I am purchasing a Weller soldering iron, what type of tips should I get for the iron? It comes with a 1/32 conical tip. Will this tip be the best tip to use when soldering feeders, track, etc.. I will be working in HO scale. The soldering iron is a Weller WLC100 soldering station. Thanks for any info you can give me.
A 1/8' or 1/16' screwdriver would be a good addition. JAMECO Electronics lists the WLC100 as coming with a 1/8' screwdriver tip. Make sure yours is a conical before buying another.
A good temperature controlled soldering iron is always a best bet. Especially one that gives an assortment of tip shapes and sizes. Weller is a very good brand.
I'd suggest keeping the temperature control set for around 650-675 degrees for most soldering, and match the tip size to the job. Too high a tip temperature can actually make for a poor solder joint, even do some dammage. I have a Weller EC 1000 station with a 40 Watt iron, and a WSD 161 dual station with 20 and 40 Watt irons, and a large assortment of tips from the finest to the heaviest. Been using them hobbywise and professionally for years. The only uncontrolled iron I use is a Weller 40 Watt iron with a hammerhead tip for making up series battery packs. I have an assembly jig to use with it.
I would recommend the 1/8" tip. I've got a 45 watt iron with two tips. One is a 1/8" chisel tip (aka screwdriver tip) which is good for all general purpose work. It works fine soldering to both HO and N scale track. A smaller tip wouldn't have enough surface area to heat up the rail properly. I also have a 1/16" tip which looks like a conical tip with the end flattened at an angle. I use it for working on printed circuit boards. I've tried a conical tip and IMHO it doesn't have enough surface area to properly heat a connection except for the finest electronic work. I have the iron plugged in to an old Dremel speed control as a temperature control and run it at about 2/3 output for most work. An in-line dimmer control would do the same thing and I might get one some time so the Dremel can have its speed control all to itself.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
I agree...the 1/8" tip is great for all around soldering chores including soldering feeders to both the rail and the poser bus. I use a conical tip for decoder wiring and other tiny work.
While you are at it I highly recommend one of the brass shaving tip cleaners such as the one at the link below. I have a different brand but they all work the same. No fussing around with water. Just stab the brass shaving ball with the tip and it is instantly cleaned with no loss of terperature.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=soldering+iron+cleaner&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=3430310952175443004&ei=0sg9TZamMISasAPlgt2GAw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ8wIwBA#
Good luck!
Another good accesory is a small tin of a tip cleaning paste. These not only do a good job of cleaning all but the worst crud build-up, but they also do a good job of tinning the tip. The Radio Shack brand works well, but many of the mail orders such as Mouser or Digi-Key have similar items.
A good tip I learned in a soldering class that helps extend tip life, besides not overheating, is when finished with a soldering job, before turning the iron off, clean the tip well (never with an abrasive!!), melt a good blob of solder on the tip, then turn it off.
Wanted to do bodily harm to a co-op once. I was getting ready to go on a business trip. He wanted to use my solder station. For three months, I had been trying to get him to respect tools. When I got back a week later, the soldering iron station was tucked back under a workbench overhead, still on, temperature turned up all the way past 900 degrees. The tip was burned out, the base unit had failed.
He wasn't invited back for a second term.
Hi
You know that answer is 'it depends'. Irons have different wattage ratings, handles and bases. Go somewhere you can pick one up, hold it and use it. You will find one you like. Weller is a good choice as they have been around for years and have many choices in different price ranges. I have used the WTCP series for about 15 years now. I suppose I should get a temperture regulated one, but why .. I know what I have to do to get a good joint.
Tips have various physical sizes and capabilities. 1/32 is a pretty small tip usually used for SMT parts and circuits .. think *tiny* wires! Screwdriver tips come in different sizes and you need to decided which to use for a specific job. Generaly speaking, bigger tips are used for soldering bigger areas, while smaller tips are for smaller areas. Makes sense doesn't it? A lot of people don't think about that as I have seen technicians soldering dip packages onto board pads with 3/16 inch tip. Solder blobs abound and guess who got to go in and find those solder errors??? Round tips are more or less for soldering stuff to posts or terminals as the roundness of the tip will contact *both* surfaces to solder better than a flat type.
Also note that on the bottom of the tip barrel, there should be a number . 5,6,7 ... etc which is a temperture designator. The tip manufacture should tell you that somewere on the retail card or bag or in an instruction sheet or the like.
Just keep in mind the three most important things about soldering.
1. clean
2. clean
3. clean
Keep your tip in good condition and you will have tons of fun ...um... glueing ...um... stuff together. Never ever use ANY abrasive on your tips. Yes, denim is an abrasive so don't wipe your iron on your jeans to clean it. Instead dip it into a small jar of paste flux, it will come out really shinny and clean. In fact, and depending on the size of your job, a touch of that paste flux will help the soldering process. I use a toothpick to smear flux on the two ( or more ) things to physically connect. Heat the joint and flow solder into it. Keep at it and you will get gooood! Remember to turn that iron off when not in use as they only take about 3 minutes to warm.
Also note that most tips are cheap AND they are easy to change. Don't be afraid of having a few laying around or standing in your soldering station tip holder. Much better to throw that bad one out than have to go back and resolder because of bad flow. Saves you a lot of cuss'n. Murphy says the bad ones are *always* hidden from view and I have found that to be true.
ctclibby
Todd Hackett
Libby, Montana 59923
I take only pictures then leave footprints on railroad property that I know is not mine, although I treat it as such...