Instructional videos on how not to do things

[usagi]

How not to solder - ben heck


How not to solder - adafruit


How not to "refushbish" your soldering iron tip
https://www.instructables.com/id/Refusbish-Your-SOLDERING-IRON-TIP/

[rjp]

gold.

[station240]

BigClive shows how to not do a lot of things.

[tooki]

The difference is that Bigclive knows what he’s doing and does those things as a joke, whereas Ben Heck, etc. are doing “legitimate” tutorial videos on things they suck at. (I respect Ben Heck’s creativity, and his wire routing is gorgeous, but his soldering is... well, it looks like what I did when I was first learning at age 7 or so without the benefit of videos or any real tutorials.)

What is it about soldering that makes everyone and their brother want to make tutorial videos, even though they are objectively very bad at it?

[bloguetronica]

I recognize that Clive is just messing around. Notice that he refers to his technique as "TIG welding". However, neither Collin's Lab (Make Magazine, Adafruit...) or Ben Heck, acknowledge that they are messing around or joking, or showing how not to solder. I mean, their soldering is just bad, and they call it a "tutorial". And it worries me that they do so such with a poker face.

Someone who is dedicated to teaching should have the humility to seek to learn more and to doubt their skills. It is not by half learning some soldering skills that makes someone competent to teach. Never expected to see that, neither from Collin, neither from Ben. To support my point, just look at those soldering blobs! The tip is not appropriate, the solder already dry and creating skins of oxidation, no flux, no concave fillets, bridges everywhere. Please, tell me that these videos are April fools jokes.

Back to big old Clive, the man is brave. He is one of my favorite YouTubers. Knowledgeable, experienced, well spoken and nonetheless very entertaining.

Update:
You've got to love that "Firsted because my LED explodered" comment! Made my day, twice! 

Kind regards, Samuel Lourenço

[Dubbie]

Man, that adafruit video sure makes me feel good about my soldering..... maybe that was the point?! They make a simple task so hard and such a mess.

[tooki]

I recognize that Clive is just messing around. Notice that he refers to his technique as "TIG welding". However, neither Collin's Lab (Make Magazine, Adafruit...) or Ben Heck, acknowledge that they are messing around or joking, or showing how not to solder. I mean, their soldering is just bad, and they call it a "tutorial". And it worries me that they do so such with a poker face.

Someone who is dedicated to teaching should have the humility to seek to learn more and to doubt their skills. It is not by half learning some soldering skills that makes someone competent to teach. Never expected to see that, neither from Collin, neither from Ben. To support my point, just look at those soldering blobs! The tip is not appropriate, the solder already dry and creating skins of oxidation, no flux, no concave fillets, bridges everywhere. Please, tell me that these videos are April fools jokes.

If only. They’re dead serious. As I said in my comment above: soldering is a topic that for some reason induces unskilled people to make tutorials.

For example, one youtuber named “Androkavo” has absolutely beautiful videos (fantastic video and camera quality), but showing bad practices: he reheats perfect joints over and over and over and over for no good reason, ultimately creating oxidation that causes bridges that then have to be fixed, or potentially pad damage.  (He really doesn’t understand the concept of “get in and get out”!!!)

Then there’s “electronhacks” whose tutorials show an excessively hot iron, giant blobs of solder, and wire joints made without any mechanical attachment (why solder to a pot and not use the eyelets?!?!)...

And don’t even get me started on the soldering tutorials by the various car repair guys. Crazy hot soldering guns, or open flames? Check. Acid solder (on stranded wire no less)? Check.

Even “GreatScott”, whose videos are largely exceptional, loves to just glom on solder like there was no tomorrow. For example, he solders QFPs by flooding the pins with solder, and then dragging (!) solder wick across them to remove the excess. His perfboards have whole levees of solder running all over the place. (Not just on high-current traces that need extra current capacity.)

[bloguetronica]

Well, speaking for myself, I have made video tutorials showing bad practices and then good practices. I'm not a soldering example, especially when soldering SMDs, because I have a very shaky hand (I often whack components out of place with my fine tweezers). But when I make such mistakes in the video, even if not on purpose, I cease the occasion to correct them and to point out the errors.

But yes, sometimes I make errors on purpose, because I think it is important to inform people on how not to do (common mistakes, etc). The important thing, in the end, is to show a board without any flawed joints.

Kind regards, Samuel Lourenço

[newbrain]

I just recently started using some SMD components, and my soldering technique is definitely not top notch, yet - I think I'm quite good with TH.

While I found Ben Heck's video embarrassing  , for Collin's Lab's one that's more or less how I do things, with some important differences (at least, I hope they are important  ).

I have yet to invest in an hot-air station, so the main tool is my Hakko 888D and thin 63/37 solder (love the sharp transition).

I, too, tin one pad, place the component right and solder the other one(s); I find this is the easiest way, especially for two terminals components.
But:

• I use flux. Not Louis Rossmann style floods of flux, but decent amounts.
• I try to avoid bridges in the first places (flux helps, of course!)
• Since I use a reasonable quantity of solder, I seldom need to wick or suck joints even in case of bridges.
• I clean the board with isopropyl alcohol afterwards.

Am I doing it wrong?

[mzzj]

That method of soldering iron tip cleaning actually works if you have POS iron like that.
Anyone else started their hobby with one of those unregulated soldering irons that reach red-hot and use pure copper tips that corrode at a rate of 3 tips per evening? 

[Beamin]

 Ben heck looks like his 1st time. If you are out of practice why not do a few boards and tape the best one? I thought he was doing april fools again.

April fools always fools me because I out grew it or rather our school banned it when I was in the second grade. So when adults do it and its something totally reasonable I think its real.


I still can't explain why ben heck would tape that total screw up. Not like soldering is an art, its easier the mig welding. A monkey can mig weld.

[amyk]

Man, that adafruit video sure makes me feel good about my soldering..... maybe that was the point?! They make a simple task so hard and such a mess.

...so they can convince more clueless beginners to buy their overpriced preassembled boards.

For the complete opposite, look at the Chinese videos on removing/reballing/reinstalling BGAs. They make it look so easy.

[james_s]

I have trouble figuring out how some people seem to have so much difficulty with basic soldering. I mean I was making acceptable if not expert level solder joints with a cheap rat shack firestick by the time I was 10 years old, having learned from stuff like Forrest Mims books and/or the occasional Heathkit manual. Hand soldering surface mount stuff takes practice but soldering a through-hole resistor is not rocket science. It's something that somebody with a steady hand and the ability to follow basic instructions should be able to get the hang of in a few minutes.

[bloguetronica]

Now I noticed that Ben Heck confirms the pin 1 position on a SO-14 with the position of the "text" in the chip, despite seeing the line.

Isn't the line a more obvious way? Also, SO packages have one side beveled, an pin 1 is always on that side, and it will be the first one from the top with the bevel oriented to the left. Why didn't he mentioned that? It is a better foolproof way to get the pin 1 position having the hole absent and no markings. On the other hand, text could be upside down. Didn't saw a rule stating that chips must have the text oriented always in the same manner.

Kind regards, Samuel Lourenço

[james_s]

While I don't disagree, I can't say I've ever seen an IC that had the text printed in any other orientation.

[Beamin]

I have trouble figuring out how some people seem to have so much difficulty with basic soldering. I mean I was making acceptable if not expert level solder joints with a cheap rat shack firestick by the time I was 10 years old, having learned from stuff like Forrest Mims books and/or the occasional Heathkit manual. Hand soldering surface mount stuff takes practice but soldering a through-hole resistor is not rocket science. It's something that somebody with a steady hand and the ability to follow basic instructions should be able to get the hang of in a few minutes.

Same here at 10 with the 35$ radioshack iron. I just took all the through hole parts out of asony boombox  board then put them back. In one hour I reached the level I'm at today. I'm very artistic though maybe these people have bad handwritting too. That IF can wax smells like shit and never goes away. To this day that smell reminds me ofthat first hour.

[xaxaxa]

While I don't disagree, I can't say I've ever seen an IC that had the text printed in any other orientation.

I just looked at some random boards I soldered and half the chips have the text in the wrong orientation; spartan 6 fpga (xc6slx9-2tqg144c), usb3343, adc10080, ics511, pl133-37.

[ebastler]

Same here at 10 [...]
In one hour I reached the level I'm at today.

There are probably a few areas where I am stuck at the level I had gotten to at age 10.
But I don't brag about it. 

[GreyWoolfe]

  A monkey can mig weld.

I guess I am less than a monkey because I can't weld at all.   However, I do solder better than my dogs.  And the gerbils.  I can't compare myself to the cats because I won't let them in my office nor would I let them touch my equipment anyway.

[Bud]

The difference is that Bigclive knows what he’s doing

Even BigClive occasionally learns how not to do things 


Scroll to 16:00 for the bizzare accident during teardown of a AA battery leaving him shocked 

[Beamin]

The difference is that Bigclive knows what he’s doing

Even BigClive occasionally learns how not to do things 


Scroll to 16:00 for the bizzare accident during teardown of a AA battery leaving him shocked 

Reminds me of the MikesElectricStuff video where he opens the pyrophoric powder on the completely useless fuel cell thing that could be replaced by li Ion batteries and to make things worse required a LiIon battery to work.


Too bad those things don't exist anymore I would like to see what the powder does with hydrogen in it. If it would explode or burn on the very first contact with air. If you are wondering what the metal is its a mix of some really strange alloys powdered, with complex chemistry to hold the hydrogen. So I don't think you would ever see those thins being viable in any consumer application.

[tooki]

The difference is that Bigclive knows what he’s doing

Even BigClive occasionally learns how not to do things 


Scroll to 16:00 for the bizzare accident during teardown of a AA battery leaving him shocked 

Yeah, but that’s not an explicit tutorial! A surprise during a “let’s see what’s inside” tear down is totally fine.

[usagi]

How not to build a PC - The Verge

[ebastler]

How not to build a PC - The Verge

With an "antistatic bracelet" that is not connected to anything, and a pocket knife as your only tool, what could possibly go wrong? 

[Cyberdragon]

How not to build a PC - The Verge

With an "antistatic bracelet" that is not connected to anything, and a pocket knife as your only tool, what could possibly go wrong? 

It's a wireless antistatic bracelet...