noobie question

[ponomica]

So i just got my kits (2 t15's and 2 N72's) and extremely excited bout building these (was gonna get an electrician to do this for me but my car has since passed away and 'have had to use my "electrician money" to get a new one!)
So i've been busily making some kits just to get a little er.. grounding in the ways of soldering.

But I'm wondering is there any kind of "standard" for chopping the leads off ....ie do people normally wait untill they have soldered a joint to cut the excess length off, or do they do this beforehand....? I've done it both ways and my preference is for the "cut first, then solder" approach..it seems as tho this way avoids putting any unnecessary stress on the joint
Is this ok?........are there any advantages in keeping the leads long?
Many thanks
Jamie the noob

[tpryan]

With our kits I think it's best to solder the lead and then snip it to length. Since the boards are plated through-hole there's little chance of damaging the copper foil, plus the board absorbs much of the mechanical shock instead of the component. If you snip first, you'll probably have to snip again to length anyway.

The single biggest soldering mistake we see is the application of too much solder to the joint, coupled with inadequate heating. The height of the solder fillet should be about the same as the diameter of the lead. You do not want big globs of solder on the pads. Using the recommended solder gauge and iron tips make the job much easier.

Also, resist the temptation to bend the leads to hold the parts in the board. The bent leads tend to get in the way and make a perfect joint harder to form. If you stuff the board in the recommended order, the parts will stay in place without bending the leads.

[ponomica]

thanks Tim...much appreciated
jamie