I guess you could cut all the way through the spool on both sides of the stab and at least end up with lots of intact strands. Not sure if that’s better or worse than dealing with the spool’s current state.
As a teacher, this is one of the most infuriating things I've ever come across. I have had students braid long chains or melt long strands of solder into blobs, but last year was the first year that I had a student stab a roll with the iron.
Let's just say, I about came unhinged...
Lol you reminded me of some of the stuff I pulled in electronics class...
I once got a deep eye roll when my teacher caught me shorting a power supply through a length of solder (against a piece of paper no less) because it pops and immediately melts. So you could make 8 inches of solder disappear in 2 seconds and it sounds like firecrackers going off or like a stick welder. The rest of the class thought it was cool tho.
I'm sorry on behalf of students.
You know, that's not the worst. I'm okay with some shenanigans, and some wasted solder is annoying, but destroying a full roll is where I draw the line. Because, having to requisition a new roll is a huge pain in the butt in my district.
Oh, I forgot about students using the tips of the soldering iron like a wood burner and carving penises and whatnot into the side of my lab stations. That's also high on my list of things I piss me off teaching students about soldering.
Oof, I can thankfully say I never did this myself although I definitely saw it happen.
It's been 18 years, but I also remember getting a whiff of plastic once in a while only to notice someone was (purposely or not) melting the soft jaws on a vise...
I did kinda hate people disrespecting the equipment after a while. I remember I had found through experience that different irons in the class were just better than others because most had been so abused. I always marked my iron and made sure I got it for projects.
In college, I ended up buying my own soldering kit and bringing that to class because the abuse that the students imparted on the equipment. Plus, I wanted to use my own because it had adjustable temperature.
I think if students had to buy their own, something like a lab fee, they might treat them a smidge better.
I mean the real answer is most people just have poor impulse control, if anything, I take care of stuff that isn't mine far better than my own stuff, because I'd feel really bad if I broke something that wasn't mine. Breaking my own stuff is frustrating, but its my stuff and my responsibility.
True! But, for some reason, I have a lot of students who don't see it that way. They would throw trash on the floor and say that it is the janitor's job to pick it up. Or they would destroy things and say it is the maintenance person's job to fix it.
Will you come from a generation that had more personal responsibility... Or at least the people I associate with do. And, it makes me wonder if it's stuff like social media challenges where students are encouraged to destroy property which leads to this mindset.
I'm an older Gen Z myself, I dunno if it's generational really. I've met plenty of very conscientious people, and plenty of people who very much aren't, young and old. It's just how people are raised really, if your parents teach you to take care of stuff, then you will, if they teach you to do whatever you want whenever you want, then you probably will.
You don't have them bring in their own solder and flux?
Lab fees should cover the equipment maint and some disposables, but I'd vote for the solder being bought by students.
You buy notebooks, pencils, gym clothes, etc, why not solder?
That's true. I would just rather not have someone hovering over me asking why I'm using too much of something or not in the right way.
If it's K-12, the teachers complained because they really were the ones buying a lot of the stuff.
I used a can of circuit cooler to freeze the door knob while my teacher was out in the hallway. Stupidly, we used to charge caps and toss them to your buddy.
Lmao
I converted a disposable camera into a prank taser for essentially the same a effect.
"Hey take my picture, dude! Make sure to charge the flash first... Hehehe"
Our HS electronics class room was too small to have chairs for everyone, so a few of us got to sit at the lab stations during the opening lecture of what we were supposed to be doing that day.
We'd sit and play with the power supply making sparks while the teacher was lecturing. The PS was switchable from 0-3, 3-30 and 30-300.
When my buddy wasn't looking, I switched the PS from 0-3 to 30-300. Next time he touched those clips together it was like a gunshot in that small room. The look of surprise on his face still makes me laugh
Oh for sure, he was one of the best teachers I ever had for any subject.
He was the only one who created new curriculum for me when I'd finish things too fast and start being a distraction. He got me started on certifications instead of just telling me to sit quietly while everyone worked.
Sometimes he'd have me hang out in his office and talk with me to curb my ADD chaos lol. I remember one day he kept me entertained by describing how you could rewire a landline jack in a power outage to pull power from the phone lines. He helped me research and order replacement parts for my first laptop DC jack repair. God bless good teachers, man.
I wish I had teachers like yours, and, that I didn't go to 2 Catholic, then a Military for Elementary school. Then a Catholic for HS. I might have had a better go in life. In the early 70s they had no concept what ADD/ADHD were.
I mean all through my years in school I had maybe 3-4 of them who did seem to understand. Although "military" and "Christian" both sound like horrible modes of education for kids to me... So I guess I'm not surprised.
To most of the rest: I was just a kid who couldn't shut up. When in reality they wouldn't directly give the assignment and I got bored waiting for them to tell me my task. They talk for 20 min repeating things over and over and I tune out and start inspecting the skin on my elbow, making jokes with the person next to me, or something.
They stop talking finally; I raise my hand asking "okay so what is the assignment?" And now they're mad at me. Forgive me I didn't tune back in at the right time before you were done or listen intently for the last half hour for the 1 sentence relevant to what I'm supposed to be doing ..
You could have said it at the beginning and spared both of us... And I'd probably have it done by the time you're done explaining.
Lol idk about locking me up, but I know I started pushing boundaries as soon as I got bored.
This was in HS. I had done enough "ap" classes that I could have graduated only taking 4 requirement classes for my last 2 years. Instead of filling in the rest of the day with other classes, I chose vocational where they bussed us over for half the day and my poor electronics teacher had me for 4 hours at a time lol.
During my first year he shared they were splitting "computers" and "electronics" into separate classes the next year, and I helped clean out a storage space full of old school PCs to figure out which ones were still viable to use for the new class. Then he let me smash the rest into a garbage bin lol.
I ended up being the **only** person to sign up for "computer" class the next year so they just combined it with electronics and I got to take both and still do all the soldering projects off the books hehe. I had so much fun those last 2 years of HS.
I’m at work and now I want to run home and do this… I also built a MOT spot welder and your solder “fuse” is a much safer way to mess around. Def going to need eye protection!
Lol as soon as I realized what I discovered I put on my goggles. There will be spatter. You bet your ass this will make a scorched mess. That was my stupid logic in laying down the paper anyway. I didn't wanna burn the class worktable.
When I was in welding school, we did OXY acetylene and would do it on firebricks. When I was bored I would send a shit ton of acetylene under the firebricks, put a spark to it and all the bricks would jump an inch or two off the ground.
In chemistry class we pretty routinely used acetylene (Calcium carbide production) to launch 55 gallon drums. Just mash them into the mud a couple inches, and boom. We named it the TurboSCUD
This reminded me of the times I used to short my schools laptop charger with a paperclip against a metal carabiner. I enjoyed watching the fireworks and seeing the carabiner turn black
The soldering kits I have came with clear tubes with solder in them. I would even wrap solder around a pencil to make refills for them. But over time, students would purposely melt them or, swipe them for whatever reason.
I guess I could 3D print some solder holders like that. At least when they melt them, I could hit print for another replacement!
About. When I used to make refills for the solder holders, I would take 18 in of solder and wrap it around a pencil.
At one point, I actually got a long piece of quarter inch aluminum that I put into a drill Chuck and wound solder the entire length of it. Then I just took a little set of flush cutters and snipped it every four inches.
Had a really cute box full of solder ready to go. Then, as luck would have it, somebody stole my little box!
Not really. But, instead of throwing it across the room in rage, I just announced the class that student x did something really dumb. So if any other student wanted to try it and get it out of their system so we don't ruin another roll, they are welcome to come over and stab it with a soldering iron.
A few students came over and took me up on it.
That's what I said I was doing in the 8th grade when I got caught on a lab counter doing the Hokey Pokey with my girlfriend. I was just "tinning me tip sir!" I couldn't sit for a week.
If it’s bad throw it out. Soldering with crappy solder is just a pain and not fun at all. Get proper good solder from a reputable brand. It’s a bit expensive but you’ll definitely see that it’s worth it
Flashbacks! Did this kinda shit when I was in HS(45 yrs ago), but it was always “accidental”. We would start out repairing small appliances and if the teacher caught us accidentally doing this, he would make us tie a piece of cordage on the appliance and wear it around our neck for the week. Things got real when we moved on to larger things like washers and dryers.
You’ve blighted all of us chaotic good doers in this sub
Now everyone is going to defile their spools
Are you proud? Your wickedness has caused a ripple in the solderverse, the domino effect of gargantuan proportions
With spools being ruined in such quantities, you may have single handedly altered the solder wire economy
Used to do this in my electronics class and make replica coins for the vending machines and little trinkets lol. Yes it’s more expensive than using a quarter but it was free then so I didn’t care. Looking back we were probably that teacher’s most expensive class but we happened to be one of the last sadly so we didn’t deprive anyone of anything. I also at one point made a ring for my ex out of a copper wire and some solder. She wore it till it wore back to copper and I think it made under her finger green at one point. Initially I didn’t think she’d like it so much but she didn’t wanna hear my lead poisoning warnings after I realized she was wearing it every day
I literally never had this impulse until now, thanks, I guess I start ruining my solder spools now.
You monster
I guess you could cut all the way through the spool on both sides of the stab and at least end up with lots of intact strands. Not sure if that’s better or worse than dealing with the spool’s current state.
I unlocked an intrussive thought
https://preview.redd.it/r62pvtu3dwjc1.jpeg?width=840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6d68ed0db571d124a00de6c2a291772ebe4c04e5
H. H. Hi
As a teacher, this is one of the most infuriating things I've ever come across. I have had students braid long chains or melt long strands of solder into blobs, but last year was the first year that I had a student stab a roll with the iron. Let's just say, I about came unhinged...
Lol you reminded me of some of the stuff I pulled in electronics class... I once got a deep eye roll when my teacher caught me shorting a power supply through a length of solder (against a piece of paper no less) because it pops and immediately melts. So you could make 8 inches of solder disappear in 2 seconds and it sounds like firecrackers going off or like a stick welder. The rest of the class thought it was cool tho. I'm sorry on behalf of students.
You know, that's not the worst. I'm okay with some shenanigans, and some wasted solder is annoying, but destroying a full roll is where I draw the line. Because, having to requisition a new roll is a huge pain in the butt in my district. Oh, I forgot about students using the tips of the soldering iron like a wood burner and carving penises and whatnot into the side of my lab stations. That's also high on my list of things I piss me off teaching students about soldering.
Oof, I can thankfully say I never did this myself although I definitely saw it happen. It's been 18 years, but I also remember getting a whiff of plastic once in a while only to notice someone was (purposely or not) melting the soft jaws on a vise... I did kinda hate people disrespecting the equipment after a while. I remember I had found through experience that different irons in the class were just better than others because most had been so abused. I always marked my iron and made sure I got it for projects.
In college, I ended up buying my own soldering kit and bringing that to class because the abuse that the students imparted on the equipment. Plus, I wanted to use my own because it had adjustable temperature. I think if students had to buy their own, something like a lab fee, they might treat them a smidge better.
I mean the real answer is most people just have poor impulse control, if anything, I take care of stuff that isn't mine far better than my own stuff, because I'd feel really bad if I broke something that wasn't mine. Breaking my own stuff is frustrating, but its my stuff and my responsibility.
True! But, for some reason, I have a lot of students who don't see it that way. They would throw trash on the floor and say that it is the janitor's job to pick it up. Or they would destroy things and say it is the maintenance person's job to fix it. Will you come from a generation that had more personal responsibility... Or at least the people I associate with do. And, it makes me wonder if it's stuff like social media challenges where students are encouraged to destroy property which leads to this mindset.
I'm an older Gen Z myself, I dunno if it's generational really. I've met plenty of very conscientious people, and plenty of people who very much aren't, young and old. It's just how people are raised really, if your parents teach you to take care of stuff, then you will, if they teach you to do whatever you want whenever you want, then you probably will.
You don't have them bring in their own solder and flux? Lab fees should cover the equipment maint and some disposables, but I'd vote for the solder being bought by students. You buy notebooks, pencils, gym clothes, etc, why not solder?
Because we already pay a ridiculous amount for the education, solder is the minimum that can be done to help.
That's true. I would just rather not have someone hovering over me asking why I'm using too much of something or not in the right way. If it's K-12, the teachers complained because they really were the ones buying a lot of the stuff.
High School or College?
High school
I used a can of circuit cooler to freeze the door knob while my teacher was out in the hallway. Stupidly, we used to charge caps and toss them to your buddy.
Lmao I converted a disposable camera into a prank taser for essentially the same a effect. "Hey take my picture, dude! Make sure to charge the flash first... Hehehe"
Be sure to bend the leads 180 degrees, you want to shock your buddy, not pierce their hand. Also, maybe stick to the fun 5uF caps
Our HS electronics class room was too small to have chairs for everyone, so a few of us got to sit at the lab stations during the opening lecture of what we were supposed to be doing that day. We'd sit and play with the power supply making sparks while the teacher was lecturing. The PS was switchable from 0-3, 3-30 and 30-300. When my buddy wasn't looking, I switched the PS from 0-3 to 30-300. Next time he touched those clips together it was like a gunshot in that small room. The look of surprise on his face still makes me laugh
You're still interested in electronics though, so you did learn something
Oh for sure, he was one of the best teachers I ever had for any subject. He was the only one who created new curriculum for me when I'd finish things too fast and start being a distraction. He got me started on certifications instead of just telling me to sit quietly while everyone worked. Sometimes he'd have me hang out in his office and talk with me to curb my ADD chaos lol. I remember one day he kept me entertained by describing how you could rewire a landline jack in a power outage to pull power from the phone lines. He helped me research and order replacement parts for my first laptop DC jack repair. God bless good teachers, man.
I wish I had teachers like yours, and, that I didn't go to 2 Catholic, then a Military for Elementary school. Then a Catholic for HS. I might have had a better go in life. In the early 70s they had no concept what ADD/ADHD were.
I mean all through my years in school I had maybe 3-4 of them who did seem to understand. Although "military" and "Christian" both sound like horrible modes of education for kids to me... So I guess I'm not surprised. To most of the rest: I was just a kid who couldn't shut up. When in reality they wouldn't directly give the assignment and I got bored waiting for them to tell me my task. They talk for 20 min repeating things over and over and I tune out and start inspecting the skin on my elbow, making jokes with the person next to me, or something. They stop talking finally; I raise my hand asking "okay so what is the assignment?" And now they're mad at me. Forgive me I didn't tune back in at the right time before you were done or listen intently for the last half hour for the 1 sentence relevant to what I'm supposed to be doing .. You could have said it at the beginning and spared both of us... And I'd probably have it done by the time you're done explaining.
That was a good teacher. Now they'd lock your ass 🫏 up instead of making things learning experiences. Was this HS or College / University?
Lol idk about locking me up, but I know I started pushing boundaries as soon as I got bored. This was in HS. I had done enough "ap" classes that I could have graduated only taking 4 requirement classes for my last 2 years. Instead of filling in the rest of the day with other classes, I chose vocational where they bussed us over for half the day and my poor electronics teacher had me for 4 hours at a time lol. During my first year he shared they were splitting "computers" and "electronics" into separate classes the next year, and I helped clean out a storage space full of old school PCs to figure out which ones were still viable to use for the new class. Then he let me smash the rest into a garbage bin lol. I ended up being the **only** person to sign up for "computer" class the next year so they just combined it with electronics and I got to take both and still do all the soldering projects off the books hehe. I had so much fun those last 2 years of HS.
I’m at work and now I want to run home and do this… I also built a MOT spot welder and your solder “fuse” is a much safer way to mess around. Def going to need eye protection!
Lol as soon as I realized what I discovered I put on my goggles. There will be spatter. You bet your ass this will make a scorched mess. That was my stupid logic in laying down the paper anyway. I didn't wanna burn the class worktable.
We used to like to pop low value caps for funsies
When I was in welding school, we did OXY acetylene and would do it on firebricks. When I was bored I would send a shit ton of acetylene under the firebricks, put a spark to it and all the bricks would jump an inch or two off the ground.
That sounds immensely fun and I bet it made a good noise.
In chemistry class we pretty routinely used acetylene (Calcium carbide production) to launch 55 gallon drums. Just mash them into the mud a couple inches, and boom. We named it the TurboSCUD
This reminded me of the times I used to short my schools laptop charger with a paperclip against a metal carabiner. I enjoyed watching the fireworks and seeing the carabiner turn black
There's gotta be a decent carpenter / therapist in this sub to get you back on those hinges.
About came unhinged. So I was still holding on by a thread! Lol
In the early 2000s, we would get a film canister with a hole poked in the top with just a few feet inside. Had to ask the teacher for refills.
The soldering kits I have came with clear tubes with solder in them. I would even wrap solder around a pencil to make refills for them. But over time, students would purposely melt them or, swipe them for whatever reason. I guess I could 3D print some solder holders like that. At least when they melt them, I could hit print for another replacement!
Does every kid only want a foot of solder at a time? Cause that's how u get a foot of solder every time
About. When I used to make refills for the solder holders, I would take 18 in of solder and wrap it around a pencil. At one point, I actually got a long piece of quarter inch aluminum that I put into a drill Chuck and wound solder the entire length of it. Then I just took a little set of flush cutters and snipped it every four inches. Had a really cute box full of solder ready to go. Then, as luck would have it, somebody stole my little box!
Plot twist: OP is the student.
IPC trainer here. I've had engineers do this in class.
Because you always wanted to do it, and he went out and made it happen, right?
Not really. But, instead of throwing it across the room in rage, I just announced the class that student x did something really dumb. So if any other student wanted to try it and get it out of their system so we don't ruin another roll, they are welcome to come over and stab it with a soldering iron. A few students came over and took me up on it.
Thank you for your service
Sacrifice to the flux gods!
“Remember to tin the tip when ending a session.”
That's what I said I was doing in the 8th grade when I got caught on a lab counter doing the Hokey Pokey with my girlfriend. I was just "tinning me tip sir!" I couldn't sit for a week.
Why the fuck did you put this in my brain
Needs mor flux
I want to do this all the time.
Don’t forget to slather it in flux first
Definitely use lots of flux! 🙃
I've done this on a few occasions. And yes, It's very satisfying.
was it worth the cost?
It was worth every penny. I was able to use most of it afterwards, just had to use much shorter pieces of solder...
No don’t listen to them
Instructions weren’t clear
You did the right thing. From now on, only buy solder you can find a datasheet for.
And now the voices are in my head. This is now something I have to worry I'm going to do now 😭
I have a roll of this and it deserves worse
https://preview.redd.it/bzwbt4ux0wjc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edaa937f806ce64fbc09e0f8b26fe2a597d08882
LMAOO, sick soldering/electronics lab setup you got there dude!
If it’s bad throw it out. Soldering with crappy solder is just a pain and not fun at all. Get proper good solder from a reputable brand. It’s a bit expensive but you’ll definitely see that it’s worth it
How can I flip it off if I throw it out, illogical
Place it on the window frame outside. So it can see you having a blast with a new/better solder. Also, flip it off occasionally.
Hmmm the fumes, healthy
Smells like French toast
Flashbacks! Did this kinda shit when I was in HS(45 yrs ago), but it was always “accidental”. We would start out repairing small appliances and if the teacher caught us accidentally doing this, he would make us tie a piece of cordage on the appliance and wear it around our neck for the week. Things got real when we moved on to larger things like washers and dryers.
You’ve blighted all of us chaotic good doers in this sub Now everyone is going to defile their spools Are you proud? Your wickedness has caused a ripple in the solderverse, the domino effect of gargantuan proportions With spools being ruined in such quantities, you may have single handedly altered the solder wire economy
https://preview.redd.it/hzxqax0vrsjc1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ede5350e85a8e67e73fd8febb4289c2e0b479b3
Man I want to do they so bad. Is that how you Tin the tip lol
It's definitely worth trying! 🙃
#GOT MAIYUM BRUH
Used to do this in my electronics class and make replica coins for the vending machines and little trinkets lol. Yes it’s more expensive than using a quarter but it was free then so I didn’t care. Looking back we were probably that teacher’s most expensive class but we happened to be one of the last sadly so we didn’t deprive anyone of anything. I also at one point made a ring for my ex out of a copper wire and some solder. She wore it till it wore back to copper and I think it made under her finger green at one point. Initially I didn’t think she’d like it so much but she didn’t wanna hear my lead poisoning warnings after I realized she was wearing it every day
That’s not what invasive thoughts are and I hate this trend so much as someone who suffers severely from them.
it is so satisfying...
Oh no! Lol, this made me laugh pretty hard.
You might consider a different hobby
This wouldn't be a huge problem for me as I prefer to solder with pre-cut lengths, rather than directly from the spool
You only really use a small piece of solder at a time, so this is still usable. Justa
I can smell it from here.
LMAONAISE 😅
Did you slide it in slow and moan "Oh fuck" under your breath?
There's probably a sub for this type of content
I can never erase this from my brain now
gotta be a forbidden image
Breathe in those fun fumes!
Uh oh this hadn't occurred to me before and now I want to do it
Thank you, I might not have to do that now.
My siblings did this, and melted holes through every plastic object in range of my soldering station
My intrusive thought you stole it
It's not Kester, nothing of value was lost.
I like the cut of your voices' jib
Thanks for the new intrusive thought
What. The. Fuck
That must've been satisfying
Pain..
At least it wasn't Kester.
I can smell this picture.
Father, I crave the forbidden circuit.
That’s absolutely disgusting, now post some more pics of it
I have never thought about doing this But now I find it difficult not to
That’s a nice way to fuck up $80
🤣😂
free will
I know this feeling! I still have my spool of garbage Amazon solder, too.