Don't solder to pots - Use solder lugs

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

That's how I do it. That braided shielding is a real pain in the shorts to unravel to the point where you can twist it into a wire. So, just strip a bit back to where you can clear the inner conductor and hook it up, then use a short piece of bus wire wrapped around the shield to create a lead you can use to tie the shield to ground.

Same here.  It's even better when there's more than one shielded cable.  I put the 2 together, wrap them both in the same portion of uninsulated wire tieing one end between the too and heatshrink it with no solder.

 

[CrackedPepper]

Great suggestions thanks guys!

 

[reluctant-builder]

It didn't even occur to me that those tabs could be problematic for a lefty but, then, Cagey does try to put the issue right to bed.

I was thinking, until that naysaying post, that these tabs might be ideal for my Jazzmaster build, since I'm a novice solderer and I definitely don't want to fry any of my electronics.

I've got a 40 Watt iron with a chisel tip, which is what I used on my Strat; used rosin-core solder. I didn't have the greatest results, but I think that was due to my hamfisted technique, not my tools.

I've heard people say they use up to 120 Watt irons. Is that overkill??

As my soldering technique gets better, I think my 40W would be enough. A friend of mine did a Tele with a 30W iron.

 

[reluctant-builder]

"jerry rigging".

I don't consider the solder lug to be jerry rigging ...

Pardon the digression, but I noticed the above two uses of "jerry-rigged" and it made me wonder, since I've always said "jury-rigged." So, I looked it up. Found a pretty interesting explanation that, effectively, says that both idioms are correct, despite having disparate origins.

The explanation is the second entry on this page: http://www.wordcourt.com/archives.php?show=2004-03-10

 

[Cagey]

I've heard people say they use up to 120 Watt irons. Is that overkill??

Very much so. That size iron is for doing plumbing/brazing work. Try it with electrical, and you'll be burning things up so fast you'll think it's magic.

 

[Strat Avenger]

"jerry rigging".

I don't consider the solder lug to be jerry rigging ...

Pardon the digression, but I noticed the above two uses of "jerry-rigged" and it made me wonder, since I've always said "jury-rigged." So, I looked it up. Found a pretty interesting explanation that, effectively, says that both idioms are correct, despite having disparate origins.

The explanation is the second entry on this page: http://www.wordcourt.com/archives.php?show=2004-03-10

Neither spellings are correct. The correct spelling is "Jheri-rigged", and it was named for Jheri Redding (Robert William Redding) who was an American hairdresser, best known for creating the Jheri Curl. The term "Jheri-rigged" is just a nicer way of using a racial epithet to describe a make-shift or improvised way of making something work, as opposed to doing it the right-way.

Of course this is completely off-topic.

 

[stubhead]

Well, I've zipped through a whole guitar with a 100/140w gun - quick on and quick off! But I was using a little eyebolt screwed to the cavity for grounding, and I always use alligator-clips heatsinks on the capacitors. I think a 40w iron is just about ideal, but I didn't have one right then and there. The 25 and 30w irons take a long time to heat stuff up - with more power, you just heat the wires and lugs for a bit, and when you touch it with the solder it's an instant connection. Nothing worse than a guitar that doesn't work, there's six lumpy grey/white bad-looking gobs of solder and you're supposed to figure out which one's bad.

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, 40W is my favorite size. Any smaller and things overheat,  any bigger they burn.