[Shop-talk] soldering iron

[BJNoSHOV8]

I have more experience with the solder "guns" than the solder "pens".  
It seems to me that if your pen has a long narrow point then it cannot 
conduct heat fast enough down to the point.  Depending on what you are 
soldering, the mass of it can soak up the heat faster than it can be 
applied.  Maybe a blunter tip could work better.

I've noticed that some solder pens besides coming with different tips, 
they have different heating elements as well, i.e. they are rated at 
different wattages.  So depending on what you are soldering you might 
match the wattage of the tip to the job.


> I was trying to re-solder the instrument cluster circuit board on my old Volvo and I tried a new Radio Shack pecil type (thin sharp point) soldering iron that I've had for a while but had not used. This thing was useless it never got hot enough to do the job. Today I tested a couple of very old soldering irons from a friend and they got hot quick. Unfortunately they are so old that I could not a brand name on them. Can anyone recommend a brand of good quality soldering irons.