Back in January I began spending time writing short one page to 20 page articles for a book. I hoped to put together at least 50 of these little ideas from an old technician. I modeled them on the short series of blogs I did here on the forum a couple years ago called "Tech Tips". To date I have 54 of these articles. While I have used my home printing capabilities to put them into book form I find I do not have the drive to rewrite and refine them into anything marketable. With my writing skills this might be impossible no matter how many times I rewrote them. For the fun of it I sent them to a friend who is a writer and he forwarded them on to his publisher. I have not heard from either of them since then and so ends a great and colorful writing career. For the fun of it I thought I would post a few of them here. While I can copy and paste the text it is necessary to go back and insert the pictures. This first one is a simple one as I wanted to experiment without having too much complexity. The articles range over a spectrum of electronic and shop related subjects. The next one that I will post next week is about taking a poorly functioning Chinese Kit and turning it into a useful circuit.
John
Reusable Solder Dispensers
You may recognize these as the containers on which solder wick is supplied. Solder wick is a copper braided tape that has flux embedded in the mesh. When a technician wants to remove the solder from a joint the braid is placed on the joint and heated from the back by the solder iron. As the solder melts it has an adhesive affinity for the copper, enhanced by the capillary action of the mesh and it is sucked into the braid and away from the original joint. Once a piece of solder wick has become saturated with solder it is no longer useful and it is cut off and put with the metal recycling waste.
When the wick is all gone we are left with a nifty little plastic holder. The second item in the picture above shows how the plastic holder can be opened up. If you have a larger spool of solder you can wind solder onto the plastic holder and fold the outer plastic cover back into place. This makes a very convenient package to hold and use while soldering. It has the advantage of protecting the solder from the environment as well as oils and chemicals that might be on your hands. The solder is less likely to oxidize inside the holder. From your perspective you do not have to touch the solder and worry about any heavy metal contamination. The little plastic holders can be reused many times before they crack and fail. The dispenser on the right is stocked with lead free solder and so the container was marked Pb (Lead) Free.
As a builder technician it is wise to always be watching for material resources. These solder wick dispensers, which are usually just thrown away, actually have a great second purpose and can continue to serve you for years as solder dispensers.
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