i suck at soldering...

[paleamberglow]

so i replaced the bridge on my strat and need to resolder the ground wire to the back of the bridge (hardtail, string thru bridge). i have a cheap radio shack soldering kit and am using the included solder which i believe is .75 mm . for the life of me i can't get the solder to stick to the bridge. this is the first thing i've ever soldered. i've been told that i need to get something called flux and apply that to the back surface of the bridge and then solder. i probably need a better type of solder ,also. any input would be great. i am trying to become more self-sufficient when it comes to repairing guitars instead of taking it to a repair shop

 

[disassembled]

The solder you have should have flux built in (flux core). What you need to do is not heat up the solder on the iron but heat up the piece you are trying to solder. Once you heat up the metal to the right temp the solder will start to bond with the metal. It is best to practice on something that isn't important and then try for real on your guitar when you get the hang of it.

Are you sure you are supposed to solder the ground to the bridge? Most bridges just clamp down on the ground wire but don't get soldered to it.

Good luck.

Greg

 

[geoangus]

I'm assuming your iron is hot enough to melt the solder, is it just that you can't get the wire to solder to the bridge?

As Greg suggested, are you sure you should be soldering to the bridge? I would think you need to generate A LOT of heat to get the bridge hot enough to flow solder. The bridge would be acting like a big heat sink.

Also, the points to be soldered need to be clean. No oils, polishes, etc.

 

[paleamberglow]

i had someone else look at it and they said it would be nearly impossible to get the entire bridge hot enough for the solder to bond, like someone mentioned. however i don't know where i would "clamp down" the ground wire... would i have to loosen up the bridge and then place the wire inbetween the guitar and the bridge and tighten it back up?

 

[F1-Fanatic]

i had someone else look at it and they said it would be nearly impossible to get the entire bridge hot enough for the solder to bond, like someone mentioned. however i don't know where i would "clamp down" the ground wire... would i have to loosen up the bridge and then place the wire inbetween the guitar and the bridge and tighten it back up?

Not true.. You just need a soldering iron with a large mass tip. A radio shack "gun" will not get hot enough. You need a pencil type with a chissel tip like the kind used for stained glass.

 

[fredster]

I've never been able to get solder to stick well to the bridge itself. That's why they normally solder to the other side of the tremolo, to the smaller piece that hooks to the springs. Either way, you need some heavy duty heat. You could just drill a small hole in the bridge and connect the ground wire that way or go low tech - electrical tape.

 

[F1-Fanatic]

I've never been able to get solder to stick well to the bridge itself. That's why they normally solder to the other side of the tremolo, to the smaller piece that hooks to the springs. Either way, you need some heavy duty heat. You could just drill a small hole in the bridge and connect the ground wire that way or go low tech - electrical tape.

That's where it's supposed to go right onto the "claw" the has 2 large screws that anchor themselves into the body. I just re-read the post.. I hope he's not talking about the "block" That would need a torch and it moves! LOL

 

[paleamberglow]

i have a hard tail bridge, there is no claw anymore.

How would drilling a hole in the bridge help me? Would I insert the ground wire into it and then pour solder in? I'm not sure what you mean...

I was reading on a fender forum that most hard tail bridges are not soldered and that the wire is stuck between the bridge and the guitar body and then the bridge is screwed down on top making a "pressure ground" . I tried this in various places around the bridge but I still hear the "buzzing" no matter where I put the wire. I'm sure that the bridge ground wire is the culprit because my guitar didn't do this before i removed the wire from the old tremolo bridge. Is there a specific place you are supposed to put the ground wire when you do the "pressure ground" thing ?

 

[Russ]

Be sure that you use some steel wool and clean the contact area well first. I would take it to the actual metal not just put it under there thinking that the plating will do it. I would think that if you put a small ring terminal on the end of the wire and slip it around one of the screws that hold your bridge on it might help to. You might have to scrape a little wood out there to do that though just so that the bridge will sit completely flat.

 

[domct203]

How many watts is your soldering iron? You're going to need at least 30-40 watts and a very broad tip.

Dom

 

[fredster]

I was thinking you could screw the ground wire into hole to secure it. I guess I don't know how the hard tail bridge works. There's still always electrical tape...