I learned to solder today and I must say I am pretty happy. It's nowhere near as hard to do as I thought. I put in a Dimarzio Tonezone into the bridge position of my Charvel and boy does it slay.

It was my first time soldering so I was actually pretty careless. A cable with a blob of hot solder at the end of a wire I wasn't holding down flicked at me by accident and the blob hit me 1.5 cm from my right eye. Anywhere closer and I'd be wearing a patch right now. I instantly wiped/flicked it off, it hardened immediately, it only caused a minor burn but I have a small mark there, like if a piece of my skin is missing.

It made me grow deep respect towards this instrument. I'm getting fucking goggles next time I try to install a pickup.

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Congrats Keep at it and you will be able to solder a perfect joint in your sleep. It feels good to know you will never need an expensive guitar tech for this kind of stuff again.

Always make safety the first priority. I'm glad you didn't burn your eye out because it has happened to other less fortunate people. I've been burned a few times by flying solder and it has left a mark every time. One of these things really help to prevent flying solder. They are like extra hands and make soldering complex joints much easier. Goggles might seen nerdy but I will never solder without some kind of eye protection. A face shield works best for me because it protects the whole face. Also, use a small fan to blow the fumes out a window, wash your hands very very good after touching solder, and always double check that the iron is unplugged after use. The shit is very toxic and neglected irons have burned homes down.

Best of luck to you.

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Oh yeah I forgot to use a fan, oh well, I was blowing the fumes away with my mouth the whole time too. I had no idea it would release so much smoke. I did a pretty neat job I think, no huge blobs, but no weak connections either. I strung the north start into those prongs with holes in it and bent it around it then soldered, after failing 3 times doing it without looping the wire into it haha.

Here's my eye after the solder burn: http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/638/solderburnmp0.jpg

Ouch.

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Yikes that was close! Just tell the girls you got hit with acid during a gang fight or something

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