On Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:43:08 +0100, "john hamilton"
wrote:

I have to connect this AAA battery holder to a toy. Although I have a small
soldering iron, my soldering skills are poor. I can see myself easily
melting all the plastic around the contacts before I can get anything to
stick to the tabs. (The part of the tabs with the small hole will bend
upwards giving some clearence).

http://tinypic.com/r/iqx3pf/4

My immediate plan is to poke a few strands of wire through the holes in the
connection tabs twist and then apply some nail varnish to stop it unwinding.
Since its a toy it does not need to be totally foolproof.

If anyone had any ideas that were a bit more sophisticated I would be
gratefull. Thanks.

What Ralph said. Also, if you can get some, apply a dab of rosin flux
paste to the joint before you heat it. That helps the solder to "wet"
the surfaces and flow into the joint better.

And ensure that you have something keeping the battery holder and the
wire in place. I'd go so far as to put batteries in the thing so that it
could be clamped into a soft-jawed vice and use one of those "third
hand" thingies to hold the wire securely. Trying to keep the battery
holder in place with your palm, the wire under your elbow, with the
soldering iron in one hand and the solder in the other isn't likely to
result in a satisfactory soldering job. Not that *I've* ever done that,
of course cough cough

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA