Perfboard Soldering Question

[walker]

About pad-per-hole boards,  I've read  "stick your component through the top side of the board, flip it over, and solder it to the pad on the other side of the board. You then solder bare wires to the underside to form the connections"


So I've got all my components soldered in,  how do I add the bare wires without messing up the points that are already soldered?  For instance adding a wire to a capacitor.   Do I add more solder?  Or just heat up what's already there, and stick the wire in? 

[Mark Hammer]

Either.  Your goal is to have a decent conductive joint that does not inadvertently contact anything it shouldn't, and that leaves enough room for you to install other components that ought to be able to fit in there.

Often, I will plan out a perf-build such that component leads are used AS the connecting wires.  So, imagine you have a vertically-mounted resistor.  When stood "on end" one of the leads poking through the hole will be shorter than the other.  Which side ought to be the longer one?  To my mind that would depend on what else you needed to connect that end to.

[glops]

To see what this looks like, check out the NPN boost build pictorial on this site under the Beginner's project link.   That should give you a good idea of how to do it.  I've only build on perf so far and the key is proper planning.  The first couple of builds took for ever and caused a lot of confusion.  Since then, with practice, my soldering skills have improved vastly and it's much easier.  I usually layout the components similar to the schematic.

[StereoKills]

Often, I will plan out a perf-build such that component leads are used AS the connecting wires. 

This is what I do and it is a lot easier than adding in separate wire.

[walker]

thanks everyone, this all makes sense.  I've been trying to figure out why nothing I build works, and thought it might be poor soldering.  This is like a big 'duh' moment.... I cut off the component leads, and then add a wire to what I just cut off!   Those pics were helpful too. 

[jdub]

Often, I will plan out a perf-build such that component leads are used AS the connecting wires.

This is what I do and it is a lot easier than adding in separate wire.

+1 to this.  Sometimes you don't have enough lead on a component to reach where you need it to go, though, and then you may have to add a little extension piece...Also, I usually bend the leads 90 degrees after they're stuck through to hold 'em in place when I turn the board over to solder.  Even after snipping the excess, if you goof and need to add an extension there's a little "hook" that helps hold the thing in place when you heat the solder...

[glops]

It just takes practice.  Adding wires when you have to or when you've missed a connection, it a pain in the a$$.  Sometimes, if needed I will run a insulated wire jumper on top of the board if it gets messy on the solder side.  But yeah, try to use the component leads to your advantage.  Not so much anymore, but when I was learning how to solder I would always clip an alligator clip on a component lead on the component side of the perf as a heat sink which will help to not fry components when leaving the iron on it for too long.  Now that I can make a solder joint fast, I rarely use a heat sink.

Good luck! If you haven't started soldering a project yet, I would do a simple one first like a booster or fuzz with a small number of components.  Once you have the components soldered to the perf, you will need to do the off board wiring which can be really confusing at first.

[walker]

which will help to not fry components when leaving the iron on it for too long.  

how easy is it to fry components?   


I've been messing around with the LPB-1 and Bazzfuss on a breadboard, and putting a bazz fuss on a perfboard.  I've also done a couple of passive builds, i.e. a tap tempo and a signal killswitch.  But nothing i've done with circuits works yet! 

[BoxOfSnoo]

which will help to not fry components when leaving the iron on it for too long.  

how easy is it to fry components?   

I've been messing around with the LPB-1 and Bazzfuss on a breadboard, and putting a bazz fuss on a perfboard.  I've also done a couple of passive builds, i.e. a tap tempo and a signal killswitch.  But nothing i've done with circuits works yet! 

You're not cool around here until you've burnt out half a dozen LEDs  At least I like to say that, because I sure have.  And I'm cool, right? 

The more sensitive parts are diodes, transistors and LEDs.  Most other passive stuff is quite robust, I say that 'cause they survived my old RadioShack iron.  For stuff like LEDs, clip on a heat sink or alligator clip, for the others, just use sockets.

[glops]

I don't think I have fried any components, but when I started it took me awhile to get good with the soldering iron.  A lot of my joints
weren't so great.  But with practice it has gotten way better.  I usually drink beer when I do a board because it's so much fun but some
of my work has suffered!

If you are completely new to soldering definitely research about how to do it right and follow directions.  Really important.  When I first started, I always had a wet sponge to clean the iron tip between joints.  I read somewhere not to use a really wet sponge but a damp one.  My joints are always consistent now.  There's tons of videos and info out there...  It's maybe good to practice soldering with some cheap components like resistors just to get a feel for it, but you said you've already built some stuff so just go for it.  Off board wiring can be a pain in the ass sometimes if you don't plan well.  I always refer to the wiring diagrams at General Guitar Gadgets under the tech pages.

Once you finish the Bazz and it works you'll be hooked.