Make sure you get hold of leaded solder (tin/lead), not leadfree, as this will make the job a lot lot easier. You'll probably need to look on Ebay for this as its not sold in many shops anymore. DON'T use plumbers solder or flux though, I've seen this a few times and it's not suited to the job.
As said above, big iron, plenty of heat, little contact time. 3-5 seconds should be the time needed to make the joint, as a rule of thumb.
|