Totaly noob who REALLY wants to build

[patswalker]

I'm totally new to soldering as in never done it. As of today I've got all the equipment I need to do it and I want to buy a Crack kit to start with. I was looking at the description of the Crack and the Speedball upgrade states that it's not for total beginners, more of a level 2 builder. Looking for experience here, coming from a place of never soldering, is the best move to get the Crack then once I build it and use it a bit, get the Speedball? Or is the Speedball not super hard to install if I do it with the Crack. Again, not super hard for someone who has never done this before. Play conservative to have an easy building experience for the first try to make sure I have a product I can use when I;m done then add the Crack later or go all in and go for level 2 first try?

[kGlerup]

Get both the Crack and SB. But focus on the Crack and take tour time.
Soldering on PCB's is quite different than the hardwiring in the Crack.

Take your time and study (youtube..) before beginning.
Simple tips:
* Adjustable iron? I aim for 440-450 Celcius.
* Always apply a bit of solder to the iron tip. Otherwise you can't transfer the heat
* If you solder something tiny to something thick, then only apply heat to the thick item (The LED's in the kit are easy to kill..)
* Don't apply too much solder. The joint should not look like a bubble/blob.
* Follow the guide to the point! It is really great 

[Deluk]

Check out Doc's excellent solder guide along with all of his other build guides.
https://forum.bottlehead.com/index.php?topic=13797.0

[oguinn]

I'd also get a practice kit for PCBs. You should absolutely watch Doc's great videos, but I'd do some hands-on practice with something cheap that you don't mind destroying.

I think I did this kit. There are some other ones that look interesting.

[patswalker]

Many thanks to you all! I'm super excited for this. Great ideas. I'll watch the videos and get that practice kit. I don't have social media so I can't communicate that way so these forums are tremendously helpful.

[Doc B.]

With regard to soldering a light and heavy part together - it does take a little finesse, but both parts must be correctly heated with the tip of the iron in order for the solder to flow properly onto both parts without creating a cold joint. I don't think this is much of an issue when soldering an LED to a tube socket terminal. Those terminals are quite easy to heat up. Working quickly and efficiently with a good solder station is the best approach. Make sure the tip is clean and tinned so that the heat transfers to both parts efficiently.

In the case of something very massive like a heavy binding post connecting to a piece of PVC insulated wire - which might melt the insulation back if overheated by the iron being applied for a long time - the best approach is to pre-tin the post before attaching and soldering the wire. Pretinning components can reduce the amount of time the iron needs to dwell on the component when the connection is soldered.

Re the Crack and Speedball - the Crack kit is intended for first time builders. Speedball is intended for someone who has experienced building the Crack kit. Build the basic Crack kit first and add the Speedball upgrade after you have the Crack built, tested for proper voltage readings and function, and run in for a while.

[Mucker]

Doc does indeed have a great video. This one is really good too with some great close up video of pcb soldering. The small chisel bit makes it much easier. You can do it! Practice makes perfect!

[Doc B.]

That bologna cut style of soldering tip is most often called a bevel tip. A chisel tip is the type I use in the video I did - tapered cone with flats on two sides and a straight cut end. A bevel or cone style tip can be easier for PC board work, but they are not as effective for point to point terminal work. A small chisel tip is pretty efficient for both type of soldering.

[oguinn]

Moving to a chisel tip made a massive improvement in my soldering experience.

[Adrian]

The importance of having a good mechanical connection prior to soldering cannot be overstressed.
Between 50 to 100% around a post or turret or similar connection is sufficient followed by a crimping with a needle nose plier (only extremely small gauge wire - awg 30 or smaller - require wrapping 1-3 times!).
I spend more time making a good mechanical connection than I do soldering it.
Also, it is way too easy to over-solder any connection.  It only takes a small amount of solder to make an effective and stable joint if the surfaces are properly wetted.
If you are interested, take a look at MIL-STD-2000.  Its a dry read but probably the definitive technical standard for soldering.

[Hilts]

I'm in a similar new to soldering position and welcome the great tips given here.

As far as practicing goes, there seems to be plenty of options for PC board stuff but how can we practice on point to point terminal work ?

[Larpy]

Much of the soldering you'll do for a BH kit involves terminal strips like these:

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/terminal-strip-3-lug-2nd-lug-common-horizontal

You'll often be soldering resistors and wires to both the bottom and top lugs of those terminal strips.

So you could buy a package of terminal strips and a package or two of resistors (any value) like these:

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/terminal-strip-3-lug-2nd-lug-common-horizontal

Then screw the terminal strips to piece of scrap wood so they're close to together and practice soldering resistors to them.  Once you start getting good at it, you'll be ready for the kit.

[Hilts]

Cheers Larry that's good advice .