[Milsurplus] Weller Iron Frustrations

[KD7JYK DM09]

: The copper tips will make about two joints before they go
: Hi-Z at the tip connection points.  I have to either
: tap the tip several times or re-tighten the tip mounting set screws
: to break the oxide barrier and get decent heat.

New iron or old one?  I have several older ones, the newest is maybe fifty
years old, never any problems like you describe, BUT, I do treat them nice
when putting in a new tip.  I polish out the barrel with a bore brush, then
the nuts with a stainless steel wire brush, then the copper tips with a
stainless brush where they enter the nuts.  I tighten, then loosen, the
tighten a little more.  I get the full life of the tips out of this, whether
it be a few months, sometimes years, without having to retighten.

I have had trouble with cheap off brand/foreign tips an especially plated 
tips.

Kurt