You have to be kidding.

[ElChoad]

9 minutes ago, rockabilly69 said:

It's four solder joints, got any friends that are good at soldering? I call a job like this "the ol' in and out"

I may actually attempt to do this myself. I just need to get a cooler iron. The one I have is way too hot to use on pots. Worst case scenario, I get the crappy SDs out and they just need to do a couple joints. Should be simple,right?

[High Flying Bird]

28 minutes ago, ElChoad said:

I may actually attempt to do this myself. I just need to get a cooler iron. The one I have is way too hot to use on pots. Worst case scenario, I get the crappy SDs out and they just need to do a couple joints. Should be simple,right?

https://buildyourownclone.com/collections/beginner-packages

[ElChoad]

I actually just found a few old pots that I removed from a project a few years ago. I should just use those as a practice pad first. I should get some plain vintage braid wire and make myself comfortable.

[rockabilly69]

43 minutes ago, ElChoad said:

I actually just found a few old pots that I removed from a project a few years ago. I should just use those as a practice pad first. I should get some plain vintage braid wire and make myself comfortable.

that is a great idea. And you could buy a new soldering iron for the cost of having your tech install those pickups.

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-premier-75w-Soldering-Station.html

Get yourself some leaded solder (unleaded is harder to work with)

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/4890-18g.html

and a solder sucker to clean up the messes people left behind like many Heritage solder joint I've seen!

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/zd108k.html

 

[ElChoad]

3 minutes ago, rockabilly69 said:

that is a great idea. And you could buy a new soldering iron for the cost of having your tech install those pickups.

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-premier-75w-Soldering-Station.html

Get yourself some leaded solder (unleaded is harder to work with)

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/4890-18g.html

and a solder sucker to clean up the messes people left behind like many Heritage solder joint I've seen!

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/zd108k.html

 

I have a 40 watt iron, but I think an adjustable stationay be a good investment. I should really know how to do this myself, instead of relying on somebody else that keeps my guitar for what I think is way too long for what should be a simple job. 

[rockabilly69]

5 minutes ago, ElChoad said:

I have a 40 watt iron, but I think an adjustable stationay be a good investment. I should really know how to do this myself, instead of relying on somebody else that keeps my guitar for what I think is way too long for what should be a simple job. 

Agreed! 

[PunkKitty]

That's a good price on that station. I bought one similar to that about 6 months ago. I'll never go back to a regular iron.

[rockabilly69]

1 hour ago, PunkKitty said:

That's a good price on that station. I bought one similar to that about 6 months ago. I'll never go back to a regular iron.

You know what I like about it, is that it heats up super fast to whatever temp you need. and it keeps it there, plus you can save three heat settings. Plus the tip cleaner has a can of flux at the bottom!

Every now and them they sell refurbs which are fully warrantied for $39. A good friend of mine called me when day when he saw one and that's when I bought mine.

I looked for ElChoad but I didn't see any in their deal section

[High Flying Bird]

2 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-premier-75w-Soldering-Station.html

Nice looking iron. 

I use desoldering wick instead of a sucker but that is just personal taste.  Something like this below.

https://www.amazon.com/NTE-Electronics-SW02-10-No-Clean-Blue-098/dp/B0195UVWJ8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=soldering+wick&qid=1631856427&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTDVDQ0tCOE85NVFHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTczMTc4MVY4OEhUVENVV1JZMyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTMwNDk3M1FTUUg3SkZTQTVEMCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[rockabilly69]

27 minutes ago, High Flying Bird said:

Nice looking iron. 

I use desoldering wick instead of a sucker but that is just personal taste.  Something like this below.

https://www.amazon.com/NTE-Electronics-SW02-10-No-Clean-Blue-098/dp/B0195UVWJ8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=soldering+wick&qid=1631856427&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTDVDQ0tCOE85NVFHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTczMTc4MVY4OEhUVENVV1JZMyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTMwNDk3M1FTUUg3SkZTQTVEMCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

I prefer the suckers, but I use both, and because both are so cheap, I just pick the one that works better for the situation. I use the suckers quite a bit more though, and I solder a lot. 

[bolero]

Wolfe makes great pickups, you will not be disappointed. Congrats!

[TalismanRich]

Doing pickups in a 150 is an easy job.   When you get to doing semi hollows, it's not for the faint of heart.   If you have the 40 watt iron, it should do fine.   You need to get the backof the pot hot enough so that things flow.   Too weak of an iron and you can get cold solder joints.  

+1 on getting leaded solder.    I've got two rolls,  should last me forever.

 

[High Flying Bird]

19 hours ago, rockabilly69 said:

I prefer the suckers, but I use both, and because both are so cheap, I just pick the one that works better for the situation. I use the suckers quite a bit more though, and I solder a lot. 

I had a solder sucker that would operate off of an air tank.  Man, was I spoiled.  The tip assembly fit in the end of a 50 watt iron and it would suck the solder into a glass tube.  It worked so much better than one of the Pace suckers. 

An Aloe plant near by is a nice thing to have too.  ?

[Dick Seacup]

3 hours ago, High Flying Bird said:

I had a solder sucker that would operate off of an air tank.  Man, was I spoiled.  The tip assembly fit in the end of a 50 watt iron and it would suck the solder into a glass tube.  It worked so much better than one of the Pace suckers. 

An Aloe plant near by is a nice thing to have too.  ?

When I was actively building Eurorack modules (COVID hobbies, eh?), I invested in a vacuum desoldering gun gizmo. Saved me a ton of time, and the aloe plant grew bigger. Desoldering a bunch of microscopic SMT crap is a PITA. Worked a charm on through hole, too.

[High Flying Bird]

40 minutes ago, Dick Seacup said:

When I was actively building Eurorack modules (COVID hobbies, eh?), I invested in a vacuum desoldering gun gizmo. Saved me a ton of time, and the aloe plant grew bigger. Desoldering a bunch of microscopic SMT crap is a PITA. Worked a charm on through hole, too.

I got out of the industry right before surface mount became big. 

One night I too a toroid core home to wind a transformer for the next morning.  This one had several different circuits.  We would often wind strands of small wire instead of one strand of large wire because it was more efficient.  I was getting tired and having trouble keeping count of the wires turns around the core.  18, 19, 20... then Sports Center came on.  "Big night in the NBA!  Charles Barkley -34 points, 18 rebounds..."  I lost it!  I had to unwind the wire and start it over.  Suck! 

[michaeljames]

benson custom handwound.  new york.  john benson.

[ElChoad]

So I have made a decision. I am going to attempt the pickup install myself. I have some extra pots laying around. I have ordered a 6' chunk of vintage braided wire. I will practice up and test the results with a multimeter. I feel I am pretty mechanically inclined. I will buy a station and a set of third hands. This is something I feel I SHOULD be able to do. If that doesn't go well for some reason, I will turn to a pro. Bit I would rather be self-reliant.

[PunkKitty]

You will be fine. Just go slowly. Make sure the pots are hot before you apply solder. Tin the connections to the back of the pot. I prefer a 50's wiring scheme. There are many diagrams out there. Just Google 50s Les Paul wiring diagram. You will save quite a bit of money by doing it yourself. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. If you overheat a part and have to buy a new one, consider that tuition. Best of luck. Don't be afraid to ask us questions. 

[ElChoad]

Thanks, PunkKitty. I have done soldering on a lot of other things, and I'm fairly certain I should be able to pull this off. I have been doing a LOT of research over the last couple weeks. It's kinda my thing. It's already got '50s wiring. I'm guessing I will replace the caps at some point, though. Probably PIO caps. 

[TalismanRich]

One good tip is to make  a cardboard template to hold the pots, caps and ground line.    Do your soldering on that,  rather than inside the cavity of the guitar.    Just line up the cardboard (a shoebox lid is fine),  make circles that match up to the positions on the guitar, and punch them out.   Mount the pots, and start soldering.   It makes thing SO much easier.

[ElChoad]

Thanks for the advice, TalismanRich. I am probably going to use an empty beer case, as I seem to have a neverending supply of those. ???

[PunkKitty]

49 minutes ago, ElChoad said:

Thanks, PunkKitty. I have done soldering on a lot of other things, and I'm fairly certain I should be able to pull this off. I have been doing a LOT of research over the last couple weeks. It's kinda my thing. It's already got '50s wiring. I'm guessing I will replace the caps at some point, though. Probably PIO caps. 

Just order some PIO's from Ebay or somewhere and wait a few days. 

[High Flying Bird]

5 hours ago, TalismanRich said:

One good tip is to make  a cardboard template to hold the pots, caps and ground line.    Do your soldering on that,  rather than inside the cavity of the guitar.    Just line up the cardboard (a shoebox lid is fine),  make circles that match up to the positions on the guitar, and punch them out.   Mount the pots, and start soldering.   It makes thing SO much easier.

This is very good advice.  Also remember you can refresh the tip of your iron by wiping it on a wet piece of old cloth or sponge.  Then add a little solder to the tip of the iron to get it ready for the next move. 

It will only help to draw out you plans.  Remember you are building this the reverse of what the top looks like when you play it. 

[bobmeyrick]

4 hours ago, High Flying Bird said:

Also remember you can refresh the tip of your iron by wiping it on a wet piece of old cloth or sponge. 

An interesting alternative to the wet cloth or sponge I came across was to use a metal scouring pad which I put in a small glass ramekin (from a Gu pudding*). This has the advantage of cleaning the tip without cooling it.

* If Gu puddings are not available in the USA you have my sympathy...

 

[bolero]

Isn't it important to use a brass scouring pad, so you don't scrape up the tip of your iron?