Need pics of Metcal WS1 work stand magnets - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: BillWojo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 11, 2014, 05:06:58 am
content: Decided to treat my self to a Metcal Solder station. Picked up a PS2E-01 power supply, MX-RM3E hand piece, DS1 desoldering gun and some tips for the hand piece and gun. Was trying to justify the high price of the WS1 work stand for the hand piece as I haven't seen a used one on ebay. So instead I picked up a nice WS4 work stand. The WS4 work stand doesn't have magnets to lower the temp of the tip when it's sitting idle. Probably not a big deal as this is never going to see heavy service as I'm just a hobbyist trying to fix an occasional board or do some simple repairs.Still I'd like to see what kind of magnet is used and the placement of the magnet in relationship to the tip. Maybe a few photo's and even some dimensions would be great. I know a few folks on here have done some mods like this. I have a machine shop to make modifications to my stand so when it arrives I'd like to have some ideas to get started with it.ThanksBillWojo

author: thmjpr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2014, 04:02:48 am
content: Was originally going to make a thread but some of the photos were poor. The magnets look like old school very large hard drive magnets:BTW major flaw with this stand, if you use the brass sponge to clean off the tip, that area is not a sealed compartment. So, after a few months of soldering and you pick up the base, solder falls everywhere...Its a simple fix, but considering how well the rest of the stand is designed I'm surprised they missed it.Silicone added:

author: BillWojo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2014, 05:13:31 am
content: Thanks thmjpr, I like your fix for the leaky base. My power unit and desoldering gun arrived today but I won't get the hand piece or stand till Thursday. I have to say that the build quality of Metcal products is really nice. Surprised like you that they missed that on the WS1 stand.It's been so long since I took a hard drive apart that I forget the shape of the magnets. I see circular arcs (the magnets) on both sides of the tip hole held in place by a steel plate. That gives me some idea on how they made it. Now I need to find some magnets. Thanks for the pics.Take care.BillWojo

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2014, 05:22:22 am
content: I wonder if the WS1 replacement cradle fits in the WS4 stand:https://www.okinternational.com/us-web-store/english/globalnavigation/us-webstore-product-detail?productId=37e2da88-61ab-4363-9e4f-3341ed64a401BTW, the whole WS1 stand is about $62, how much did you save getting the WS4 one?http://www.hmcelectronics.com/product/Metcal/WS1Edit: as far as the hard drive magnets here is an externally linked picture from the interwebs:

author: BillWojo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2014, 12:48:28 pm
content: I paid about half of that but that is a great price for the WS1 stand. I book marked HMC Electronics, thanks for the link. I have a few old drives kicking around, time to tear into one.ThanksBillWojo

author: ikcalB
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 11, 2017, 06:21:25 pm
content: BillWojo: has your modification to the non-sleep stand worked out?

author: tabajaralabs
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2019, 05:28:00 pm
content: I'm also interested if it worked. I got a MX500 metcal station, but came without the workstand, and I don't want to pay $100 and wait 2 months for it