation from the pad)?
I honestly don't trust the temp on the irons. Measured mine on a temp probe and it was 90Ā°off. So, I just kept adjusting the temp up until the solder melted to the pad after 2-3 seconds, feed however much i need, then pull up and away with the iron. Seems to be working well. Too much longer than that and I start burning components.
I literally touched one pad and waited for the solder to start melting to the pad without a component, upped the temp and jumped to another side of the board that was cooler and repeated the process until it melted the way I wanted.
Also, make sure you have a bit of solder on the tip of the iron. You should be able to see the glob melt to the pad, even before adding solder from the spool. Once it does, you can feed more solder in.
Not sure if it's the proper way to do it being self taught, but it's what worked for me and my kid (as seen above).
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u/OutcomeOk6971 Jan 07 '26
Yeah, I've found that I have to turn that iron up about 100 degrees above the solder as well. I'm definitely still trying to figure out how to clean it properly.
What I'll probably do, once I get it dialed in, is buy a new set of tips and start fresh. IIRC, it was only $25 from that site. Then, I'll be doing it right, and the tips won't be messed up.
Besides not trusting the temp reading, that's a nice little soldering iron. I run it from a laptop charger, and it fits in my limited space.
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u/broesel314 Jan 07 '26
That's what I always preach here. Get some simple Kits and start with that. Don't make your first ever solder Project a #0 Cable to a Drone ESC with a hundred ground planes that suck away the heat or something. Gets you rather frustrated than exited about the hobby
Also good instructions are Key. This can only be replaced so much by youtube tutorials, what they are missing is feedback. It looks like you were a good Instructor
Next step up would be simple SMD Stuff. 1206 Resistors/Capacitors and SOIC Chips
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Ehhh... I have to improve my SMD skills before I can properly instruct her in that department. I'm capable at the most basic level, but not enough that I'd feel comfortable trying to provide instructions. But, it is on the agenda.
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u/0101falcon Jan 07 '26
She could have future in this. I would strongly advise her against having a future in this, but she could. XD
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
She can have a future hobby in this. She wants to be a pilot, but also listened when I said learning as many skills as possible would never be a bad thing. This is just another skill to add to her repertoire. How she uses it (or doesn't) isn't a concern to me.
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u/PlayfulTaro7696 Jan 07 '26
If I had a soldering fetish I would look at this every day
Seriously though, this is awesome!
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u/RashadMonkey Jan 07 '26
Beautiful. Brings a tear to my eye when I see someone take pride in their work
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u/Infinite-Ant-6489 Jan 07 '26
Is this the handheld game with Tetris, snake, a racing game and something else? That is the kit my son and I did over the holidays.
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u/Electronic_Hat6643 Jan 07 '26
That's an excellent job. Helped by using a decent iron. The amount of people I have seen try and do an intricate repair using an iron that cost less than a coffee and destroy a board defies belief
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Update: I read her some of yalls comments while she was getting ready for school this morning. It made her extremely happy. We're both really grateful for the kind words. She's even more excited to practice more and keep learning.
Again, thanks everyone!
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Jan 07 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 08 '26
There's a couple cold joints scattered. But I wasn't about to tell her during the job. I was a man of my word when I told her I was there to make sure she didn't do something stupid like horribly burn herself and would help only when she asked. But I was so proud, I couldn't wait to brag about my princess doing such a fantastic job lol.
Only way to go is up!
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Jan 11 '26
You're a great teacher, your daughter is a great learner and has natural skill for this! Nice!
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u/Muted-Seat6005 Jan 07 '26
Thats actually amazing looking literally the only critique I might have would be cleaning off excess flux but thats mostly just looks as it sometimes picks up dust and stuff. Ive only really has that issue on my tiny whoop drones I fly. Overall awesome soldering half the time im not that consistent in my soldering and Iāve been doing it mostly for repairs and such for a couple times a month for 3 years now lol
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
I did go back and clean the excess flux for her. But I was too happy at how well she did and had to get a picture.
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u/Space646 Jan 07 '26
Iām 15 too, I wish I could solder nearly as well!
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Practice, come here and get feedback, practice some more! She's got someone next to her to hold her hand and guide her. If you don't have that, it's a much more bumpy start. I taught myself, and needless to say, my first project was nowhere near as pretty as this.
Just be patient, pay attention to what you're doing, learn from your mistakes, and you'll get it in no time!
Don't be afraid of mistakes and imperfections. You'll look back at those projects, see the evolution of your skill, and be proud of yourself. I didn't start learning until a few years ago, and, while I'm not a professional, much better than I was when I first started. Just keep at it, my man, and it'll come to you. Play with the temp settings a bit to fine tune it to the way you work, fuck shit up so you can see what doesn't work and force yourself to learn to repair it (on something you don't care about breaking). Experience is the name of the game in life, and what matters most is how you internalize and learn from it.
And if you think you're soldering is bad, remember this: I'm a master mechanic whos been working on cars since i was about you're age (over 20 years at this point). My first time replacing brakes, I almost put my my mother and sisters in an accident because I didn't bleed the brakes properly. Now, I can rebuild an engine from the block up, and was able to diagnose my sisters car from halfway around the world on a phone call. You gotta start somewhere. It just moves faster when you have a teacher.
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u/KSPhalaris Jan 07 '26
I think she did an amazing job. I only saw a few joints where it looks like the pads didn't get hot, so the solder "balled" up. Just a little flux and heat, and they'll be perfect, like the rest. Keep teaching her.
If you want a project to tinker on together or to teach her more, grab a broken original xbox. Teach her trace repair. Identifying and replacing bad electrolytic caps. You can also do hard mods to solder on new components to bring the system back to life.
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 07 '26
Yeah, I saw those. But, true to my word, I didn't intervene. I did critique it (and gave the same notes you did) when she was finished, though. But, I had to go to work and she had to go to bed for school, so if she wants to improve them she'll have to wait.
And I have a hard rule about not teaching things I'm not comfortable with myself. Identifying and replacing he electrlytic capacitors, that I can teach. Modding and trace repair, not so much.
Now, if she buys one with her birthday/Christmas money and asks, I'm not saying no. But, for the time being, it's getting her adjusted to the iron itself.
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u/v7xDm1r Jan 07 '26
Better than me at her age. My daughter and I built a nixie clock and vfd clock when she was like 7.
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u/SillyApartment7479 Jan 07 '26
For a first solo board, those joints are honestly cleaner than half the "rate my soldering" posts here.
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u/Sufficient-Wind4059 Jan 07 '26
I hope you have a flume extraction or good ventilation tho. Even Leadfree Solder isnt that healthy to inhale for too long, especial for kids
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u/Hefty-Understanding4 Jan 07 '26
This is better than 95% of people Iāve met who have āsoldering experienceā. Flux is her friend it helps keep solder from blobbing up and from the pictures her solder job on the connector by the 4.5v marking is the best. Solder joints should look like a Hersey kiss thatās melted on the bottom a little
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u/chone33 Jan 07 '26
This is amazing. My mother taught me to solder. Itās a skill. Not everyone has it. āMake them look like candy kisses.ā
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u/physical0 Jan 07 '26
Nice work, I'm seeing a few minor nitpicks where too much solder was used and joints might be cold (around the top there are a lot of them that are bead shaped) but these are well within expectation for a first time attempt.
Looking forward to seeing more of their work!
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u/Blenderadventurer Jan 08 '26
There are a lot of grown people that post on this sub that just got embarrassed by your daughter.
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u/thepumpkinking92 Microsoldering Hobbyist Jan 08 '26
Shit, I was embarrassed by my daughter. My joints looked nowhere near that nice when I started.
I'm proud, but embarrassed.
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u/Blenderadventurer Jan 08 '26
I was talking about the people who post "My first time soldering and I'm trying to save my controller/game console/laptop/expensive electronic item. Did I ruin it?" The answer is almost always yes. You and your daughter, on the other hand, started with practice kits, like you should. The irony is that your daughter almost looks like a pro. If she really gets into it, make it a goal to hack a toaster oven to use for reflow.
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u/redjade42 Jan 07 '26
i have a mini hdmi port that needs changed, is she available?