On Sun, 7 Oct 2018 11:58:41 -0700, John Robertson
wrote:

4. Clean the enamel off the wires with sandpaper before you solder.

Sandpaper may be too aggressive if a rough grit, that can introduce
scratches to the copper leaking to the potential for breakage. I suggest
using something more like wet/dry emery cloth of about 1000 grit - true,
it is another sandpaper, but less likely to scratch.

I'm using 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper for removing enamel. No reason
other than it seems to last longer than the finer grits and I have a
fair number of sheets. For very thin magnet wire or litz wire, I use
finer sandpaper. If I want to scrape off the insulation, I use a
moderately dull edge kitchen knife that won't cut or gouge the copper
wire. If I try to solder magnet wire that still has some coating on
the wire and was not tinned, I get a black carbonized blobs, like in
the photo.

This looks handy - so I've ordered a couple for the shop:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352464262209
Nice to be able to check calibrations by comparison.

I have one of those. It's a counterfeit clone and is not made by
Hakko. This is what the real FG-100 looks like:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Hakko-FG100-02-Thermometer-Fahrenheit-Fg-100-US-Authorized-Dealer/361688237097
Note the price. I haven't bothered to verify the calibration on mine,
but it seems to indicate what I would expect.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558