Adafruit: solder diameter

[davidh]

HI,

I noticed that some solder is .031 and some .062. In terms of thru-hole soldering which diameter size does Adafruit recommend.


Thanks
David

[adafruit_support_bill]

The .031 is what we use and carry in the store.
http://www.adafruit.com/products/145
http://www.adafruit.com/products/734

[kscharf]

I found some even thinner solder that works great for .5mm lead space on SMT parts.

[Agent_24]

I recommend whatever size suits you personally.

Thinner solder is easier to control, even on large pads (but note you will take longer to feed the solder on, increase chance of overheating)

I would advise you buy different sizes, and use them all, you will find which one you like, and you will have different sizes ready for when you need them.

[neslekkim]

Agreed on that, can you ever have too much solder?
I have four sizes, and some pastes, one of the rolls is around 20 years

[Agent_24]

Just to add to my previous comment, if you're starting out, I would say go with thin stuff first, around 0.5 - 0.6mm

When I first started soldering, the kits I bought came with 1.0mm solder which I found was bad for learning with as it was very easy to add too much. I bought a roll of 0.56mm quickly and liked it much better.

Kept the little coils of 1.0mm for heavier jobs.

[delerious]

I have 3 different sizes here: .015", .024", .031". The .031 is 60/40 and the other 2 are 63/37 (Multicore C400). I like the 63/37 better. The .015" will be used for small SMD parts (if my Gertboard ever arrives) - it's too small for some of the larger through-hole components I've tried soldering because I usually end up having to pull away before I burn my fingers on the iron and I struggle trying to control the thin wire if my hand is too far away.

Soldering isn't too bad, but I really suck if I try de-soldering a mistake. I just can't get the copper braid/wick to work on smaller through-hole components - like the ICSP header I just put on the Proto Shield and the vacuum pump (pen type) doesn't get enough to release the component. Maybe I'll have to get a squeeze ball to see if that works any better.