Old timer at O'Hare taught me a solder trick I still use

Was working a panel swap at O'Hare back in 2018. This guy in his 70s walked over, watched me fight with a cold joint for 15 minutes. He just said "tin the tip first, then feed it. Not the other way around." Changed how I solder everything now. Anyone else pick up a basic habit from a random encounter that stuck?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_thompson671mo ago

2018 at O'Hare? That's the year I had a 14 hour layover there and watched a baggage handler fix his own earbuds with a paperclip and a zippo lighter. I still don't believe that story, but the guy had them working by the time my flight boarded. Your guy's advice is solid though. I spent six months doing it backwards and wondering why my joints looked like bird poop.

finley_bennett281mo ago

Aw man, that baggage handler story is wild! I had a similar thing happen at LaGuardia in 2019. This dude was fixing a busted luggage strap with a piece of duct tape and a lighter, just heating the tape up to make it stick better. I thought he was gonna burn the whole place down but he got it done in like 5 minutes. My own experience with doing stuff backwards is way too real. I spent three weeks trying to install my car's air filter the wrong way, kept wondering why the engine was sputtering. Turns out I had it upside down the whole time, felt like a total goof when I finally figured it out.