Hey Toys, yeah I hate those head scratching moments,....hahahahaha, usually with me its after trying to alter a wiring schematic...........
Im thinking you probably just ran into some defective parts, I always use the best pots I can buy, Warmoth sells great pots "CTS Brand" (but with any brand you could run into a defective part)
There are others as well, but CTS pots, I have found to be one of the most reliable and of the highest quality, I have also used Gibson brand pots as well, but found after running across a site that spoke of pot values vs. brands, that CTS had some of the strictest and highest quality controll where as the Gibson values would fluctuate quite a bit. (it may be the secret to the Gibson sound, hahahaahha not quite 500K, maybe 400K seeming warmer????? hahhhahahha...........
So I have stayed with the CTS. there is a company that makes supposedly the best pots available, but I can't remember the name right now, but only slightly better than the CTS pots, so its really more an apples or oranges thing there.
I was using dutch boy electronics solder and sterling flux but then happened to run across this place and picked up a couple tubes of thier Kester electronics solder, and was amazed at how much thinner it was, like 1/3 the diameter of the solder I was using, heheheeheheehhe
which makes it Super easy to use, though I still use flux on most stuff as well as sanding off the surface of my pots before soldering.
I have also found 35-40 watts to be the Ideal solder Iron, it seems to be just enough to melt the solder easily with out heating things up too much.
heres the link for the Kester solder and 35 watt Iron, though I don't believe your solder is the problem, you might enjoy the ease of use this stuff provides.....
http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/tools.htm
I have melted the Sh*t out of a pot or two in the past, both Gibson brand and CTS brand and still they worked, so I can only speculate and say that probably you just got a bad batch, as wierd as it would seem two different brands and all, stranger things have happened, but I will also say (for the sake of newer builders viewing, as I know you have alot of experience) it dosn't pay to skimp on cost when it comes to pots, because the little bit a guy may save isn't worth the headache of changing them out unexpectedly.
If you do discover what caused the problem, please post for future reference..........
