soldering tips

[ZAGNUT]

once upon a time i filed down the grungy, black tip of my cheapie hakko 30W iron to a nice, fine chisel point for some SMD work and noticed that it's made of brass.
worked fine for SMD but through-hole parts would eat a nice groove in the tip after soldering 50 or so leads....no problem, it's only 4mm brass rod and i've got lots of that so i just made a bunch of tips and have been happy ever since...

until now...every site i go to about soldering states that the tips are COPPER with all kinds of nickel and iron plating and that they need to be babied as if they cost $100 a piece.

am i missing something here? is that tiny bit of brass that gets eaten up going to contaminate my solder joints? am i too cheap for my own good? :)


dave

[Mr.RC-CAM]

You can use brass or copper if you want. That bare material will require cleanup with a file on a ongoing basis. It will oxidize fast too if you don't tin it often. If you are happy with your soldering equipment and enjoy making your own tips, then you are good to go.

I use a Weller iron with temperature controlled tips that appear to be iron clad. I don't baby them at all and they last a long time. Just a wipe on the sponge is all that is needed to keep them happy. They cost about $7 each. But it works out to be a couple bucks per year, even with very active use. ;)

RC-CAM

[ZAGNUT]

thanks, if it's just a maintenance issue i'll stick with the cheapo iron and DIY tips. i solder up lots of custom LED lighting strips for bars and nightclubs and have never felt that i need anything more advanced.

if i spent $7 on a tip someone would probably use it as a screwdriver...


dave