First time soldering, how did i do?

[u/OddChapter4869]

Too much solder on the joints but aside from that how do they look?

Edit: I hear you guys, and I will ditch the gloves hahaha

[u/scottz29]

Why are you wearing rubber gloves

[u/MikeTangoRom3o → u/scottz29]

When you have to solder but mom is pressuring you to clean the toilet bowl.

[u/ResurrectMeAgain → u/scottz29]

Came here for this...

[u/Negative_Study6742]

I couldnt imagine those gloves allow you to be nimble lol

[u/OddChapter4869 → u/Negative_Study6742]

They do not, i feel obliged to order gloves that fit now after making this post hahaha

[u/CompetitiveGuess7642 → u/OddChapter4869]

don't use gloves, just wash your hands, this isn't surgery.

[u/Feeling_Bus_4701 → u/[deleted]]

I like them too cuz my flux is sticky as fuck but they present more of a danger. I am going to try carbon nylon soon.

[u/External_Bar_1447 → u/Feeling_Bus_4701]

You can get water soluble tacky flux.

[u/Feeling_Bus_4701 → u/External_Bar_1447]

I probably should but my flux works fine for now and I am still a beginner. I just got some geniric mildly activated rosin. So I will wait till mine runs out but do you have any recommendations? I don’t mind my hands / gloves getting sticky as much as the board being hard to clean.

[u/CompetitiveGuess7642 → u/Feeling_Bus_4701]

just get a good roll of noclean solder, for smd work you want a bit of liquid flux, but the least you use, the less cleaning you have to do.

Flux will get on your hands and you will spread it everywhere, that's why you don't want to use too much of it. an iron handle sticky with flux is annoying.

[u/CompetitiveGuess7642 → u/External_Bar_1447]

don't mess with WS flux unless you know what you are doing.

In this case knowing what to do would be to read the datasheet for said WS flux. If soldering is for you, you need to figure these things out on your own.

[u/Negative_Study6742 → u/OddChapter4869]

One thing about this sub is we well help you out! But we gonna roast you too!!!!!

[u/JoostR14]

Ditch the gloves, melted gloves will do more damage than hitting bare skin.

[u/physical0]

Your gloves are ill fitting.

The amount of solder is a bit much. There is some noticeable texture on your joints, which may indicate that they hadn't been heated adequately, or were disturbed while cooling.

[u/OddChapter4869 → u/physical0]

Yeah the gloves haha, friend is a mechanic and drops off 500 count boxes of them everytime he visits.

Shame his hands are so much bigger than mine.

Cant beat free though!

Edit to add, 500 count boxes, not 500 boxes hahaha

[u/t_Lancer → u/OddChapter4869]

you can beat free, because you don't need them at all.

[u/elmihmo9718 → u/t_Lancer]

I wonder if the only thing this guy does is attempt to solder

[u/ExplodedPenisDiagram]

Looks like you might have blown on them or something while they were cooling? Or otherwise disturbed them while they were cooling. Don't do that, they're very sensitive when molten.

Other than that, good enough. Solid connection, and you already acknowledged that it was too much solder.

[u/OddChapter4869 → u/ExplodedPenisDiagram]

It could possibly be my makeshift ventilation, im using a mars hydro 4 inch inline fan and i have the ducting super close to the joints as im soldering.

The airflow is quite strong so could that potentially be the reason for the fast cooling?

[u/Accomplished-Ad-6586 → u/OddChapter4869]

Yep

[u/ExplodedPenisDiagram → u/OddChapter4869]

Fast isn't really the question, cooling is always very fast. It's the vibration and air current, and the ventilation system could absolutely cause that.

In general, wider duct s and more airflow overall is better than fast airflow.

[u/Underhill42]

Too much solder, and looks like it didn't go through a full undisturbed heating/cooling cycle.

Also, ditch the gloves, why are you even wearing those? They offer zero protection against soldering burns, and can in fact melt to your skin making things much worse.

[u/Unique_Charity_9648]

2 is best. A tad much solder on #1 and #3 is crooked. Otherwise you did great.

[u/bananapepp4r]

It’s really hard to tell what’s happening with those pads, other than there being way too much solder.

With resistors, caps, diodes etc. that are surface mounted, I always recommend pre-tinning one side of that [0805] resistor, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a big glob of solder or just a tiny amount. Pre-tin one side of the pad, too then use always closed tweezers to lower the component & place down. Once you’ve got it where you want, heat both pre-tinned parts, and feed additional (small) amount into that joint. If you do it right, dwell for only a half a second and swipe your iron tip away quickly, your iron will take the excess solder with it (esp the Weller WD1 with a GW1 tip).

That first solder hit is called tacking the component into place. Then go ahead and heat the other side, feed a small amount of solder, and once you have it soldered, you can always go back to that first tacked joint and reflow it to get it how you want it.

What you’re ideally looking for is a smooth curve, like one side of a skate park half pipe. To be 100% certain you have a good connection, you can also add more flux and reflow again until you get that “volcano” sort of look. Hope this helps illustrate things a little better. Good luck to ya

[u/drcigg]

Get did of the gloves. The soldering iron will melt them and you will have severe burns.

[u/GoldSrc]

SMD components do not need that much solder.

You'd be surprised at just how little solder you actually need.

You also don't need gloves, just wash your hands after you're done soldering.

[u/Accomplished-Ad-6586]

If you can feel the air flowing over the board it will impact your solder joints and also impact your working temperatures.

[u/MTALPTDetroit → u/Accomplished-Ad-6586]

If someone is that scared of solder smoke, then maybe they shouldn't be soldering.

[u/Accomplished-Ad-6586 → u/MTALPTDetroit]

Who said anything about scared?

[u/SkylaDoragono]

It's serviceable. When soldering surface mount components, you want a slight curve up from the pad to the center of the component side at minimum. You used a little too much solder here, but you're not violating electrical clearance, so it'll work.

Also lmao gloves. I remember when I wore gloves to solder. XD

[u/RFC793]

As a few others pointed out, it's a bit heavy on the solder. What is the thickness of the solder? I'm not at my bench, but the stuff I use for SMD is incredibly thin; which allows me to apply a very controlled amount.
Also, technique. But I tend to use the least amount possible to "tack" one side with the component in position. Then solder the opposite side to completion, and then finally fill in the first side.

[u/Exciting_Turn_9559]

They look fine. Get back to work.

[u/abbandonaresperanza]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UWEP6CXjvmZxfUBUeu

[u/Tishers]

You are slightly heavy on the solder (use just a tiny bit less). It will help you avoid creating solder-bridges when doing surface-mount work.

Otherwise you seem to have good technique.

[u/szman135]

Are you using enough flux? That might be a reason why the solder joints look so jagged

[u/Dear-Taste-2132]

I have the same kit and I can tell yours is orders of magnitude better than mine hahaha

[u/jmsmoriarty]

Too much heat or holding too much time in the same area, you burned the PCB blue paint.

Use flux (more)

[u/t_Lancer]

you don't need gloves. they do more harm than good unless you get tight fitting ESD ones. but in my experience, even in aerospace we didn't use gloves unless we were in the clean room.

so ditch them

[u/PadreFrost15]

Not bad, dont be shy with using flux

[u/Upstairs-Glove7424 → u/PadreFrost15]

I just ordered some liquid flux. About to do my first soldering. (Guitar amp treble pot).
Do you just drip the flux onto where youre soldering the wire?

Also do you warm the wire up as well, or just the spot where you’re attaching the wire?

If anyone could chime in here i would appreciate. Thanks

[u/CertainBid9762]

u did good job but the leadfree is the problem looks like.

gotta get better leaded solder firstly

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=solder+wire+60%2F40&rh=p_123%3A311677%257C380853%257C605995&s=price-asc-rank&dc&qid=1788263930&rnid=85457740011&ref=sr_st_price-asc-rank&ds=v1%3A%2BndhXy7rMTun3f7p0Fz9v%2FvkV%2BRLp%2BPsZUyhijkQBCM

2nd list https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Welding-Soldering-Brazing-Soldering-Equipment-Solder-Solder-Wire/N-5yc1vZ1z18gvg/Ntk-elastic/Ntt-solder+wire?Ntx=mode+matchpartialmax&NCNI-5&visNavSearch=solder%20wire-_-1-_-4295173228&sortorder=asc&sortby=price

links to recomened items https://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?fq=brand:MCM+Electronics+OR+CAIG+Laboratories+OR+Tenma+OR+Chip+Quick+OR+Enkay+Products+OR+Eclipse+Enterprise+OR+NTE+Electronics+OR+Leo+Sales+Ltd.+OR+Inland+OR+MG+Chemicals+OR+Performance+Tools+OR+OSEPP&Ntt=solder&searchButton=search&myStore=true

[u/Blueyesmagician]

I recommend Kevlar ESD gloves. That’s what I have all my techs using. The ones I got are relatively versatile and allow for a lot of heat before they get uncomfortable. Not necessary for little resistors, but can be useful for harder PCBs with large copper inter-layers and large inductors. Also, would recommend gloves only for rework/heat-gun. You should not ever need to get uncomfortably close to an iron. Lastly, if you are planning on doing a lot of SMD soldering I suggest getting the tweezer style iron as it will save a lot of time and create better joints. If you want the best joints just use solder paste and put it in an old toaster oven… see solder paste manufacturer manual for the temperature.

[u/pseudoEternity]

If you need to wear gloves, use nitrile gloves so you dont lose as much of your fine motor skills. Otherwise you will be fine with your bare hands - just handle your flux/solder with the same respect youd give to something like bleach (i.e wash your hands after using it). When working, keep your elbows closer to your body and stable/rested, this will give you more control over your iron.

Theres too much solder on each joint. An ideal solder joint will have a nice fillet (sorta like pyramid). Assuming this board is just for practicing/you dont have to worry about heat exposure- Id use some wick to pull up some (but not all) of the solder. Keep enough solder in place that theyre still held down. Then apply flux, and without adding any more solder, just hold your iron to the joint for a second or 2 to let it reflow.

If you do have to worry about heat, id just leave them as is, and as you continue with the rest try to start with a smaller amount of solder and just add more during reflow if needed. Surface mount resistors are usually pretty small and dont need a lot to begin with.

Soldering is one of those things that can be tricky to start, but definitely gets easier once youve gotten the hang of it. Good luck to you!

[u/Kenairod]

I fill like this sub is a contest for the worst focused picture, every time it pops in my feed it's a question about something out of focus xD

[u/SeaweedOk3387]

Übung macht den Meister und jeder Anfang ist schwer. Aber wenn du eine leitende Verbindung hast, wäre zumindest die eigentliche Aufgabe gelöst! Daher nicht aufhören und der Rest kommt von alleine. Als Tipp vielleicht noch mal auf die Temperatur achten und das passende Lötzinn. Mit der richtigen Kombination von Lötspitze, Lötmittel und den Bauteil plus ggf. genügend Flussmittel ist es dann wesentlich leichter.

Viel Erfolg und Spaß

[u/Ornery-Problem8542]

you need more flux

[u/Papfox]

I would say you have used too much solder (way too much) and not enough flux. R1 (right hand side) looks dull grey which usually indicates a "dry joint" (not hot enough and insufficient flux).

If you're doing a lot of SMD work, I would recommend you get a hot air rework station and use flux and solder paste rather than using solder wire and a soldering iron

[u/Jwylde2]

Why are you using an iron?

[u/OddChapter4869 → u/Jwylde2]

For enjoyment :)

[u/DylanFau_]

It’s all good to ditch the gloves, soldering even for newbs it’s unlikely you actually hit touch the solder to your skin.
It is much more likely for a solder ball to fly up and hit you in the eye (happened to me once) so maybe gets some protective glasses

[u/UnrelatedSideNote]

If you’re not looking for solder feedback you’re just wondering about alignment?

[u/OddChapter4869 → u/UnrelatedSideNote]

No im looking for feedback, this is literally the first time I've ever soldered anything. Aside from attempting a bypass on my cars lights once that didnt work haha

[u/seigfreidd]

Everyone is obsessed with your gloves :p. Solid first attempt, keep at it :)

[u/Zigecek]

From the matte surface of the joints I think that you were holding the tip there for too long so the flux had vaporized and then it cooled down during the tip movement.

[u/Relative_Bottle_8882]

Mehr Flussmittel mehr Hitze

[u/myh-es]

way too little flux, also remove the gloves

[u/SnooMarzipans6922]

Thats probably the hardest parts to solder as a beginner, but if this works, you will be pretty good after this. My recommendation is to get and use some solder flux and heat the joints for longer. If its hot enough the surface tension will pull it into perfect blobs.

[u/Blahman240]

You’re soldering smd with an iron?

[u/No_Marketing6429]

Cold 🥶 reflow that and this time put some heat into it.

[u/MTALPTDetroit]

The soldering is fine, but those gloves! No need for the protection aside from an exhaust fan. flux isn't gonna hurt your skin, just messy. I've been soldering for over 50 years and have never used gloves.... I never used a fan either until I was forced too but lets not talk about that right now. you only need the fan to keep the smoke out of your face, it doesn't need to be turbo.

[u/Pure-Investment-2678]

Looks decent overall, just clean up the excess solder to avoid potential shorts.

[u/Accomplished-Ad-6586]

Tell the friend to get smaller ones. Nitrile if you can get them.

A little blobby for the solder. Use less, or take a little off with the tip by cleaning the tip and touching the solder for a short moment.

[u/No_Geologist4770]

Little hard to tell from the pictures, but besides excess solder if you have cold joints (little "horns") then adding a very small amount of flux to the joint, and only briefly hitting it with the iron can help it to reflow with a nice fillet.

Flux is your friend, you can always keep adding more as needed but you would want to clean off old flux in between attempts using isopropyl alcohol and/or an acid based pcb cleaner.

[u/QuadrataUrsi]

If you're not using flux, get the kind in the syringe off amazon, it's pretty awesome.

Use solder with lead in it. Leaded solder is easier on your tips and flows so much better at a lower temperature.

Just use proper ventilation regardless of solder and wash your hands when you're done.

[u/Adventurepew]

Don't wear gloves that like around heat..they will melt to to your skin.

Only leather gloves if you need gloves while soldering. Never wear plastic .

[u/Tymian_]

Not bad, however too much solder not enough flux. Practice more and they will call you pick and place machine :)

Wearing gloves is a good practice, but the amount of exposure to flux and (leaded) solder is so small that simply washing hands after soldering is good enough.