I use one those “brass wool” tip cleaners by Hakko, works quite well, though I suspect I’m gradually wearing away the tip doing it. The wet sponge method does seem to get the grunge off.
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Quick soldering question.
- Thread starter G19Tony
- Start date
I use a Weller WES51 with a pointed tip (ETL, I think). It certainly helps to have one of those tip cleaners such as the MCM 21-4355. I don't know how I got along without one of those. It helps remove oxidation and gives me a nice, clean starting point.
Heat the iron, tin it (apply a drop of solder), stab it into the brass stuff to clean the tip and smear the solder. Then it's ready to work.
When working joints, you don't heat the solder, you heat the solder joint (wires and/or metal tabs). That's part of why you want to tin the soldering iron: It helps conduct heat from the tip to the wires and/or tabs. The hot wires/tabs will melt the solder for you.
Yes. It works like the sponge without the temp drop of the wet sponge.
It can be a personal preference see which cleaning method you prefer.
REMEMBER ALWAYS.
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Yeah! Doing it cold won't help much.
I get just as much out of using a damp paper towel, that eventually dries and then I use a dry paper towel.
Yeah! Don't replace the brass cleaner do-hickey with a plastic kitchen "scrunchie."
Mr. Clean becomes Mr. Melted Gooey, smells of burnt plastic, now you really have to clean it, mess.
I used to wipe the hot tip on the leg of my jeans (still do sometimes), but one day I forgot I was wearing shorts.
Smells like chicken, but sometimes it smells like pork.
Smells like chicken, but sometimes it smells like pork.
I remember guys doing this; the diode actually drops the power to about 25%. Used to be we would coat the tip with silver solder (high silver content), and this would help prevent the tip from eroding as fast from the solder and flux compared with a pure copper bit.
I would have suggested buying a $10 20w from WalMart to practice wax on/wax off with before you stepped up to the name brand stuff, but hey, you’re here to melt faces and take names...or was it take advice and melt solder??? Too late now. Gonna have to cook that turkey and serve it with the trimmings. Just go easy on the cranberry sauce. A dab’ll do ya.
Craig Anderton had that in one of his books. I never got around to making one. Now I have an adjustable iron and turn it down if it’s going to sit for more than a couple of minutes.
My iron idles on the bench sometimes for a full day at 700F, and the tip doesn't oxidize much. A quick wipe on the damp sponge and it's ready to go.
Crank up the heat and you'll probably have less of an issue - the pot is basically acting as a heat sink, spreading out the heat and dissipating it into the air.
Chisel tip is a good idea, and another trick is to melt a big glob of solder on the tip and then "spoon" it onto the surface when you go to heat it. Helps increase the surface area a bit more, the solder is already melted (one less variable), and you'll know exactly when the surface is hot enough because it will flatten and spread. Reduces the chance of overheating the components pretty significantly.
I have the same Hakko.
My grandfather's cousin worked at Lockheed in Mountain View.
He taught me to solder as a way to make me fix my toys.
I was kinda rough on stuff, he would tell me stories of fixing field radios while getting shot at while I was learning.
He had this prized set of Weller gear from probably the Space Race.
I guess back then soldering, fixing tube powered devices, and programming were all the same thing back then.
