Re-plating soldering iron bits
Conundrum, Wed Jun 13 2007, 03:29PMHi all.
This one has been bugging me for a while. For some stupid reason every single cheap soldering iron I have owned, be it iron-over-brass or iron-over copper has failed due to bit erosion.
I have found a way to effectively replate them however.
Obtain a surplus ball point pen, some steel wool, bicarbonate of soda, syringe/needle and soldering iron bit.
Get 100ml of water (ideally deionised) and stir in as much bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) as will dissolve. I used one teaspoon.
Sand the bit and/or shape to correct form to remove SMDs etc then clean it with isopropanol.
Then, get your ball point pen, cut off a 1" section of the barrel and stuff it with steel wool up to the end.
Use the syringe and needle to inject the bicarbonate solution until the wool is saturated.
Poke a small hole in the top of the pen, and insert a multimeter electrode. The other end of the multimeter connects to the positive side of a constant current supply with a maximum voltage of around 12-15V.
Connect the soldering iron bit to the ground side.
Adjust the constant current supply so that the iron bit is *just* bubbling, too high and it may not correctly plate. 0.3A on mine.
You will need to leave the setup at least an hour to plate properly, I recommend removing it after half an hour and gently abrade the plating with a tissue to get rid of any debris.
Hope this helps someone.
-A
Re: Re-plating soldering iron bits
..., Wed Jun 13 2007, 05:20PM
Hmm, I usually just dremel down the tip and go from there. The tips I use are generally solid brass, sometimes I need to add a little flux but I have never had problems with getting the tip tinned.
..., Wed Jun 13 2007, 05:20PM
Hmm, I usually just dremel down the tip and go from there. The tips I use are generally solid brass, sometimes I need to add a little flux but I have never had problems with getting the tip tinned.
Re: Re-plating soldering iron bits
Conundrum, Wed Jun 13 2007, 06:11PM
its not tinning that is the problem, its tip erosion :)
-A
Conundrum, Wed Jun 13 2007, 06:11PM
its not tinning that is the problem, its tip erosion :)
-A
Re: Re-plating soldering iron bits
ragnar, Wed Jun 13 2007, 10:42PM
I've seen some nifty 'rejuvenator' products which are only recently sold at a store where I work. They seem to be just flux and tin, though. GOOT brand, so they can't be too bad, right?
ragnar, Wed Jun 13 2007, 10:42PM
I've seen some nifty 'rejuvenator' products which are only recently sold at a store where I work. They seem to be just flux and tin, though. GOOT brand, so they can't be too bad, right?
Re: Re-plating soldering iron bits
Bored Chemist, Thu Jun 14 2007, 05:51AM
Using a solder that contains copper can help.
Bored Chemist, Thu Jun 14 2007, 05:51AM
Using a solder that contains copper can help.
Re: Re-plating soldering iron bits
thermite, Mon Feb 18 2008, 12:43AM
Your description does not tell what metal is being plated on the copper and what is the anode and what is the cathode.
thermite, Mon Feb 18 2008, 12:43AM
Your description does not tell what metal is being plated on the copper and what is the anode and what is the cathode.
Conundrum wrote ...
Hi all.
This one has been bugging me for a while. For some stupid reason every single cheap soldering iron I have owned, be it iron-over-brass or iron-over copper has failed due to bit erosion.
I have found a way to effectively replate them however.
Obtain a surplus ball point pen, some steel wool, bicarbonate of soda, syringe/needle and soldering iron bit.
Get 100ml of water (ideally deionised) and stir in as much bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) as will dissolve. I used one teaspoon.
Sand the bit and/or shape to correct form to remove SMDs etc then clean it with isopropanol.
Then, get your ball point pen, cut off a 1" section of the barrel and stuff it with steel wool up to the end.
Use the syringe and needle to inject the bicarbonate solution until the wool is saturated.
Poke a small hole in the top of the pen, and insert a multimeter electrode. The other end of the multimeter connects to the positive side of a constant current supply with a maximum voltage of around 12-15V.
Connect the soldering iron bit to the ground side.
Adjust the constant current supply so that the iron bit is *just* bubbling, too high and it may not correctly plate. 0.3A on mine.
You will need to leave the setup at least an hour to plate properly, I recommend removing it after half an hour and gently abrade the plating with a tissue to get rid of any debris.
Hope this helps someone.
-A
Hi all.
This one has been bugging me for a while. For some stupid reason every single cheap soldering iron I have owned, be it iron-over-brass or iron-over copper has failed due to bit erosion.
I have found a way to effectively replate them however.
Obtain a surplus ball point pen, some steel wool, bicarbonate of soda, syringe/needle and soldering iron bit.
Get 100ml of water (ideally deionised) and stir in as much bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) as will dissolve. I used one teaspoon.
Sand the bit and/or shape to correct form to remove SMDs etc then clean it with isopropanol.
Then, get your ball point pen, cut off a 1" section of the barrel and stuff it with steel wool up to the end.
Use the syringe and needle to inject the bicarbonate solution until the wool is saturated.
Poke a small hole in the top of the pen, and insert a multimeter electrode. The other end of the multimeter connects to the positive side of a constant current supply with a maximum voltage of around 12-15V.
Connect the soldering iron bit to the ground side.
Adjust the constant current supply so that the iron bit is *just* bubbling, too high and it may not correctly plate. 0.3A on mine.
You will need to leave the setup at least an hour to plate properly, I recommend removing it after half an hour and gently abrade the plating with a tissue to get rid of any debris.
Hope this helps someone.
-A
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