Soldering Irons for PE???

A small iron made for PC work is what you want.  The ones with interchangeable tips are particularly nice.  They make chisel style chips as small as 1/16 in diameter.  For PE work the weakest (least powerful), say a 25 watt, is fine.  Go to an electronics supply place, say Jameco or Digikey, or even try a local Radio Shack store if one is near you.

These small irons are sometimes called pencil irons, and have replaceable heating element/tip units.  Ungar used to be a popular brand.

Or, if you're REALLY old, you will remember the brand names "Weller" and "Wen"!

Thanks guys.  Don, I have one of those chisel point jobs that does nothing- is it possible to break them?      It never gets warm, let alone hot enough to melt the solder.

Dre

Thanks guys.  Don, I have one of those chisel point jobs that does nothing- is it possible to break them?      It never gets warm, let alone hot enough to melt the solder.

 

Yes, they do burn out.  That is why the replaceable element type were so nice.  Mfgs seem to be going away from the "everything replaceable" types, now, though.

And with soldering, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is the thing to remember.  You can not get things to clean.  Use fine solder that has a resin core - DO NOT use an acid core or flux for PE or Electronic soldering.

Use an alcohol swab just prior to applying heat, and use glove to keep your finger oils & acids off the parts.

Reid

OMCUSNR

And with soldering, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" is the thing to remember.  You can not get things to clean.  Use fine solder that has a resin core - DO NOT use an acid core or flux for PE or Electronic soldering.

 

Use an alcohol swab just prior to applying heat, and use glove to keep your finger oils & acids off the parts.

 

Reid

I second Reid's post.  Many other modelers give me a hard time for recommending rosin core solder, but you do not need acid core for soldering brass.  You might for stainless steel, but certainly not brass.  If you are having trouble soldering brass, either you did not clean it, or the parts are not hot enough (temp does not need to be that hot for most solders), or your technique is bad.

As far as heating the parts, melted solder is a heat conducting agent. If the solder does not flow, the assembly is not hot enough.  Solder should not be worked like a paste, it should flow like a cream.

                            Being a Digi-key employee and a modeler I have access to anything in thier cat. .Just go to thier online catalogue and check it out. Do not be fooled by the red label irons that often sell for under 20.00,its the blue label wellers that have the replaceable tips.Please feel free to pm me.And that goes to anyone who may be interested.

                                              Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley