rrinker The holder that came with my Xytronics station is quite heavy. It would take deliberate effort to knock it over, just casually hitting the handle of the iron won't knock it out. In pictures the bases often look lightweight, but most of them are a cast metal of some sort, quite solid. Usually with rubber feet on the bottom so they don't slide around on the bench, too.
The holder that came with my Xytronics station is quite heavy. It would take deliberate effort to knock it over, just casually hitting the handle of the iron won't knock it out. In pictures the bases often look lightweight, but most of them are a cast metal of some sort, quite solid. Usually with rubber feet on the bottom so they don't slide around on the bench, too.
rrinker The best thing since cliced bread is the brass or copper wool cleaning pad Xytronic and now it looks like Hakkp come with. Much more effective tip wiper than a damp sponge.
The best thing since cliced bread is the brass or copper wool cleaning pad Xytronic and now it looks like Hakkp come with. Much more effective tip wiper than a damp sponge.
Alton Junction
The holder that came with my Xytronics station is quite heavy. It would take deliberate effort to knock it over, just casually hitting the handle of the iron won;t knock it out. In pictures the bases often look lightweight, but most of them are a cast metal of some sort, quite solid. Usually with rubber feet on the bottom so they don't slide around on the bench, too.
The best thing since cliced bread is the brass or copper wool cleaning pad Xytronic and now it looks like Hakkp come with. Much more effective tip wiper than a damp sponge. When I got my Xytronic back when, it was one of the only ones I saw for $100 or less that came with that, most equivalent units were in the $120 range and they only had sponges.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Lakeshore Sub I feel much safer with a weighted holder that no one will mistake for anything else at this point.If I walk away, it is just to make a potty stop or grab something I forgot, but Randy's point is well taken.
I feel much safer with a weighted holder that no one will mistake for anything else at this point.If I walk away, it is just to make a potty stop or grab something I forgot, but Randy's point is well taken.
Rich
Scott
Maybe fifteen or more years ago when converting our club from DC to DCC I made a cart with incline back and a couple blocks of wood to put my 90 watt solder gun into. Makes sence. I was under the layout doing the wiring change.
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
I used to just set my iron on the desk and set my wire cutters or similar on the cord to keep the tip from touching the table. When done using it, unplug and drap over something to suspend the handle in the air not touching anything.
gregcdon't you need a holder for a hot soldering iron whereever you use it?
For a while I used a piece of firebrick with a little hollowing-out as a 'stand' that would hold a pencil iron on its side with the tip down. I think there are others here who have used tiles, mesh heat-spreading plates from Bunsen-burner use, etc. for similar purposes.
Something else I used: at one point you could buy 'drink holders' for your chair that were molded in one-piece rubber, with a 'socket' for can or bottle and two little weighted 'ears' that went down either side of your La-Z-Boy armrest or whatever. I was even lazier and used these in the bed, flat, as bottle holders ... then discovered that you could hold lamps and similar things stably upright by putting two of these on opposite sides of the lamp upright to give most of the effect of a weighted base without actually needing weight and bulk in the base. This approach, or making strips of weighted-blanket-type material, might be adapted to work with regular iron stands...
Well if you never step on it....
rrinker Lakeshore Sub Rich, I'm with Randy on the benefit of having the holder in the layout. You're still contrained by the cord for the iron itself but having the holder close by, allows me to walk away for a minute if there is something I need or take a rest room break without worrying about how or where I set the iron down. Scott Though even if I am right there, if it will be a while between joints, I turn the knob on mine down to minimum. I USUALLY just turn it off if I leave the room for something - maybe I'm paranoid. It reheats fast enough that it's no big deal. Down in the basement layout area, all the outlets are controlled by wall switches with pilot lights - I shut it all down when I leave eht room. Any tools that might still be plugged in are autoamtically off then. People worry about soldering under the layout - leaving the hot iron on the floor seems like not a great idea to me. OK, my floro is also bare cement and therefore very unlikely to be any sort of fire risk - but I do work barefoot sometimes, Or even soft rubber soles like sneakers aren't going to hold off a hot soldering iron for long. Talk about ouch... Or even kicking the cord and flinging the hot iron against a leg, or into that pile of sawdust and scrap you so neatly swept up to keep the work area clean... again, maybe I'm paranoid and I'm sure there are plenty of things I do that I probably shouldn't (like work with 2x4s and pieces of plywood barefoot) but mostly I want to reduce the chances of a fire. A busted toe because idiot me dropped the end of a 2x4 on my foot while barefoot (and again, sneakers aren't going to help a whole lot - and I'm NOT going to wear my steel toe work boots every time I work on my train layout) is an inconvenience - setting my house on fire is a major problem, even if everyone including the pups gets out safely. --Randy
Lakeshore Sub Rich, I'm with Randy on the benefit of having the holder in the layout. You're still contrained by the cord for the iron itself but having the holder close by, allows me to walk away for a minute if there is something I need or take a rest room break without worrying about how or where I set the iron down. Scott
Rich,
I'm with Randy on the benefit of having the holder in the layout. You're still contrained by the cord for the iron itself but having the holder close by, allows me to walk away for a minute if there is something I need or take a rest room break without worrying about how or where I set the iron down.
Though even if I am right there, if it will be a while between joints, I turn the knob on mine down to minimum. I USUALLY just turn it off if I leave the room for something - maybe I'm paranoid. It reheats fast enough that it's no big deal. Down in the basement layout area, all the outlets are controlled by wall switches with pilot lights - I shut it all down when I leave eht room. Any tools that might still be plugged in are autoamtically off then.
People worry about soldering under the layout - leaving the hot iron on the floor seems like not a great idea to me. OK, my floro is also bare cement and therefore very unlikely to be any sort of fire risk - but I do work barefoot sometimes, Or even soft rubber soles like sneakers aren't going to hold off a hot soldering iron for long. Talk about ouch... Or even kicking the cord and flinging the hot iron against a leg, or into that pile of sawdust and scrap you so neatly swept up to keep the work area clean... again, maybe I'm paranoid and I'm sure there are plenty of things I do that I probably shouldn't (like work with 2x4s and pieces of plywood barefoot) but mostly I want to reduce the chances of a fire. A busted toe because idiot me dropped the end of a 2x4 on my foot while barefoot (and again, sneakers aren't going to help a whole lot - and I'm NOT going to wear my steel toe work boots every time I work on my train layout) is an inconvenience - setting my house on fire is a major problem, even if everyone including the pups gets out safely.
Yes, before the soldering station I had a selection of irons - a 15 watt one for electronics/decoder wires, a 30 watt one for larger electronics, a 45 watt one for track, and an 80 watt one that pretty much never got used, plus a 150 watt gun.
All but the heavy duty gun replaced by one station that I can adjust the heat for the appropriate situation.
richhotrainEd, you raise a good point about "on layout" soldering.
I have several different pencil-type holders. You can buy them separately.
My "go-to" Weller WP-35 in the background, which I added the extra-long cord to (wrapped under the 100/140 gun) is in a separately purchased stand/holder.
Weller_holder by Edmund, on Flickr
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WP35-35-Watt-Professional-Soldering/dp/B000B5YIYS/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=soldering+iron+35+watt&qid=1613411988&sr=8-2
It used to have a porcelain thimble on it but I made that Bakelite one which fits the iron better.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=soldering+iron+holder&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
That WP-35 is a workhorse and I found 35 watts to be plenty for HO track soldering or wire up to #12 or so. One of those other pencil irons is a 60 watt for the times I need the heat.
IMHO, soldering irons are like hammers. Certain ones are suited for specific tasks. A four-ounce ball peen won't drive real track spikes and a ten-pound track maul wouldn't be too keen for driving brads into furniture trim.
Good Luck, Ed
Read one of Randy (rrinker)'s previous comments on pg. 1...
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Has anyone noticed the later Weller soldering guns come with cheap, stiff cords. I bought one because of the name brand and was severly disappointed. I am going to cut the cord off my old one and apply it to the new one.
Grizlump (grouchy German)
Thanks, Randy and Scott. You have both convinced me to go with a soldering station with holder. So, the Xytronic LF-389D, it will be.
Actually I think there is a benefit to using a station on the layout - you set the base unit on top and plug it in, and then you can solder anywhere within the radius of the cord from the base to the handpiece without worrying about dragging the line cord from a regular soldering iron all over the edge of the benchwork.
It all worked out on my last layout, as my workbench and the layout were int he same room, and since I used joiners as my power feeds, they were all soldered at the bench. The only on-layout soldering I needed to do was solder the feeders to the bus, and that was a job for the big gun. This time it will be different, my workbench is upstairs from the layout int he basement. I'm not running up and down every time I need to solder something. More likely I will do what I was going to do, and get a new station - the one I have is 45 watts compared to the 60 watts of the LF389D, and while I never had any problem soldering flex track sections together, I might use the new one down on the layout. Either way, I suspect soon I will have 2 stations, one for the bench, and one to use on the layout. It's not convenient to move one back and forth, plus with my very non-linear way of working, I might work on some track, and then come up and build some of my turnout controllers.
gregc richhotrain So, now, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off with something like a 60 watt soldering iron with the portability to move around the layout with it instead of being tied to a soldering station on the workbench. don't you need a holder for a hot soldering iron whereever you use it?
richhotrain So, now, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off with something like a 60 watt soldering iron with the portability to move around the layout with it instead of being tied to a soldering station on the workbench.
don't you need a holder for a hot soldering iron whereever you use it?
Yeah, I know, hardly a best practice. So, I see your point, greg. That Xytronic soldering station has a holder, so maybe that is the answer to my needs.
Thanks for that comment.
richhotrainSo, now, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off with something like a 60 watt soldering iron with the portability to move around the layout with it instead of being tied to a soldering station on the workbench.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
gmpullman I'm in the Hakko FX888 camp as well. I bought it maybe ten years ago before I was aware of the Xytronic. I use it at my bench. Temperature controlled but no readout, just a blinking LED. I thoroughly enjoy using it. For "on-layout" soldering I have a nice 35 watt Weller that is probably 25 years old. I bought it when I began the layout in 1995. It is grounded and I replaced the cord with one that is fifteen feet long. I got tired of the plug snagging on the layout edge.
I'm in the Hakko FX888 camp as well. I bought it maybe ten years ago before I was aware of the Xytronic. I use it at my bench. Temperature controlled but no readout, just a blinking LED. I thoroughly enjoy using it.
For "on-layout" soldering I have a nice 35 watt Weller that is probably 25 years old. I bought it when I began the layout in 1995. It is grounded and I replaced the cord with one that is fifteen feet long. I got tired of the plug snagging on the layout edge.
Ed, you raise a good point about "on layout" soldering.
I am not sure how important a soldering station is to me, since I do limited workbench soldering. I do rely on the Weller WM120 pencil soldering iron for fine soldering such as wiring and soldering decoders. But, other than that, most of my soldering activity is limited to "on layout" soldering such as feeders to rails and soldering rail joiners in place.
So, now, I am wondering if I wouldn't be better off with something like a 60 watt soldering iron with the portability to move around the layout with it instead of being tied to a soldering station on the workbench.
Thoughts?
Soldering-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
This Weller 7500 can take different heaters. I bought the handle, heaters and tips separately.
Soldering-2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Still have the assortment of other Weller guns and pencil types. One of these Wellers has a sleeve you have to remove to change the tip. Maybe that is the type of tips shown above?
I have a shoebox full of Weller and Hakko tips. Ya never know when you're going to need one
Soldering by Edmund, on Flickr
Regards, Ed
Hello All,
I bought a Hakko FX888D soldering station from TEquipment for just over $100.00 and am thoroughly impressed and satisfied with this unit.
The adage, "You get what you pay for" is completely accurate with this solder station.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
rrinker The Weller, the tip itself is threaded, that's how you remove and change it - just hope it hasn't gotten too badly oxidized before you change it or it will be tough to get out.
not sure. i saw what I tought was a weller similar to the tekPower that had a threaded tip. doesn't match below
the set of six tips below are described as for the tlc100. looks like the 3 screws on the iron can be removed and the tip replaced.
the set of 5 tips are for the the higher quality well soldering irons. they look similar to the ones i had with an iron that had a knurled screw cap so that the tips are easily replaceable depending on the type of work be ing done
the single longer tip is for the tp-13
I keep trying to post this but Kalmbach is having one of its PMS days this morning.
Three basic kinds of 'adjustable iron' probably in order of increasing cost and perhaps failure-proneness:
(1) 'rheostatic' control of the element, from 'low' to 'high'. This may have some 'temperature' calibrations marked for its knob but the actual tip temperature is a crapshoot resultant.
(2) temperature regulation at the element. This involves target-temperature setting relative to some sensing element (which may be displayed as a number) but is still not representative of what is actually happening out at the tip...
(3) actual sensor at, or even in, the tip (e.g. via constantan thermocouple junction and high-temperature insulation in the tip). These can follow soldering action very closely and the displayed number actually closely approximates what's happening 'of actual interest'.
In practice you can 'calibrate' many of the cruder units with one of those cheap IR laser-designator thermometers. With a little more time you can make an empirical table of where you set even cheap irons to get desired tip temperature, or how long it takes for temp to recover or rise when soldering particular materials or make types of joint. For ~$11 periodically, and with alternative uses particularly in this COVID-19 world where even cheap ones work better as 'forehead thermometers' than any of the ones being peddled in drug stores as non-ear noncontact "medical" devices -- you might find that a better use of 'electronics' than complicated purpose-built precision...
I've been using a Yihua 939D for about 6 months and I am very happy with it. Controlled temp, silicone cord, quality construction, standard tips, fast heating. Check it out for another alternative.
George
On Micro Marks's site, you will see two soldering stations.
Soldering Irons & Tips (micromark.com)
One is a Weller, the other looks identical but it's a knockoff brand that actually looks like the Tekpower - knurled knob for the tip and all. NEITHER are temperature controlled. There's a reason that Tekpower has a power control yet sells for no more than a fixed iron.
The Weller, the tip itself is threaded, that's how you remove and change it - just hope it hasn't gotten too badly oxidized before you change it or it will be tough to get out.
Thanks, greg, I edited my prior post to include the TP13.
you might also consider the TekPower TP13 ($24) or a least it's features.
the TP13 has a knurled cap that can be unscrewed to replace the tip and an adjustable temperature control the packaging says it is "like Weller WLC100" but i do not see the knurled cap on the WLC100 and wonder how tips are replaced.
the nice thing about soldering irons with thermo stats is the indicator light usually flashes when the iron reaches temperatures.
the TP13 does not have a thermostat. its' control simply adjusts the power to the tip and i wonder if this is true with other not calibrated in temperature
Rich, I could not be happier than I am with my Weller WESD51, but it is very much on the pricey side of things.
It might not even be made anymore. Searching for it seems to come up with a lot of hits for a Weller WE1010, but none for the WESD51.
EDIT: Whoops, I see your previous post addresses the supercession.
-Kevin
Living the dream.