Soldering Irons

Canucker · January 14, 2014, 11:47:49 PM

What makes a great one great? I think the most expensive one I've owned was just under twenty bucks. The only time I hate the ones I have is when I can't locate them. Is there something I'm overlooking?

armdnrdy · January 14, 2014, 11:52:29 PM

A temperature controlled iron is the way to go for many reasons, including not having to replace your tip.

I built a temp control for my inexpensive Weller.

Canucker · January 15, 2014, 12:13:52 AM

one of my irons needed tip replacing way to rapidly...the one I'm currently using shows no noticeable tip wear...I think they only differed in price by four bucks...maybe less.....so what are some other reasons for temp control? not melting some sensitive parts I assume. I overheated a lug on a switch before and had the lug fall right out...that wasn't fun since I already had four lugs wired up.

how complex is it to build a temp control?

J0K3RX · January 15, 2014, 12:58:11 AM

Quote from: Canucker on January 15, 2014, 12:13:52 AM
one of my irons needed tip replacing way to rapidly...the one I'm currently using shows no noticeable tip wear...I think they only differed in price by four bucks...maybe less.....so what are some other reasons for temp control? not melting some sensitive parts I assume. I overheated a lug on a switch before and had the lug fall right out...that wasn't fun since I already had four lugs wired up.

how complex is it to build a temp control?

You could probably use a dimmer switch... I would just spend the 30 or 40 bucks and get a Hakko 936 with some extra tips. If you are going through tips fast then you probably have a really el cheapo iron... This isn't necessarily a bad thing if you can get the job done with it and it does a good job. Somebody said "It's not the size of your pencil, it's how you write your name" and I guess you can apply that to your iron as well. But, you also have to consider it was also probably said by somebody with a really small pencil

LucifersTrip · January 15, 2014, 01:38:32 AM

Just a note on tip wear...i was running my iron at 40 watt and burning through tips every 3 - 4 pedals, but since I've lowered the wattage to 30-35 watts, there's been no tip wear at all after 20+ pedals. Of course, everyone has different quality tips.

I still use 40+ watts for heavier joints like on jack lugs.

armdnrdy · January 15, 2014, 02:37:19 AM

Quote from: Canucker on January 15, 2014, 12:13:52 AM
how complex is it to build a temp control?

There's really not much to it.
If there's any interest, I'll post a whole project.

Seljer · January 15, 2014, 04:10:01 AM

I've got a chinese ones that is "temperature controlled" in the way your schematic is drawn up but it can't hold a candle up to the Weller we have in the lab at school.

The fancy Weller and Hakko irons have got an actual feedback loop for the temperature, they measure the temperature directly in the wand/tip and compensate accordingly. So it heats up relatively quickly when you turn it on, then stops heating when it reaches the temperature you set. When you make a joint and lose heat from the tip it quickly turns back on to compensate for the loss and keep it at a constant level.

haveyouseenhim · January 15, 2014, 06:51:02 AM

Funny. I have never used a soldering iron. I use a wood burner and love it and have used it on the 50+ pedals I have built. I think I bought it at Michaels years before I ever built pedals.

duck_arse · January 15, 2014, 10:07:27 AM

a wood burner? wood you have a picture of such a thing?

electrosonic · January 15, 2014, 10:45:26 AM

If you search around you can find Hakko 936 clones pretty cheap. Since they use the same size tips as the 936, there are lots of different tips available.

Andrew.

Shoeman · January 15, 2014, 11:49:57 AM

Quote from: haveyouseenhim on January 15, 2014, 06:51:02 AM
Funny. I have never used a soldering iron. I use a wood burner and love it and have used it on the 50+ pedals I have built. I think I bought it at Michaels years before I ever built pedals.

Now there is some old-timey fun I had not thought of in years...decades even.

tubegeek · January 15, 2014, 08:04:24 PM

I made a small outlet box for my desk with one outlet that is connected to a standard 50W (or so) light dimmer and the other outlet connected as normal. The normal outlet feeds a power strip. (Can I call it a "Waber strip" or is that hopelessly dinosaurish?)

So i plug my iron into the dimmer-controlled outlet and everything else into the power strip.
Wood burner? you mean like this?

PRR · January 16, 2014, 12:41:51 AM

> a wood burner?

It's just a soldering iron with a fat tip. Used for burning words or designs into wood. Like a plaque for your house that says "The Arses" with curlyque lines around it.

There's a difference between manual power control and actual in-iron temperature control. The in-iron thermostat will turn-UP the power when you put the iron on a heavy joint, automagically.

My preference is for a 45W iron with an iron-clad tip. Bought a lifetime supply at Radio Shack for $17/iron back in the 1970s. But it does run HOT and takes much practice to get in-and-out without burning the board.

HOTTUBES · January 16, 2014, 01:38:53 AM

I have one of these , and i love it !!!

Jdansti · January 16, 2014, 02:20:00 AM

My old Weller station recently crapped out on me. Here's the cardboard insulator that enclosed the controller board.

It's an incandescent light dimmer that can be placed in an electrical box in your wall.

italianguy63 · January 16, 2014, 04:34:35 AM

I have an antique one around here somewhere. It is about a foot-and-a-half long. Tip about an inch wide, with old cotton isulated wire, and bakelite plug. Don't know what it is for-- you could probably solder furnace pipe or regroove tires with it. MC

greaser_au · January 16, 2014, 07:08:19 AM

Sadly, the soldering iron is one of the least understood items of our gamut here...

david

CodeMonk · January 16, 2014, 07:11:06 AM

I dunno why you guys are having so much trouble with your tips.
I have a 60 watt Weller iron with no temp control option.
Its an older model someone gave to me.
My tips last a long time.
Although I do have several types of tips I swap out as needed depending on that I am soldering.
The same held true for my previous Weller iron, did finally die after about 30 year of use.
Even then, never had a problem with tips burning up.

And I also have several heat sinks for sensitive/NOS parts (Or I use sockets for those types of parts)...

And a few of these with the teeth filed down makes a useable heatsink as well:

italianguy63 · January 16, 2014, 07:27:54 AM

If the tip gets pitted, you can actually file it down to a point again and re-tin it. I too use heatsinks like that when working on Germaniums, for example. I use a hotter iron as I have had 100 times more problems with "cold solder joints" in the past than burning stuff up with a hot iron. (although I did waste a couple 3PDT switches doing all the contacts at once and not leaving any time to cool). I like being able to "touch" and watch the solder wick. Then, I KNOW the joint is good. Just my technique.... MC

duck_arse · January 16, 2014, 08:40:18 AM

Quote from: PRR on January 16, 2014, 12:41:51 AM
Like a plaque for your house that says "The Arses" with curlyque lines around it.

thanks paul.

we at the arses have a grandfather's soldering iron under the house. if I tried wood-burning with it, it would end up looking like I'd used my arse to do it.

my first iron was a 30W Lotring mains type, unclad copper tip. that was fun, except in summer. and where can I get some of that UR (or is it UL) cardboard?

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Soldering Irons