Recap: Do Your Own (Solder) Ironing Workshop

You can’t get spoiled if you do your own ironing. – Meryl Streep

On March 31, 2017 we held an Intro to Soldering workshop with special instruction by students Jack Doan, computer engineering, and Toby Elery, mechanical engineering. Additional assistance was provided by engineering students Jake and David.

Originally we were going to try to get some fun robot-shaped “learn to solder” kits. But since the ones from a famous maker magazine were sold out, we ordered these flashlight shaped learn to solder kits from MCM electronics instead. The kit included the circuit board, a white LED, battery holder, button switch, and battery.

Flashlight Learn to Solder Kit

We had 6 members soldering and 1 photographer, plus multiple people dropped by to check out the activity. A great time was had by all and every single person produced a working flashlight. Event photos and resources from the day’s handout are below.

How-to resources

Instructables “How to Solder” http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/
SparkFun How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-solder-through-hole-soldering
Beginner how to Solder (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqV2xU1fee8
Soldering Tutorial for Beginners: Five Easy Steps (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qps9woUGkvI

Safety

University of Cambridge Dept of Engineering Health & Safety’s Soldering Safely Guidelines http://safety.eng.cam.ac.uk/procedures/Soldering/soldering-safety
Safe Soldering Checklist http://www.dummies.com/education/science/safe-soldering-checklist/

Different soldering and circuit-building practices

The Art of “Manhattan” Style Circuit Construction http://www.sdmakersguild.org/the-art-of-manhattan-style-circuit-construction/

Minimalistic Circuit Design http://hackaday.com/2009/12/01/minimalistic-circuit-design/

Academic resources

Hossfeld, Karen J. ”Their Logic against Them”: Contradictions in Sex, Race, and Class in Silicon Valley in Technicolor: Race, Technology, and Everyday Life

Nakamura, Lisa. “Indigenous Circuits: Navajo Women and the Racialization of Early Electronics Manufacture.” in American Quarterly. (66)4 Dec. 2014: 919-941.
Senese, Mike. “Everything About this ‘Beautiful Woman Soldering’ Stock Photo is Wrong.” http://makezine.com/2016/03/08/beautiful-woman-soldering-stock-photo-wrong/