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Rant: Old guy at the shop taught me something about solder flux I'll never forget
I was fixing an old Pioneer receiver at Hank's Electronics in Portland last month, and this retired TV repairman named Ed walked in. He watched me glob on way too much rosin flux and just said, 'Son, you're drowning the joint.' Then he showed me how a tiny dab does the job if you use the right heat. Has anyone else had some random old-timer hand you a tip that completely changed your soldering game?
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daniel47418d ago
Nah, I gotta push back on that salt analogy a little. Overfluxing doesn't just waste material the way oversalting ruins fries. Too much flux can actually bubble up and leave carbon residue that traps heat and makes the joint cold. I've seen guys pile it on thinking they're being thorough, but really they're just creating a mess that needs more cleanup and can hide a bad connection. Salt on fries is a taste thing, flux is about physics and contamination. Ed was right about the tiny dab, but it's not the same principle as seasoning food. Too little flux is a problem too, sure, but going heavy doesn't just give you diminishing returns, it actively makes things worse.
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grantf7318d ago
Man, that's one of those things that's true all over, not just with soldering. It's like the old saying about too much of a good thing, you know? People think if a little is good then a lot must be better, but that's just not how it works with heat or flux or even salt on your fries.
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