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Hadcock rewire

Yep, proper temp controlled ones have a thermocouple in them. You only really need such kit if you are doing pro work on a daily basis.
My go to is a simple Maplins adjustable jobbie.
 
a.palfreyman said:
Matt, when you say the solder was balling up, do you mean it wasn't flowing or the tip wasn't tinning properly? If you've sanded your tip, you've probably removed the iron coating, exposing the copper which will have blackened/oxidised. If so you just won't be able to solder with it. Get some new tips and a little pot of tip tinner. You also need a dampened pad (usually made of natural sponge) to wipe your bit on occasionally. Each time you use your iron, before soldering wipe the tip on the pad and dip it into the tinning pot, and when you've finished, clean the tip and tin it immediately before turning it off. You don't need a variable temp iron, but it's nice to have. A simple, decent 25 to 30W iron will do all small stuff.
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Yes the tip wouldn't tin at all, it would just ball up and roll off, it did this before I used a slight abrasive on it (not back to the copper) as well. But I also couldn't get the tonearm wire to take any solder either, it is a silver plated copper so that is probably the issue there.

I do the whole wet sponge thing, I don't have a tip tinner so that's something to look at. I did swap the tip for another in the box that did take solder so I used that and things were a lot easier. To be honest I do such little soldering I wanted to avoid buying yet a load more stuff that I only use once or twice (see the decluttering thread!) I've already got plenty of that. Even though it is a Chinese £50 special I think the iron itself is OK, got an annoyingly short mains lead though which I will probably swap.
 
Maybe just a cr4p tip then if the other worked.
Shouldn't be any problems with silver on copper TBH. I have some interconnects made with similar. Is your solder flux-cored, lead tin? Sounds more like a cleanliness problem and keeping your tip clean and tinning before starting and after finishing will definitely help. Must admit I sometimes struggle with thicker multicored wire which can oxidise and not take the melted solder which should wick nicely...I usually end up using a bit of liquid flux (flux pen) prior to soldering under these circumstances.
 
a.palfreyman said:
Maybe just a cr4p tip then if the other worked.
Shouldn't be any problems with silver on copper TBH. I have some interconnects made with similar. Is your solder flux-cored, lead tin? Sounds more like a cleanliness problem and keeping your tip clean and tinning before starting and after finishing will definitely help. Must admit I sometimes struggle with thicker multicored wire which can oxidise and not take the melted solder which should wick nicely...I usually end up using a bit of liquid flux (flux pen) prior to soldering under these circumstances.
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It flowed lovely into some copper multistrand, it sucked it up like a sponge but the tonearm wire it just wasn't having it and it was freshly stripped so clean as a whistle. I mean because it was so thin it wasn't a problem as it took to the cart tags and plug pins as soon as the iron touched it but it wouldn't tin for love nor money.
 
Most very thin hifi wires are Litz. Certainly internal tonearm cables are.

You just be sure to have a very nice day, won't you?
 
matt j said:
It flowed lovely into some copper multistrand, it sucked it up like a sponge but the tonearm wire it just wasn't having it and it was freshly stripped so clean as a whistle
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That suggests that as @Vinny says the arm wire is enamelled. No other explanation TBH.
Nice deck... :)
 
In that scenario and with wire as thin as tonearm stuff what is the best technique for losing the enamel? I have to admit I hate soldering tonearm leads. I’ve never failed, but I’ve never enjoyed it. I have certainly noticed some didn’t tin well.
 
Tony L said:
what is the best technique for losing the enamel?
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Amateur level - there isn't one except keep running an iron over them, then maybe some OOO wire wool to clean the crud off.
On a large scale the usual recommendation is to dip into a solder pot....................

It is a total faff and PITA.
 
Teleport yourself back to 1979...GH himself rewired my GH 228 with the latest E type Litz wiring for a fiver.
But back then you would get change back from a quid at the chippie.
 
a.palfreyman said:
Prior to soldering, I scrape lacquered copper with a scalpel or Stanley knife, depending on wire size...
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That, or a lighter for 20 seconds first, the much easier to clean back to copper (small piece of emery paper for me) - you must had a clean copper or tinned copper joint for solder to flow.
 
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