1. Be sure to have a clean and uncluttered working environment.
2. Always rest the soldering iron/ woodburning pen on the stand provided when not in use to avoid the heated tip coming into contact with other objects causing fire hazards.
3. Do not touch any metal parts. Extreme high temperatures!
4. Always let the soldering iron/ woodburning pen cool down naturally on the stand.
5. Do not immerse in water!
6. Do not dismantle the soldering iron/ woodburning pen.
7. If the cord is damaged, it should be replaced by the manufacturer, or its service agent, or a similarly qualified technician.
   
   

Preparation of the joint to be soldered

1. Be sure the material you are soldering is completely clean from dirt, grease, oxidation, etc. The surface must be scraped, sanded, or treated with flux, before applying solder.
2. Solder does not stick to coated surfaces.
3. When soldering electrical wire, separate the wires to be soldered and scrap them clean. Each section of the wire should be ¡§tinned¡¨ with a thin layer of solder and then twist the sections of wire together.
   
   

Soldering basic steps

To achieve good soldering, one must know the following basic steps in soldering:

1. Hold the soldering iron like a pen, near the base of the handle. Imagine you are going to write your name! Remember to never touch the hot element or tip.
2. Touch the soldering iron onto the joint to be made. Make sure it touches both the component lead and the track. Hold the tip there for a few seconds and...
3. Feed a little solder onto the joint.
4. It should flow smoothly onto the lead and track to form a volcano shape as shown in the diagram. Apply the solder to the joint, not the iron.
5. Remove the solder, then the iron, while keeping the joint still.
6. Allow the joint a few seconds to cool before you move the circuit board.
7. Inspect the joint closely.

It should look shiny and have a 'volcano' type of shape (see image below for reference). If not, you will need to reheat it and feed in a little more solder. This time ensure that both the lead and track are heated fully before applying solder.

A cold joint is a joint in which the solder does not make good contact with the component lead or printed circuit board pad. Cold joints occur when the component lead or solder pad moves before the solder is completely cooled. Cold joints make a really bad electrical connection and can prevent your circuit from working.

Cold joints can be recognized by a characteristic grainy, dull gray colour, and can be easily fixed. This is done by first removing the old solder with a desoldering tool or simply by heating it up and flicking it off with the iron. Once the old solder is off, you can resolder the joint, making sure to keep it still as it cools.

Choose the tip shape that can offer the maximum contact between the tip and the metals to be soldered. Having a large enough contact area can deliver just the right amount of power/heat to make a good soldering joint. A tip that is too large in contact area may damage the PCB. A tip that is too small in contact area may be too cold for making the joint. There are two major types of soldering tips:

1. Nickel Plated Copper Tips
   These nickel-plated copper tips are economical soldering tips. Oxidation occurs on the surface of the tips easier during soldering. You may file away the oxidation.
2. Iron Plated Long Life Tips
   Long life tips are iron-plated copper tips. They are much more durable than regular copper tips. They are pre-tinned at the tip by the manufacturer to allow easier wetting of solder to the tip. Never file a long life tip, as this will damage the plating of the tip.
   
   

Selection of solder

There are two major types of solder: regular tin/lead alloy solder and special lead-free solder. Solder usually comes in wire form and bar form.

1. Solder bars are for industrial production line use.
2. Solder wires are for DIY and repair maintenance use.

There are two types of solder wire: rosin-core and acid-core:

Always use a rosin-core solder for soldering electrical wiring or copper and tin flat metals.
Use acid-core solder only on galvanized iron and other hard-to-solder metals.

Special lead-free solder is an environmentally friendly product, and just like the name says it does not contain any lead.

Selection of wires

For wire links between points on the circuit board we recommend using Single core wire (see image below).

For wires to parts off the circuit board, including switches, relays, variable resistors and loudspeakers we recommend using Stranded wire (see image below). Do not use single core wire because this will break when it is repeatedly flexed.

1. Always "tin" the tip before, during, and after soldering to prevent the tip from oxidation. Oxidation of the tip will result in poor wetting of solder and hence affect the quality of the soldering joint.
2. Do not feed solder wire directly to the tip surface. The flux inside the solder wire will speed up the oxidation of the tip.
3. Occasionally, after the soldering iron is cooled down, remove the tip from the soldering iron to prevent the tip from "freezing".