Why I love liquid flux.

Yoruio, 10 months ago

I’ve always used flux paste - do you see better performance with the liquid compared to paste?

MapleEngineer, 10 months ago

I use a squeeze bottle which let’s me put the liquid flux exactly where I want it. I have paste flux on my solder shelf along with borax for silver solder.

ramjambamalam, 10 months ago

Neat video, quick and to the point. I’ve had a hard time with soldering together keyboards and re-capping 80s Apple computers :S maybe some flux and a proper soldering iron (rather than a cheap Princess Auto model) would help, but I also think my hands aren’t very steady to begin with.

MapleEngineer, 10 months ago

Thanks! The solder on old boards can be very oxidized which makes it harder to work with. It may also be an early lead-free solder which makes it VERY difficult to deal with. Early lead-free solders required higher temperatures and oxidized very easily. There are some very low temperature rework solders that you can use. You add the low temperature solder to the joint and it mixed with the original solder reducing it’s melting point. Liquid flux will also help a LOT. Go onto Ebay and search for Kester 186. You can normally buy a small bottle for around USD$7. 100ml will last a LONG time.

Another thing that you should consider is buying a better pencil iron. You want one with temperature control, even if it’s a fixed temperature. Temperature controlled irons pour on the power when you start to solder to keep your tip hot. Buying a good name like Weller or Hakko or Pace will help.

Have you considered using a wrist rest to steady your hands? I like diving lead weight bags. They’re like beanbags but they weigh a LOT. You can buy them relatively inexpensively at most dive shops and even on Ebay.

Keep soldering.

m0darn, 10 months ago

Thanks for making content. Nice chickens too.

MapleEngineer, 10 months ago

Thanks! The communities I mod are so weirdly diverse that I had to take a look to see which post you were commenting on.