A few pictures of your failed attempts might help spot a flaw in your technique. I find it hard to steady myself as much as the work. Too much solder, too little, not enough heat, too much heat, dirty tip, not enough flux, these are fixable but if you hate doing it then look at some of the other aspects such as driver design or programming. If I were trying to avoid soldering more then I would lean toward the programming side.
Getting solder to jump gaps is like herding cats. As others have said, flux helps immensely, and it is a fine motor skill, learning how to use the soldering iron like a pen to manipulate the solder into going where you want it to go. I have only done it a few times, but bending the legs of the 7135 down does help soldering them.
I can't mod electronics very well , and would never attempt things like chip stacking .
But I do make some interesting and useful things out of parachute cord . ( And paracord is cheap . )
Try knotting .
Good luck with your surgery . 
Took me about 6 tries, and that was super frustrating. I can imagind the frustration you have with so many attempts. Im sure its probably been said many times but here is what works for me:
1. 30watt iron.
2. Fine iron tip.
3. Bend 3pins to vertical.
4. Hold in place on board. I use pliers.
5. Flux on pins to be joined with cotton bud.
6. Clean iron tip well with wire tip cleaner.
7. Very small bit of solder on tip of iron.
8 . Brief touch only on an outer pin with part of iron that has small bit of solder… It will take on pins that have flux.
9. No longer need to hold pliers as first soldered pin is done.
10. Repeat from 6 for other end of the chip.
11. Then do the middle.
A few tricks I use which seems to make it easier.
- I use a dremel with a standard metal cut off wheel and grind back the centre pin on the 3-pin side of the 7135. The centre pin doesn’t need to be connected on this side as it is a ground and runs straight across to the back pin which you have soldered anyway. I just grind it down flush with the body of the chip and it removes the possibility of the solder jumping across to it. I guess you could also use a needle file and do this carefully if you don’t have a dremel.
- Using a toothpick or something small dab a tiny dot of superglue on the chip you are stacking onto and glue the next chip on top before you start soldering. It makes it much easier when that top chip isn’t moving around
- I place the driver in my helping hands and lean it back a bit so that the 3-pin side is facing upwards a little bit on the chip I’m working on. I find that doing this makes it easier to jump the gap as the solder isn’t wanting to just drop straight down.
Have you got some fine tweezers like THESE sort of things? I find it easier to handle the chips using some tweezers.
Other than that I use 0.6mm solder and a 1.0mm soldering tip on my iron.
Hopefully something there will help you out.
Lj,
Oh, I forgot about this video that O-L did awhile ago:
I actually bought one of those Allis forceps (Amazon.com) after watching O-L’s video, and have used them for quite a lot of things, like holding things together when I’m soldering them. I haven’t tried using them with 7135s like he does in the video yet, but it looks like that would solve one big problem I kept having, where the 7135 wouldn’t stay in place while I was soldering it.
FYI, I also had cateract surgery earlier this year on my one good eye, and it’s taken me awhile to get use to my new “eye”, so I’ve accumulated different type of glasses, etc. :(, and I got one of these which was very helpful, because you can try different powers vs. focal distance:
https://www.fasttech.com/p/1398900
Good luck!
Jim
Wow! You’re determined to try so hard. I’m impressed 
once, I painstakingly stacked two chips to a driver (burning my fingers and fingernail through heat transfer in the process,) put the light back together, only to measure current and realize that I forgot to solder the tabs at the back of the chips… Grrr!
Sometimes modding is bleeping frustrating and when you don’t have the right tools or bad eyes or shaky hands, it can be 10 times worse. When frustrated, I tend to make mistakes and sometimes screw up LEDs or drivers… The logical thing to do is walk away, the emotional thing to do is SMASH… You choose 
Otherwise, pics will help US help you. (WRT removing the middle leg of the chip, I use a nailclipper)
Herding cats oh that’s hilarious a great a analogy, it’s just the 7135 chips I have trouble Le with I mean I ve learned how tin the Noctigon pads I use solder I have tried bending the legs , unbent, super glue holding chips my dang fingers are so numb I can’t control them well and I keep putting the chip cattywampus so I bought the small precision tweezers I just don’t have the motor skill and then either my wife or kids will stack one with a drop of super glue with the tabs bent down I’ll brush the flux on with a brush tried solder and I get the solder everywhere and end up either shorting the driver our or once in awhile the emitter smokes. ,
EDIT:the only thing I really haven’t tried are the specific hemostats that OL used those may make a big difference and I mean I love doing what I have been able to do which has been buying upgraded drivers and installing a noctigon with a xml2 of different tints or dedome with gas.Eebowler I was at that point but my family’s spent too much on what they got me to destroy it so I walked away and Iam here cooling off and venting, I’ll try and get some pictures up later I threw most of the soldered bobbed chips in the trash and the last fried emitter out as well it is just theses little b@s+red chips I learned how to center a single emitter stuff that I felt like I accomplished something.
LJ, my recommendation, buy yourself a few really nice lights (read “nice”, not necessarily high end / expensive) and enjoy them, having spent that much money with nothing to show can be extremely frustrating. Before you burn yourself out I would stop and enjoy the hobby some.
I’m not saying give up, but take a break from shit going wrong and get yourself [even just one] light that’s perfect, that way at lease one aspect of this hobby is enjoyable for you.
Here’s another thought I had while typing that, not necessarily on topic but goes along with it…
When I was learning how to mod and first starting out I had zero interest in buying modded lights from other big-name modders here, in fact I didnt even look at their WTS threads. in the past 3-4 months I’ve purchased about 4-5 modded lights from the big name guys here not because I cant build them myself, I cant think of a single light I cant build for myself, but because its nice to see how other people do the same thing and its really nice to get a light that truly needs nothing.
Even if you dont want to buy a light, spend $12 on a 16x 7135 driver from RMM or TomE (or me, shameless plug) and see how we do it, not just pictures, actually hold one in your hand.
Version II of that as well, http://youtu.be/HFI12H0jGbY
The forceps were the only way I could learn to solder the chips on, because they held tightly enough in the vise, to handle my shaky hands. Other ways caused the chips to move a bit.
First of all LJ you are looking for a miracle and that is not likely to happen. Everybody and I do mean EVERYBODY comes across a hurdle somewhere with something. The most common is working on cars. Believe me, I can tell you some stories.
Does it or should it preclude you from doing something or in this case modding lights? Absolutely not! The very first key to success is recognizing one's weakness and strong points.
From I have garnered on this site, soldering resistors is a very small part of the equation. There are many mny more aspects, and from the sounds of it you are quite proficiant at some of them. I will not get into some of the things (not flashlight related) that took me years to master but I will tell you that until the "light went off" and I finnaly figured out "how" I commssioned others. It wasn't out of laziness but the savings of time and money.
In relation to modding lights, I too am learning to solder...and have been for years..in other words I am lousy at it. Lol. As of yet I haven't modded or even built a light BUT for the time being I am planning on buying some drivers from RMM (his charges to modify are minimal) that will be configured the way I want and need. That way I don't ruin anything and still get what I want. For practice I will work on the pulled drivers. The other alternative to soldering is the use of FET drivers (as already mentioned).
There is no need to get discouraged or disgusted. Just skip that part (soldering) for now and put your energy where it helps you and gives you a sense of accomplishment whe you turn on that super bright light :)
Good luck and enjoy your hobby ;)
I know the frustration light junkie. Although I can stack the 7135 chips now but I have gone through a long way too - A lot of drivers and 7135 chips were scrapped due to the trials. But I still can’t do the 3rd layer of stacking, which I don’t think I will practice that anymore.
After I know how to do the chips stacking, turns out I don’t quite like the idea of linear regulation anymore and I prefer buck regulation. So I no longer looking for light using Nanjg driver but using buck driver, though most of them have crappy modes and PWM, unlike the Nanjg drivers which allow you to flash and customize whatever firmware you want with them.
What impress me is your incredible spirit - You are already impressive my friend! 
Dumb saying that my wife and kids told me today I told them winners never quit and quitters don’t win and they all told me but you don’t quit losing so alas I’ll hang up my solder gun for a while again , and debate what I can do while recuperating from surgery. Maybe hand loading ? I ve do e a few times o. A single stage press for a .308 and no kabooms and cancel my order from fasttech for 10 more strips of 10 380 mAH 7135s.
Thanks all alot of this is soaking in now and as I look at my shelf of 15 lights and only 6 are up and running I realize I didn’t do anything other than solder the springs on the functional ons, the others are awaiting drivers and emitters that’s a pretty bad ratio.night all
It’s not just you light junkie
I may have modded like 5 lights…(I think I have more busted lights than working lights) and each time I got so frustrated that I wanted to throw em thru the wall
I got a hot air gun, still have lights that won’t turn on above moon mode (think I flashed the wrong FW)
Busted my SOIC clip so have to have my kid hit enter while I use two hands to hold it on the IC and it not always flash
Burned this, flashlight don’t work that…I get so frustrated I shelve them and then forget about em
I have a large fishing tackle box of drivers here and there in different levels of construction, destruction, mod…then finding the motivation to get off my duff to actually work on them when I don’t have a permanent bench setup and it takes me 20 min of setup and teardown to work on them
Trust me man…it ain’t just you bro!
It’s good to understand ones own ability. I have never attempted to stack chips because I just know it’s going to frustrate the hell outta me. Having said that I tip my hat to your commitment and persistence.
Chip stacking is a pain! I’d skip it for now until you get a lot better at soldering. I find that just disassembling junk circuit boards from various old appliances or from obsolete computers and re-soldering the chips on helps beginners a lot. Obviously good tools and supplies help tremendously, but there’s no substitute for having made thousands of solder joints.
Good luck, and don’t give up just yet.
Lay off caffeine and that helps steady your hands… I used to be into drinking those energy drinks and tried pipe welding after a couple, your work will look like some crackhead got loose on your welder especially with stick or oxy. Brace your arm on something, that helps. Good vision is key too. I guess some can’t do it but with a little practice I don’t see why you can’t get good. Like even with totally shaky hands you can brace your arm on something and do a half way decent job. Noones going to judge your work but you’ll know it’s crap (and that’s sometimes worse) but if it works…
Key is not giving a crap about what others think. That’s the vice of a smart person. Once you just don’t give a flip anymore, you can do anything Good work comes with practice. A crash course is sometimes more valuable and breaking a few things to get there, oh well.
Any suggestions on a basic soldering kit for a newb?
I’m an automotive/diesel/heavy equipment mechanic. I can rebuild engines in lawn mowers to natural gas compressors with pistons the size of 5 gallon buckets. I’ve always been really good with all things mechanical and LOVE fixing up old vehicles. One thing I learned after spending entirely too much money and time on is that I can NOT do paint and body work. As much as I wanted to learn it just wasn’t something I was good it. I ended up about driving myself nuts before I finally admitted it wasn’t for me.
It sounds like making or modding drivers is something that you just might not be good at. Don’t let it ruin a hobby you otherwise really enjoy. I haven’t been on this site long but I’m sure someone here would be happy to mod a driver for you.
I’ve yet to mod a driver in any way so I very well may end up in the same boat as you :Sp
U
You hit the. Caffeine part pretty good , Ugh my vision is where Iam suffering with my retinopathy I use prescription glasses and the magnifying glasses, I took today off to not get too obsessed with it and i have been drivers built fore I was hoping to learn how to do it myself but I’ll put it on the back burner for a while, I have to wait for 10/3 to get paid again any how’s .