Soldering is surprisingly learnable. This video does a pretty good job teaching technique:
The only criticism I have of that video is that it shows a bad example for the two wires being splice soldered end to end. They should be twisted together first to make a solid mechanical connection (something they say and then don’t really do very well in this case) before soldering.
I’d spend the money on the cheapest temperature controlled soldering iron you can find. This costs some $$ and will save a ton of frustration or bad results. An iron that is too hot or too cold can damage the parts. An iron that is tool cold will start to melt things around it before the joint gets hot. Very annoying.
It’s all covered in the video, but just to re-emphasize key points . . .
- make a solid mechanical joint before soldering
1.5) make sure the tip of the soldering iron is wiped clean (wet sponge is good) - heat the parts with the broad side of the iron
- apply the solder to the parts, not the iron
- don’t move anything while it cools
- look for the nice shiny cone shape
- if it looks grainy it wasn’t hot enough or moved before it cooled and should be done again
You can twist ends of wire together and practice all you want before touching something you care about. It’s possible to get the hang of it after a few tries. Wire is good to practice with because you will see if you are getting it too hot and melting the insulation back.