nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
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 Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:54 am Post subject: Shop Note: Soldering iron tip cleaner |
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There have been many tools offered for the purpose
of keeping your soldering iron tip "shinny" during
your labors at the workbench. The one I've used most
over the years is a CELLULOSE, not plastic sponge
damp with water. You can wipe the tip on this surface
and get corrosion and flux-gunk off the tip along
with most of the excess solder.
Over the years I've tried a couple of tip cleaners
that looked like that Chore Boy dish scrubber you
find at the grocery store. The made-for-workbench
tip cleaner came with a cup stuffed with the cleaning
medium that you could poke the tip into before approaching
a new joining. The things were pretty expensive compared
to the wet sponge and just didn't catch on with
me.
A couple days ago, I spotted some stainless steel
clones of the aforementioned dish scrubber in a
Dollar General store. Two of the biscuit-sized
critters for $1. Hmmmmm . . .
In the days since, I've found it handy to stuff
a wad of this material into the center of a spool
of solder. This keeps the tip cleaner handy when you're
off-bench. My Metcal iron-rest has a cavity at the
rear which seemed to beg for a stuffing of "stainless
steel flat-wire". I'm pleased to report that the mis-
application of this product has proven satisfactory
and preferable to the wet-sponge. You don't need to
keep a water bottle handy. You can have a cleaner built
into every spool of solder. You can build your own
clone of the $high$ soldering accessory for
under a buck. The tool seems to offer a much longer
service life than a sponge and it does a better
job.
Bob . . .
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