On 11/29/2010 10:41 AM, homer wrote:

On Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:26:05 -0500, wrote:

How do you know when your soldering iron is tinned?
I keep mine plugged in for 5-10 minutes then when I try tin it, the
solder beads up and just drips offs. It doesn't seem to "wet" the
tip.
Is it suppose to wet the tip of the soldering iron?

I'm using non lead solder, 95%Sn, 5% Sb (Tin/Antimony).
Rosin core.

Also, when 1 solder two wires together, I twist the wires together,
then hold the iron to one side of the wire and hold the solder to the
opposite site. The wire should get hot and soak up the solder, right?
I've been practicing but it seems to be hit or miss so far.

Bonnie

Does no one use Sal Ammoniac to keep their soldering tips clean
anymore?
Not for electrical soldering. As to cleaning, sanding, filing, etc.
a lot depends on the tip itself. Good electronic soldering tips
should not be filed as the plating in place, will no longer be
there. For electronics tips, use, as someone said, a wet sponge.
If the tip is really corroded, use a bunch of paper towels folded up
and wet with water, and then scrub the tip on the paper. This works
a little better than the sponge. Also, you can gently scrape the
tip with a knife for even a screw driver to remove some of the
oxidation. I have a small tin of electronic flux (I've had it
sooooo long that it was about 15 cents on the stick-on price tag)
which I will occasionally dip the tip into. This helps clean it up
also. Also, temperature regulated irons keep the tip cleaner by not
cranking the temp so high that oxidation occurs rapidly.