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A question to Ben about soldering iron maintenance

makerimages

Hey there! A long time viewer, first time writer.

 

I recently got my 3rd solderig iron, it had a chisel tip and a sharp tip, My first irons tip lasted for about a year, the second ones didnt last for a day... image

And I managed to ruin the chisel aswell.... the first and second ones can hopefully be filed down to a point where i can retin the copper core. I'm going to get this solder in March: https://www.elfa.se/elfa3~ee_et/elfa/init.do?item=82-489-79&toc=0&q=wire+spool

From what I have seen on the interwebz, the easiest way to use a tin that has flux in it for the first time tinning the tip is wrapping some wire around the tip, before plugging it in. Will that work? And what are the general guidelines for making a tip last long? I think this topic is important enough to maybe get an episode of TBHS on it?

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    Filing down a soldering iron's tip scratches the cladding and exposes the inner material, which can make your iron degrade early. Properly tinning the tip when it first heats up and burns off the temporary shipping coating and then each time you use it only requires touching the tip with the solder itself once the iron is warm enough to melt the solder. Make sure to clean the tip (wet sponge, etc) to avoid pitting from too much resin if you are using cored solder or powdered flux.

     

    Kirk

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    Filing down a soldering iron's tip scratches the cladding and exposes the inner material, which can make your iron degrade early. Properly tinning the tip when it first heats up and burns off the temporary shipping coating and then each time you use it only requires touching the tip with the solder itself once the iron is warm enough to melt the solder. Make sure to clean the tip (wet sponge, etc) to avoid pitting from too much resin if you are using cored solder or powdered flux.

     

    Kirk

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