Hi everyone,

I've been reading more into doing basic soldering (been doing other stuff), and while I'm really good at getting things to de-solder using a desoldering pump (not very good with the wick, problem described below), I'm having a problem getting my solder to melt.

The only way I can get my solder (rosin-core flux 60-40), to melt is to touch the actual iron instead of the metal on the board. I have to roll the solder off of the iron and onto the board instead of putting it on the board itself.

I've noticed the same problem with the wick. I can't get the wick hot enough to cause the solder to melt unless I put a real heavy amount of pressure onto the back side of the wick, which actually has caused the wick to be attached to the board itself.

Normally, I believe the technique is to touch the soldering iron to the metal on the chip, and then place the solder onto the hot metal, thus melting it onto the board. Again, apparently my soldering iron isn't getting the metal hot enough. Am I doing something wrong, or is this a problem with the iron (I have a 25 watt iron)? Any help is appreciated.