Rolling your own soldering tip

I have a perceived need to make my own custom soldering iron tip for a moderately high volume rework job. Are these typically made of copper and then plated with something? Does anyone who's done this have any tips (no pun intended) for me?

Reply to
Smitty Two
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Usually iron over copper these days, I think. However, that said, today I received a new bit that I had ordered for my Antex temperature controlled station's iron, and the plating was very bright, like chrome, so I'm not sure just what the composition of that one is. Maybe they've had to change to something a bit more durable to cope with the more aggressive flux cores in crappy lead-free solder ...

Also, instead of the normal Antex split skirt and spring collar, which have a tendency to seize unless you turn them daily, this one has a solid skirt, and is retained on the shaft by a thin sheet of metal rolled into a tube, and inserted inside the skirt.

I have to say though, that it did tin very nicely. Be interesting to see how long it lasts with the iron idling away all day, as it does.

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

Yes - I noticed that. Wonder if it will be easier to remove - I destroyed an element once removing the old type. (Through carelessness, it must be said)

Nice to see another Antex fan. Still my favourite iron. Bought my first one near 50 years ago - a delight after my Henley Solon.

--
*Rehab is for quitters.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

I made about a dozen tips for the old Weller SP-23 irons. I used scrap brass rods from the base's welding shop. I threaded the end, then cut the tip off with a large pair of diagonal cutters. Then I filed it to the proper shape. Finally, I used paste flux to tin them. That was in 1973. I just used up the last tip a couple years ago. :)

--
You can\'t have a sense of humor, if you have no sense!
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

I did the same a few month's back with this actual iron. I had left the bit for a while without turning it, and it seized solid. I tried every way I could think of to release it, but it was totally jammed, and I eventually destroyed the iron in my attempts to free it. The new iron that I got for it came with a 'traditional' split skirt bit on it, that was definitely the standard iron over copper type that Antex have used for some years now. It hasn't lasted long, with the tip rapidly having been eaten away. I am still using the same Multicore solder product (leaded) that I always have, and I don't run the iron too hot at around 370 deg C for most work. The replacement bit that I got today was ordered as being for this specific iron series and was from Farnell, so I'm assuming that it is a genuine Antex part. If so, this change to solid skirt and metal tube inside, must be recent, and across the range.

As one long term Antex user (my first little CN15 was about 40 years ago I reckon) to another, do I recall their bits having a very shiny chrome or nickel chrome plating some years back ? I clearly remember the original bits being solid unplated copper. How did they last so long without any protective plating for that soft copper ? I know we used to get every last bit of life out of them by filing them until they were just a stump, but never-the-less, they *were* intrinsically long-lived ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

My guess is that your time would be better spent by adapting a part that's already available, if possible. Another option might be hot air, depending upon what the specific task is.

Caswell and other companies have lots of products for small-scale plating jobs, but exposure to soldering temperatures and fluxes aren't primarily intended, as many plating materials are for corrosion resistance or appearance.

Solid copper is fairly easily worked (cut, bend, trim) but has a fairly short life when used at higher temps for soldering. The copper is actually dissolved/absorbed into ordinary solder alloys, and fluxes further erode it. Plating with a nickel alloy, which is the final plating on many commercially-made tips, will essentially eliminate the dissolving, and protect the copper from fluxes, while providing a surface that's easily tinned.

Copper is easily brazed (silver soldered) to other parts to fabricate more complex assemblies. The braze temp far exceeds any working temps needed for soldering.

Some leaded steel alloys are suitable for soldering tips, but require fairly vigorous cleaning/removal of fluxes, and care must be taken to avoid overheating or the steel won't tin properly.

Many of the presently made soldering and desoldering tips are a copper core which is iron coated, then plated with copper and then a nickel alloy.

The problem you face with making your own custom tips is tip life, and the project R&D could be lengthy if yoy try to determine which type of tip proves to be the most reliable. You will most likely be faced with fabricating a quantity of "anything that works", as the reliability of them will likely be shorter than commercially-made soldering tips.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Reply to
Wild_Bill

Thanks for the deets. The actual fabrication of the tip will be relatively painless since we have a machine shop in-house. And, I think the volume of work to be done is such that a reasonably well-made tip will last the length of the task. If not, I'd think it wouldn't require more than 3 copies.

Do you see any significant advantage to copper--iron--copper--nickel over just copper--nickel? Do you know how thick the nickel plating should be?

Reply to
Smitty Two

Are these typically made of copper

Smitty

We routinely sent out our tips to be silver soldered. Never any probems. We did this in the 60s and I am sure they still do them this way. After we got a good mechanical technician he silver soldered them. No big deal. The silver solder was the type used in refrigeration tubing soldering.

Bob AZ

Reply to
Bob AZ

Antex? do they still use mains powered heaters? I gave up with them when CMOS LSI first came in and mains leakage current/voltage destroyed a couple of expensive ICs while I was soldering them. There I was using proper grounded disipative wrist strap and all.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Reply to
N_Cook

I don't know the specifics involved in tip fabrication, only what I've learned from tip manufacturers' information regarding their product reliability and durability.

I'm not sure why iron plating became common with soldering tips. I'm fairly certain it's beneficial to durability, possibly because copper is so soft. Iron and steel aren't as good at heat condction as copper is, so the reasons are for other characteristics.

As for the nickel plating, again, I don't know about the specifics, but there are two processes IIRC, one being electroplating, and the other being electroless.

You're at a good advantage by having metalworking capabilities in-house. I have metalworking machines, and it's often difficult to imagine alternatives for others.

Another possibility for tips could be some alloys of stainless steel. Some

300 and 400 series are relatively easy to machine (avoid the work-hardening alloys), although I'm not sure which alloys are easily tinned. Stainless alloys will most likely require a highly active flux to tin them, but after they're tinned that flux can be removed. Stainless can erode like other metals, particularly at elevated temps, as can be seen on the stainless covers of soldering iron heaters, but the heater sections are typically hotter than the tip's working temp. Fluxes for stainless are available from Harris (StaBrite product line) and other sources.

I should've mentioned that I don't know much about the newer lead-free solders or how they work (or don't work) with conventional tip plating materials. I don't do servicing work anymore, and I still use lead alloy solders for everything.

-- Cheers, WB .............

Reply to
Wild_Bill

Yes.

Ah - not so my first one. You must have started earlier than me. Shouldn't you be relaxing in an arm chair with pipe and slippers by now? ;-)

'Savebit' solder? Or perhaps the copper was an alloy.

--
*Frankly, scallop, I don\'t give a clam

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

They do a variety of mains and low voltage.

That's strange since they made a point about their low leakage. And the tip is earthed on a mains one. Perhaps the earth you were using was floating well above ground?

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*To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated, but not be able to say it.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

first

soldering

It was a long time ago, I've always used 24V Weller Magnastat since. ISTR the Antex tip fitted over a ceramic shaft containing the mains carrying heater. No observable leakage when cold but at operating temperature it leaked like a sieve. One dramatic confiemation test of it, in a totally dark room, you could sometimes see a discharge arc to a grounded metal plate held very close to the tip.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Reply to
N_Cook

I remember owning a mains CN15 that had a pink ceramic element shaft, and hence a fully floating tip, that was specifically sold as being leakage free. And Dave, I reckon you must have experienced the Antex unplated bits - I'm not that old ! (although I probably wasn't much more than a kid when I owned my first Antex). In fact thinking about it, the mains fixed temp one that I keep just for very fine work, has a needle tip that I did not fit all that long ago, which is unplated copper.

We used to use Savbit solder way back, when I was an apprentice. We used Adcola irons in that workshop (about two points to the left of heated pokers ...!) and they had solid copper or copper alloy tips. As I recall, Savbit had a small amount of copper as part of the basic tin-lead alloy, and was very good at preserving tips. However, I have not used that stuff for years - if it even still exists. The leaded solder that I use, and have done for a very long time now, is a Multicomp product. Perhaps with all of this lead free crap that we have to put up with now, the tip manufacturers have done subtle things with the plating to try to make it more compatible with the dreadful stuff and its aggressive flux cores, and my leaded solder no longer suits. If you recall, we had a discussion about tip life a few months back. I have stopped using my trusty old Weller Magnastat station, purely because the tips were not lasting five minutes on a 14 hour per day iron, and they were getting pretty expensive. I used to keep my Pace vacuum desolder station powered all the time as well, but same story. With tips at over seven quid a throw now, it gets turned off between jobs that need it ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

which

destroyed

be

soldering

bits -

all

pokers

done

months

at

The irony was that iron was bought precisely for low leakage and soldering these then new-fangled LSI lumps. Presumably tin-oxide or lead contimination of the ceramic.

About the same time I got talking to someone who repaired/reconditioned and re-sold white goods. Apparently many of the electric cooker heater elements on old cookers progressively got more and more leaky so commonly failing insulation test, even when cold. But I've not heard of that since, maybe just one make or a bygone era. I think there was a recent sub-thread here about some valve/tube glass going conductive when heated.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Reply to
N_Cook

Yes, indeed there was. I was involved in that one. I didn't realise before that discussion, that there was so many different types of glass, or that any could become conductive when heated. Always lots to learn ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

It shouldn't be too surprising. There is always a quoted caveat with the use of vitreous (ie glass coated ) resistors - don't position so they can touch chassis as they can go conductive at high, but still in-service, temp. I can't believe the green or grey colouration is added specifically to make the glass conductive.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Reply to
N_Cook

before

that

use

touch

I cannot find anything out there on the mechanism. So my theory. For vitreous resistors based on metal oxide, rather than wire-wound., overlain with glass. With continued/repeated use at very elevated temperatures perhaps MO ions can migrate outwards through the glass.

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

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Reply to
N_Cook

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Oh I don't know, I quite liked my Henley. I *much* prefer my Weller W60D to the various Antex irons I have.

--
Clint Sharp
Reply to
Clint Sharp

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Latterly, they made the point because it needed making

They used to make ceramic elements designed for CMOS work because of the leakage from their elements.

--
Clint Sharp
Reply to
Clint Sharp

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