Stable Solder Iron Rest
Some rests for soldering irons on the market, and almost all of those made by the home constructor, have a tendency to get hot and burn the insulation from test leads which accidentally touch them. Some of these stands, especially the wire types, have a tendency to tip, spilling the hot iron on schematics, etc. An excellent stand which doesn't heat up and which is very stable is an old insulator of the type used on telephone poles (see sketch). The depression in the top serves to hold the iron in a natural cradle, and the flanges serve to make an efficient radiator. The porcelain types seem to work the best, although a glass unit may be used. The insulators can be obtained anywhere the telephone company is replacing chipped insulators, or they may be purchased at any electrical wholesale store for a few cents each.
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PC Desoldering
I recently found myself struggling with the removal of a defective six-connection oscillator coil from a radio's printed circuit board. Trying to remove a connection only resulted in the solder cooling-off before I could complete removal from its mounting hole. After spending a considerable amount of time and patience before successfully pulling out one connection, I hit upon an idea.
Using an air compressor that I keep at my bench, I applied air through a fine nozzle, from the opposite side of the board, while I heated a connection. The air prevented overheating and each lead came out quickly and easily. In addition, unlike various PC soldering tips I have used, it cleaned the holes of excess solder--facilitating mounting of the new oscillator coil.
High-Low Solder Iron Heat
The unit illustrated will save many a hand from being burned; it will also save wear and tear on the soldering iron. It is a low-cost heat control for the iron that, with the flick of a switch, will provide normal heat for regular use or a lower heat for keeping the iron in a stand-by condition on the bench, when it is not in immediate use. It is also a convenient method of reducing the heat of a conventional iron for such low-heat soldering techniques as are required on printed circuit boards. For particular applications, the value of the dropping resistor may have to be adjusted.
------- Switch for low or regular solder iron heat.
Clay Holds Small Parts
In assembling small units or a number of components for soldering, the work will often be made easier by clamping or sticking the objects together in a wad of children's modeling clay during the soldering process. The clay can be shaped to hold firmly any irregular pieces. Also, the clay will conduct away or dissipate the heat needed for the soldering operation. In addition, it will keep its shape when subjected to the heat of the soldering iron.
Neat Solder Dispenser
Odd lengths of solder used to be a nuisance on the bench until this handy trick was discovered. A length of solder is rolled around an ordinary pencil, to the shape shown in the illustration, and the pencil is removed. One end of the solder can then be pulled out through the "handle" as needed, and used down to the last inch without getting tangled or cluttered. I have found that a 6-foot length of solder (no. 18 size) makes the most convenient dispenser, with a 3-in. grip, and lasts more than a week. It appears as shown in the illustration. To summarize: Roll solder on pencil; remove pencil; push last six inches back through roll; pull out as needed.
------ Handy solder dispenser prevents loose scraps.
Easier Soldering
Hammer cored or plain wire solder flat, before use in delicate operations where the solder must be melted instantly to avoid overheating the work. Hammered flat, the solder will flow almost at contact of the soldering iron.
Soldering Aid
Need a third hand to solve the problem of holding small parts while they are being soldered? A test clip was attached to a solder spool with a small self-tapping metal screw.
The hole in the clip had to be enlarged slightly and a small hole punched in the spool's flange to give the screw a start.
The clip may be used to hold either the work, or the end of the solder. Additional clips may be kept with the spool, to be used as clamps when the parts to be soldered cannot be brought within reach of the solder spool.
--------- Convenient clamp on solder spool holds work.
Soldering to Lugs
We all have trouble, at one time or another, in trying to solder a new wire to the hole in a soldering lug, or in trying to replace wires or leads in such a soldering lug, where there are already several wires using the same terminal point. This difficulty can be overcome by the use of an ice-pick. The pick is shoved through the hole in the lug or terminal while the heat of the soldering iron is being applied, and it is kept in position as the tie point is permitted to cool.
After the terminal has cooled, the pick is withdrawn. This leaves a convenient round hole of good size, large enough to feed a couple more wires through.
Solder Iron Tinning Tip
As soon as you buy a new soldering iron, or when you have to clean or re-tip one you already have, remove the tip and heat it with a blow torch to the high temperature required for melting silver solder. Flux the tip, if necessary, then allow silver solder to flow all over the soldering surface, practically plating it. When the tip has cooled, it is inserted in the soldering iron. You now have a tip which will always stay bright and never require re-flexing, re-tinning or filing. The silver coating will not deteriorate because the normal operating temperatures of the iron will not approach the melting point of silver solder.
Solder Feeder
-------- Clothespin holder makes a handy solder dispenser and serves as "3rd
hand." A useful wire solder feeder that serves as a "3rd hand" and
keeps the solder handy and easy to locate, is made from two spring-type clothespins,
a small bracket and an empty spool. Simply fasten the clothespins together,
handle-to-handle, and add a small corner bracket. Mount the spool atop the
projecting bracket by means of a small bolt. It should turn easily. Wind the
solder on this spool and bring the end of it to the sharpened jaws of one of
the clothespins, as shown at left. The jaws of the other clothespin may he
used as a clamp for holding the device to any protrusion (edge of chassis or
brace, etc.) or as a handle.
Solder Gun Mount
The accompanying sketch shows a soldering gun connected to a wire loop, by means of which the gun can be hung within reach but out of the way under or over the work bench, or elsewhere in some convenient place near it. The wire hook is made of no. 14 or some other comparable heavy wire, fashioned into the form of a loop with two small loops, one at each end. Most soldering guns have a long bolt that goes through the plastic case as shown, holding the case together. The two loops are fastened to the gun at either end of this bolt.
Since one accidental fall from the work bench may be enough to break the entire gun case, this means of keeping the gun out of harm will be useful in preventing such accidents.
Space Saver
To save space in my already overcrowded tube caddy, I cut off all but a short length of the line cord on a small soldering iron and installed a male interlock type of plug.
-------p56 Cheater cord plug attached to shortened line cord on soldering iron, saves space.
--------- Details for adding wire hook, used to hang soldering gun out
of harm's way, to gun case.
I can now connect the iron directly to the cheater cord. A small iron helps to conserve space, and is suitable for work on printed circuits.
Soldering to Heavy Cable
-------- REMOVE THIS TIP,FIRST. THEN PLACE LUG AGAINST THE TWO POSTS AS
SHOWN IN THE BOTTOM DRAWING, AND PULL TRIGGER WHILE APPLYING SOLDER.
In shops where auto radios are repaired, it is often necessary to solder a large lug to a heavy wire cable. This calls for a big, hot iron, and lots of time. The job can be done very quickly, however, by using a gun, as shown in the drawing. First remove the tip from the gun. Then place the lug to be soldered against the two metal posts, as shown, and turn on the switch for a short period, while solder is applied. The method outlined works much faster than one using a simple, old-type iron. The high current drain will not harm the gun over a short period.
Solder Dispenser
A very convenient, easy to use, solder dispenser can be made from a 5" or 6" length of hollow tubing 3/8" or 1/2" in diameter. I use a hollow composition type alignment tool.
A length of solder is first fed straight through the tube until it protrudes a few inches from one end. Winding is started at the opposite end and solder is wound around the tube until covered with one layer. It is then cut off.
The holder is used like a pencil, and when more solder is needed at the "feed-end" it is simply pulled out from the tube, easily unwinding from the other end.
---------- Made from a length of hollow tubing, this handy solder dispenser
is used like a pencil-eliminating a spool or loose coil.
------- This pot facilitates fine work on small parts.
Home-Made Soldering Pot
For tinning small parts, a convenient soldering pot can be constructed quickly in the following way: An Ungar soldering tip (No. 539) was used in this particular case. The tip is filed slightly to remove the point, and then a hole with a 4D-in. diameter is drilled to a depth of about % in. at the filed end. The entire tip is then screwed into a standard candelabra socket, to which the 115-volt line is easily connected. Exposed contacts on the socket should be insulated to avoid the possibility of shock.
Resoldering Phone Tips
Frequently, because no new unit is at hand, it becomes necessary to repair a break that has developed in a much-needed test lead or phone cord. The wire in these cords is often delicate and hard to handle; it tends to fray and bend when an attempt is made to insert the wire into the phone tip, as indicated in sketch A. To avoid this difficulty, wind a piece of thin no. 30 bare wire in a spiral shape around the wire that is to be inserted into the phone tip (see B). This keeps the end of the wire stiff, holds the loose ends in shape and keeps them from fraying out. It now becomes very easy to insert the wire into the phone tip, which is held in a vise, and resolder it, as shown in sketch C. Tin the no. 30 wire lightly after it has been wound around the broken end of wire that is being worked on, and before the end is inserted in the tip.
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----------- Handy holster keeps solder gun ready for use, but out of harm's
way when net in operation.
Solder iron Tip Removal
When it's necessary to remove the copper tip of a soldering iron to replace it, a lot of time can be saved with this simple procedure. Sop a small amount of household ammonia around the tip, and in the recess around it. The tip can be withdrawn easily in a few seconds.
Solder Gun Holster
When left lying around indiscriminately on the work bench, to be handy for use, soldering guns usually take quite a bit of abuse. To protect the gun from such abuse by getting off the bench surface while at the same time keeping it practically at your fingertips, you can construct a simple holster for it.
Use an ordinary metal drawer pull that has screw holes on each side.
Screw this drawer handle to any fiat vertical surface on or near the work bench at a desirable angle (see the illustration) so that the soldering gun can be placed in it conveniently for easy withdrawal. If properly located, this holster keeps the gun quick and easy to get at, but also keeps it out of the working area when not in use.
Gun Holster
Instead of letting the soldering gun flop around the workbench, a wood stand built on a 45° angle keeps it handy for instant use. Cut a hole in the upright piece of wood to receive the gun body. See illustration.
-------- Soldering-gun holder.
--------- Cellophane tape is extra hand for soldering.
Extra Hand for Soldering
Holding small parts together while soldering them can be quite a task. A piece of pressure sensitive tape, such as transparent cellophane tape, will take the place of an extra hand or so-you only have two hands, you know! The accompanying photograph illustrates the point. A capacitor and a resistor are being soldered in parallel. The leads are to be kept rather short in this case. The tape is holding the resistor to the body of the capacitor. The tape may easily be removed after the soldering is completed and the "holding operation" is no longer required. In most cases, the tape can be left intact without causing any ill effects.
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------ Magnets holds soldering iron to chassis, metal cabinet, etc., for
safety and convenience.
3rd Hand for Soldering
Here is an insulated vise which I have been using successfully for many years. It does not draw heat from the work and it is portable. It is wonderful for small delicate work--i.e., RCA-make phono plug wiring, xtal wiring and other cases where a third hand would be most welcome.
Magnetic Soldering Iron
We use a number of pencil type soldering irons in our shop. To keep them handy when needed, and yet out of the way, I have attached a small magnet to each handle. The iron sticks to the metal chassis. This makes it especially handy on cabinet and rack equipment. The magnets were taken from magnetic door catches and held in place by #16 copper wire.
Since most of these/ pencil type soldering irons can accommodate a 6 or 7 watt intermediate base light bulb in place of the iron tip this arrangement is also convenient on home service calls to light up the inside of a TV cabinet. -Ed.
Iron Cord Holder
To prevent a soldering iron cord from tangling with components on the work bench or burning its own cord, I use an ironing cord holder, as shown below. The holder is a rod attached to a flexible spring and the spring can bend in any direction.
This holder can be purchased at almost any department store and clamps easily to the edge of the bench.
---------- Cord holder prevents burning and tangling with components on
work bench.