Let me first off confess to you: I'm a terrible solderer! Besides a few electronic projects with junior, I only solder to repair things so I don't get much practice. But being a good little egghead, I at least know what I'm supposed to be doing. Here's what I've learned so far:

* Only solder in a well ventilated place. Solder has lead in it. Lead makes you stupid. Use a fan. Open windows.

* Soldering takes practice. Solder, desolder, re-solder some old junk. Next, buy a few of the inexpensive kits found in most electronics magazines and catalogs. They're fun to practice on and you learn a lot about electronics as you go.

* The basic idea of soldering is to apply heat to the component lead and "the pad" (the conductive part of the circuit board around the lead). You want to heat both the lead and the pad and then apply the solder to the other side of the lead.

* As you install components to a circuit board, bend the leads slightly with needlenose pliers after you've put them through the board to hold the components in place while you solder. When you're done soldering, cut off any excess material with diagonal cutters.

* Clean the tip of your iron frequently with a wet sponge. Most soldering iron stands come with a sponge and a sponge dish.

* One of the main things you want to try and avoid are "cold joints" which are uneven and dull looking. A cold joint occurs when solder has flowed around a lead but has not made contact with it. This is because the iron is too cold or the surface of it is dirty (or both).

* The other main problem is solder bridges. This occurs when solder flows between two pads which will short out the circuit when electricity is applied to it. This is a big no-no (and what all the practicing is about).

* Use a heat sink to insulate components. The heat sink can be clipped onto the component on the top side of the circuit board while you solder the bottom side. Heat traveling up a component's lead (e.g. the pins on a computer chip) will be shunted off into the heat sink instead of the chip.

* Get a "Third Hand" if you're going to be working on circuit boards or other small components.

* Get a soldering iron with several sizes of replacable tips for different soldering applications.

* Wash your hands when you're done. Solder contains lead. Lead makes you stupid.

- Gareth