[Boatanchors] Weller Soldering tips

[Bob W5UQ]

I have been using Weller since 1952 and you are 100% right Ken.  Just 
like anything else, take care of it.  Learn what care it needs.

I just traded my Jeep Grand Cherokee, that I dearly loved, for a new 
model.  Went from 2000 to 2011.
My 2000 Jeep looked new inside.  The engine looked fairly new even 
though it had 136,000 plus miles on it.
I changed the liquids, etc. on time and it gave me faithful service.  We 
drove it all over the USA, even to Canada and Mexico.

Our tools need to be taken care of too.  However, I have to admit that 
some of my tools aren't taken care of like I should.  And, I have to 
admit that I really don't clean my soldering tips as often as I should.  
I have three soldering stations, an expensive Hako, a Weller and an Edsyn.
Thank you for bringing this subject up.  I will be more diligent in 
their care in the future.
I had slipped into bad habits without realizing it.

Bob Hardie
W5UQ
PS... I use my big Weller gun periodically and it "does the job".  
Distributing the heat "IS the secret" and knowing how to do so.

and the beat goes onnnnnn!

Good will and happiness is contagious.
So don't stop spreading it.

SEE my website: W5UQ.com
aka: A25UQ, V31UQ&  VP2EEU.
QRZ.com is accurate for all calls.
I Will be adding ZF2UQ in July.



On 4/15/2011 3:32 PM, Ken Kaplan wrote:
> Interesting how everyone has a favorite soldering tool. I have used a
> Weller TCP-1 since the 1970's. I've changed the tip about 3 times. I
> also have a Wen 250 watt gun that I got around 1960. Keeping tips
> working on the gun was a challenge until I learned how to better care
> for them. I've actually used the gun to assemble a Heathkit OM-3 scope.
> Trick is to manage the heat. About a year ago, I worked for a company
> that repaired large UPS systems. The systems used thick circuit boards
> with lots of foil. I had to pre-heat the board with a very hot air
> blower and use the Wen gun to remove some IGBTs. As long as the Wen tip
> is clean at its connection points, cold to solder melt time is less than
> 5 seconds. There have been times where I have needed to wear a glove
> because the gun case got too hot to hold.
>
> Keep the tips clean with a wet sponge and/or stainless steel scrub pad
> and things should be fine. Don't file or grind them or their plating
> will be removed. Geesh, I just realized that I've been using the Wen for
> 51 years and the Weller for 36 years. YMMV
>
> Ken kb7rgg
>
> On 4/15/2011 12:42 PM, David C. Hallam wrote:
>> I don't think Wen makes soldering guns anymore.  I had several and got
>> rid of them because I couldn't get replacement tips.  I got tired of
>> waiting for the tip to get hot and replacing burned out tips.  Besides a
>> soldering iron is much more practical for radio work.  I now use a nice
>> Hako soldering station and a great big old iron if I have to do
>> something like unsoldering a capacitor can from a chassis.  I could
>> never get enough heat from a 200W Weller gun I have to do that job.
>>
>> David
>> KW4DH
>>
>> On 4/15/2011 3:25 PM, Paul Kraemer wrote:
>>> DoesWEN still have those plated iron tips? That is a big advantage of using
>>> a Weller if you care about craftsmanship. Only thing I ever thought a WEN
>>> was good for was starting the charcoal in the bbq and doing wood burning
>>> projects.
>>> I have three different Weller guns from 70w to 250w and all are great for
>>> some purpose.
>>> Precision soldering is always done with a temperature controlled iron either
>>> a Weller or a Hako with an appropriate wattage tip.
>>> Paul K0UYA
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "john fitzsimmons"<w3jn at yahoo.com>
>>> To: "David Knepper"<collinsradio at comcast.net>
>>> Cc:<boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
>>> Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 11:13 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Weller Soldering tips
>>>
>>>
>>> Get an old Wen soldering gun and you'll have almost instant tip heating and
>>> you'll never need to mess with tips again. I have my dad's old Wen from
>>> about 1960, and have never replaced/tightened/otherwise messed with/ the
>>> tip.
>>>
>>> Why Wellers are so popular is beyond me. They have a truly terrible design.
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