Okay, PTP soldering gurus

[xXDaveyJonesXx]

How is your work so neat and clean ALL the time? Practice, of course.. but what techniques in particular are you practicing? I'm slowly getting better at general soldering, but I look at some of your guys's point to point work and I'm just blown away. Especially when you're working with such small components like resistors that have leads only centimeters long and bent to 90 degree angles with such excellent consistency and not a spot of flux anywhere. How do you even work with that and how do you discern which methods to use for each case?

Some people bitch about the cost of quality PTP amplifiers, but I envision myself toiling with each component and I'm suddenly ready and willing to throw down the coin.


Much respect,

-Dave

 

[MississippiMetal]

Practice makes perfect. Either that or taking three months to build one amp.
There is a talent to circuit construction that some people just will never grasp. The really good ones are the guys who can assemble an amp in a day with superb lead dress and arrangement.

It helps to have a plan. If you are doing strictly PTP you should rough out your layout in a drawing before you begin soldering.

And of course there are all manner of little tricks to bending leads, running wire and such. You either copy someone else's techniques if you're so lucky as to be shown, or you develop your own through experimenting, often a combination of the two.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

Read thread title as PTP solder gun!

Thought holy shit we've gone off the deep end!



Good solder helps a bunch.

 

[FourT6and2]

No secret techniques. Just practice, patience, and attention to detail.

I watched a lot of videos on YouTube about how to properly solder according to industry standards and just used that. Get a good iron and I use eutectic solder. And less solder = more. You don't want a huge blob of solder. You want to still be able to see the component lead outlined in the solder. Solder isn't meant to act as a mechanical joint either. You want the lead secured on its own and the solder is there to just lock it down and make a good electrical joint.

Other than that, I use a non-serrated, flat jewelers pliers to straighten out component leads. Then I use a rounded tip pliers to bend leads and wires to various angles.

Not PTP, but you get the idea. This was my first build and took me about a week:

 

[xXDaveyJonesXx]

No secret techniques. Just practice, patience, and attention to detail...

Thank for that and nice work, especially considering it was your first. Nice!