[Shop-talk] soldering iron

[Douglas Braun]

One more tip on choosing a soldering iron:  Some really cheap ones
have a plain copper tip.  The melted solder will slowly dissolve the
copper, forcing you to regularly file the tip back to a useful shape.
Any "real" soldering iron will have an iron-plated tip that melted
solder will not erode.  The only downside (a very minor one) is that
you have to keep the tip properly tinned to protect the iron.

Doug