If you're looking to get into soldering... go pick up a soldering iron at a store. Get a low output one... something around 5 watts or so... They take awhile to heat up but they are good for beginners. When you're working with electronics like pots you don't want to expose them to too much heat or you could ruin them... So it's important to start with a low output gun or wand at first. Get some cheap wire to practice with... Here's a beginners walkthrough:

1. First plug the soldering iron in and let it heat up.

2. Get a rag or cloth and dampen it with water. This is to clean the tip with and also can be to cool surfaces off if you need to...

3. Get your practice wire ready and whatever piece of metal you're going to solder to.

4. Place the tip of the soldering gun on the object that you want to solder. Let it rest there a few seconds to heat the surface of whatever it is you're soldering to.

5. Put the solder in the opposite had that you're holding the soldering gun with and touch the tip of the solder next to the tip of the soldering gun. If the solder melts to the object you're soldering the gun and the object are both hot enough. Once you get the desired amount of solder, remove the solder and the gun at the same time and the solder will dry.

Practice with a scrap piece of metal or a scrap potentiometer if you have one. Practice making small solder joints while still covering the piece of wire completely. Try not to use too much solder on your joints. This can be a cause of a bad connection in the future... There you go, thats the jist of it! Good Luck