Soldering, step by step
Educational reference. Electronics soldering; ventilate the area.
- Clean everythingSolder does not bond to oxide or grease.
- Tin the tipA thin coat of solder on the iron transfers heat far better.
- Heat the jointBoth parts, for a second or two. Not the solder.
- Feed solder into the jointIt should flow and wet both surfaces.
- Remove solder, then ironIn that order. Then let it cool undisturbed.
Failures
- Cold joint — dull, lumpy, weak: not enough heat
- Bridged joint — solder spanning two pads: too much solder
- A good joint is shiny and concave
Educational reference. Ventilate: flux fumes are an irritant. Wash hands after handling leaded solder.
Questions about the Soldering poster
- What’s on the Soldering poster?
- 5 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Educational reference. Electronics soldering; ventilate the area. Clean everything — Solder does not bond to oxide or grease.; Tin the tip — A thin coat of solder on the iron transfers heat far better.; Heat the joint — Both parts, for a second or two. Not the solder.; Feed solder into the joint — It should flow and wet both surfaces.; Remove solder, then iron — In that order. Then let it cool undisturbed.. Educational reference. Ventilate: flux fumes are an irritant. Wash hands after handling leaded solder.
- Who is the Soldering poster for?
- Soldering belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning repair can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Soldering poster?
- Heat the joint and let it melt the solder. Solder applied to an iron never bonds properly. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Soldering belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Soldering?
- Choosing an Adhesive, Bleeding Radiators and Wiring a Plug sit alongside Soldering in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Choosing an AdhesiveBleeding RadiatorsWiring a Plug
- Is the Soldering poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Soldering downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Soldering poster print at?
- Soldering is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Soldering loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside Soldering on the same wall.
Browse every Practical skills poster, or start from the full catalogue.