soldering iron for Fender chassis solder blobs

[pula58]

I want to put in a 50K reverse-audio switched pot for the trem intensity control in an old 70's vibrolux reverb...but...there is a big blob of solder that "welds" the brass ground plate to the chassis right under where the pot has to go, and its getting in the . I'd remove this blob, but, my Weller soldering station doesn't get hot enough to melt the solder (cause the chassis sinks all the heat from the iron!).

So, what kind of soldering iron do I need to fully melt these solder blobs to clean them off of the chassis? I figure this would be a good thing to have since this problem comes-up from time to time.


Thanks!

[Reeltarded]

Sometimes I have used a chisel and the iron right at the edge at first with a bit of flux too. It works becaue I make it work though. Cruel to be kind sort of thing.

[jjman]

May be able to dremmel-grind it down enough.

[Phil_S]

May be able to dremmel-grind it down enough.

That or a propane torch!

[billyz]

An 80 watt iron is what you need.
The ones they use for stained glass.
I believe it has a 1/2" chisel point.

[Deric]

An 80 watt iron is what you need.
The ones they use for stained glass.
I believe it has a 1/2" chisel point.

Yep.

Seems I only need to do this once or twice a year. In the past I always "made it work". A few months ago I bought one of these...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002 ... UTF8&psc=1

Used it 3 times since. Can't believe I didn't do it years ago...

[Leo_Gnardo]

BillyZ got it right. Years ago I got an 80 watt iron from a stained-glass builder. Looks like a gorilla-size soldering pencil. Works where ordinary irons, even 100W plus "soldering guns" won't - including soldering to amp chassis. I don't use it often, but it's the bees knees when the job's beyond the range of the ordinary iron. A couple years ago I found Mouser carried them, Weller brand, so I bought a spare. Search Mouser & invest in one, I bet it's under $30. Everybody here ought'a have one!

[Prairie Dawg]

I've got a Weller ray gun with twin headlights that I bought at a yard sale for five bucks. It's like the one Dad bought when he decided he was going to fix the TV on the kitchen table that winter.

I have yet to see the soldered to the chassis thing it couldn't power through, and that includes the can caps in my Traynor YGM3 that had the tabs soldered right to the chassis.

Of course you gotta slurp the stuff up so some cheap acid brushes cut off short are the way to sweep it up.

[mr_hankey]

Using a heat gun has worked for me.

[cpollack]

I tried my 150W Weller gun, but it just didn't have the thermal mass to get it done. The big chassis seems to sink the heat faster than the thin copper wire tip can generate it. A 100W Weller iron with a beefy chisel tip (just like the 80 watters mentioned above), does the job for me.

[billyz]

I have used the 80 W weller for years to attached grounded 3 wire cords , chassis grounds , Princeton can caps etc and alot of other things. I also have the weller 140/100W gun and it does not cut it.

The chisel tip on the iron is almost gone on mine. I use it several times a week.

Seems the 100w Iron should be even better. you need the big fat chisel tip. Thats how fender did it in the first place.

[pula58]

thanks for the info folks, much appreciated!
I'm gonna try to 80W weller!

[Leo_Gnardo]

Just be careful where you set down your new 80W Weller iron. Gets hot enough to set things on fire & melt nearby plastic etc.

Definitely recommend against using a heat gun or torch as it's too easy to damage nearby parts in the amp.

Some notes on those old heavy Weller guns -

1) they throw a heck of an AC magnetic field. Enough to demagnetize a guitar pickup, so don't use 'em near pickups. You can bulk-erase a cassette tape by holding it up to the butt end of the solder gun. Those old solder guns weigh so much because they're essentially a transformer, driving low-voltage high-current through the tip to heat it up. And that brings up -

2) a trick one of my old college friends showed me: you can remove the tip from one of the big Weller guns, and jam the two posts right up to the chassis metal. This forces so much current through the chassis - only between the posts - that the chassis heats up to solder-melting temperature. I've only been able to do this successfully a couple of times. Ever since I got my Weller 80W it's been "the right tool for the job." I didn't know there are also 120 & 160W versions.

I wish I knew a source for spare tips billyz. Might try asking at Mouser, since they sell the 80W Weller iron.

[Phil_S]

OK, I was joking about the torch!

[Leo_Gnardo]

Phil_S <OK, I was joking about the torch!>

Well thank goodness, but you never know when someone will take it seriously.

There are those butane mini torches, and some are set up to solder. I've avoided them because I wouldn't want to forget to switch the damn thing off, throw it in my toolbox, and later find out the tour semi truck caught fire. Or just light up my home workshop. Life's exciting enough without that...