[Bret L]

I have said it before and will say it again, you are no audiophile if
you can not solder.

You aren't. You're a poser, a bull****ter.

There are several good Web resources on soldering but I would offer
the following:

Get all your ducks in a row. You need a temperature controlled
soldering iron, no ifs, ands or buts. And you want nothing to do with
soldering GUNS.

You will need cleaners-get a small bottle each of mineral spirits and
methanol/acetone, now that the good stuff has been outlawed by the
enviro-Nazis (the REAL Nazis, you bitch about me, but they are the
issue)-and some RMA flux. You also want a few acid brushes (very
cheap), a good pair of needlenose pliers, a pair of dikes, and a
selection of hemostats if you can find them. Lay out on a bench that
is clear and clean. Of course you also need solder. Use only eutectic
63/37 rosin core solder. Never never never use acid core solder on
electronics or even in the same room as electronics.

Get some scrap PC boards that are drilled for through hole components
and some random old parts. Download a copy of a Heathkit manual and
install the parts on correctly made pads just as if you were building
a kit. It is better to master PC board through hole soldering first
then go to chassis and panel soldering.

Chassis and panel soldering is also well described in Heathkit
manuals or in a book you can download as a .pdf for free,
http://www.emergencyradio.ca/course/...erimenters.pdf

They also have this: http://www.emergencyradio.ca/course/Soldering_Tips.pdf

One helpful exercise is to get a 12 inch length of solid wire and cut
it into twelve one inch segments, making a perfect cube. The only
tools allowed are a pair of pliers or large hemostats and your iron.
The cube is then crushed and no joint may fail.