Soldering iron questions

moody07747 said:

Maplin ship to the US?

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How much would you expect the shipment cost?With that added upon the price,I would take a better look in a local store if I were you.

moody07747 said:

Maplin ship to the US?

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I've no idea?, but Antex are available in the USA, look at https://www.antex.co.uk/ and select 'Distributors'.

Just an alternative to Weller, or anything else - they use iron plated bits that slide over the element, giving better heat transfer than those where the bit slides inside the element.

i really hate to spend aver $40 for a soldering iron but it looks like you have to to get something that will last

i don't have a job currently so im not looking to buy anything until i get a job and start getting some income

i was looking at ebay and there's a $100 digital temp controlled unit but i was looking at this $70 unit

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does it look like it will last?

as for a sponge ill just go to shop right and pick a nice blue one up and weld a small aluminum container for it...will be great Alu. TIG welding practice

moody07747 said:

as for a sponge ill just go to shop right and pick a nice blue one....

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So you have thought.

Not any sponge will do. The sponge has to withstand the solder melting temperature and not damage or else how can you wipe clean the tip.

moody07747 said:

as for a sponge ill just go to shop right and pick a nice blue one up and weld a small aluminum container for it...will be great Alu. TIG welding practice

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The right sponge comes in large sheets like dried vegetable as thin as a CD.Retailers cut it into small rectangular pieces that can fit in the container for it.One piece of it only costs 25 cents in here.Or it will be 2 USD in NJ?Anyway it's not worth the risk of having ordinary sponge sticking and oxidizing over your solder tip.The smoke smells and will perhaps damage the plate.

Soldering an aluminum container?I just remember trying to solder aluminum alloy.There was absolutely no way to adhere any solder to it.Don't know whether pure aluminum would work.If you fail,try copper,it's much easier.But I still prefer using other things like a shallow cap or something to hold the sponge.Good luck.

Alex_rcpilot said:

Soldering an aluminum container?I just remember trying to solder aluminum alloy.There was absolutely no way to adhere any solder to it.Don't know whether pure aluminum would work.If you fail,try copper,it's much easier.But I still prefer using other things like a shallow cap or something to hold the sponge.Good luck.

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He didn't say 'soldering', he said 'TIG welding', which is rather a different thing!.

Anyway, aluminium is OK to solder, but you MUST use specific aluminium solder - it uses a completely different type of flux, and will solder aluminium and stainless steel.

With normal solder/flux you don't have a prayer!.

What a big mistake!It feels like I'm getting old :lol: ,even couldn't remember what I'd read before.

I searched the web and found out what TIG-welding is.I never seen anyone doing this before.It requires a set of equipments and maybe a can of argon.Sounds interesting.

Anyway, aluminium is OK to solder, but you MUST use specific aluminium solder - it uses a completely different type of flux, and will solder aluminium and stainless steel.

With normal solder/flux you don't have a prayer!.

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Well that's something new.I've always been told stainless steel can't be soldered.Maybe it's because everybody here welds it,and aluminum as well.Thank you for the correction.

The iron on EBay is $79.98 incl shipping, it can be bought retail for the same price, no risk of it getting bid up:

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It is good that you didn't order the British iron. It would need a 230V to 120V matching transformer, wouldn't it?

All the digitally controlled irons at work failed. Either the temp adjustment pot became intermittent, or the digital circuitry was fried by lightning. The mechanical "crude" temp-controlled Weller irons continued to work well.

thanks for that link....ill buy one once i sell some of those LED light kits for those e-drums...