Help: how to cleverly handle all my soldering iron wiring - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 06:41:06 pm
content: So I got all these new fancy soldering irons and love them!But having more then one or two irons does have its setbacks: I need to find a way to get rid of the wire jungle of these irons.Ideally they would float up or pulled back in when I am finished but I do not see how to do this.Is there someone who has the perfect ideal solution and can show a picture of it? Preferably something that can be bought or easily reproduced.The picture is ofcourse exaggerated, I normally have my irons on a small wooden height and the wires run under it but this is far from ideal.Show me your wire setup please!

author: l0wside
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 08:52:21 pm
content: I have placed the transformer of my lonesome single soldering iron on the board which sits above my lab bench (and also houses the oscilloscope, the PSU, etc.). This has improved things a lot.You might also consider the cable holders used on ironing boards, likehttp://www.ebay.de/itm/like/181796185634?lpid=106&chn=ps&ul_noapp=trueCould be a bit stiff, however.Max

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2016, 11:28:00 pm
content: I would put the irons on the left and the stations on the right and let the cables dangle over the right hand side of the table. Put something on the edge of the table if it's a sharp edge.Even better if you can mount everything on a shelf to the right side of your bench so that the cables just dangle freely.You could also do something like shown in the beginning of this video but it's still going to be messy with several irons.

author: FrankE
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 02:57:51 am
content: The base station is up on a shelf in front of me. The stands and the WSD are under my desk on a bit of ply on top of my PC. The cables and tubes are hooked through a Spar shelving wire divider that isn;t there dividing anything but kinda eveolved to hang things off cables, flashlights, stethoscope, .None of this is by design, it was the only places I could find and be bothered putting things.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 07:29:54 am
content: Those are nice ideas and solutions. To make them practical, the iron wire holder indeed seems to be rigid, I will check them out though in the shop.But how are these wire in the air holder things called in English, like the guy in the video from Shock ?Looks like I can bind the wires in a flexible wirebinder used for hifi equipment but then I still need to have some sort of loose spring air thingy to keep them in the air.Quote from: Shock on April 06, 2016, 11:28:00 pmThat would also be an option indeeda shelf where the stations are on the right of the bench and the wires in some kind of hole dangling. Perhaps even some sort of mechanism to keep the wires apart from eachother.Quote from: l0wside on April 06, 2016, 08:52:21 pmThe price is very right but indeed it might be made for larger forces, I will check it out though, thanks

author: FrankE
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 10:07:05 am
content: Quote from: Shock on April 06, 2016, 11:28:00 pmWith the cables and tubes, yeah. I'd follow more non-destructive techniques though if I wanted to use the ICs again. FLux, lots of flux, braid, reduction in dwell time. For tip hygiene I'd bin the sponge.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 10:59:12 am
content: How about something like this?

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:12:40 am
content: Quote from: EdoNork on April 07, 2016, 10:59:12 amYes that is what l0wside mentioned in his post, I will certainly try to score one and try it out. Probably will be somewhat to sturdy but lets see.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:16:39 am
content: Quote from: Kjelt onTodayat 11:12:40Sorry for the repeat, I didn't read I0wside's post. Credits to him

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:27:08 am
content: Thanks anyway

author: FrankE
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:33:46 am
content: Quote from: EdoNork on April 07, 2016, 10:59:12 amWhat on earth is that?

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:36:29 am
content: Asolderingiron.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:37:04 am
content: Its a "Brabantia Flexguide" an aerial "antenna" to keep the wire between the clothingironstation and the iron from messing up the cloth to be ironed.If you iron clothes a lot you probably want one, if you are an electronics engineer and you solder a lot you might want one, but we will find out

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 02:22:32 pm
content: No picture, but my base and holder sits on the end of a shelf about 12" above the bench. When not in use the iron hangs from the end of the shelf with the cord stuffed out of the way down the back. I move the holder down to the bench top and put the iron in it only when I actually need to solder something. The base unit stays up on the shelf.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:22:44 pm
content: I would do a little spring cleaning and break out the saw to build a shelf under the bench top just tall enough to clear the stations and irons and recessed about 4". At the front and to the right of where I solder. Whichever irons are not being used at the moment go down on the shelf with the stations. The cords will dangle down under the bench surface. You will have to "give up" some of your under-bench storage, but that's dead-mans-land, anyway.Under the front of the bench is a very logical and useful place to put the stations. I have been doing it that way for 6 years. This leaves no cords laying on and/or dragging across the bench surface, ever.QuoteThat works pretty well, too. I'd try putting the stations on the back right and the irons in front of the stations, cords thrown over the right edge.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2016, 11:55:36 pm
content: Here's a pic.My bench has received a hodge podge of modifications over years. I dunno if you can see it, but there's a little bracket behind those test tubes where the iron sits if I want to clear some space. Or I can set my second 888 there if I want to use two irons.On the right, you can see my hot air station, There's actually a slot cut in the bench top where the hose dangles through. I try to keep cords off my working bench surface as much as possible. The little wood barrier keeps my iron holder or other tools from falling over the edge while I'm working.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 07:35:21 am
content: Thanks for the picture, it says more than a lot of wordsOn the right side of my workbench there is a drawer unit, so I am unable to store the stations under the bench.Besides is that not unhandy for changing the temperature etc. ? I like to see what's going on.So my first idea's now are indeed to extend the bench to the right with a shelf or table (more sturdy) where to put the stations and let the wires hang between the bench and the shelf/table.Perhaps place an inch tube or something to guide the wires for preventing them to get strangled, have to think about that.

author: neslekkim
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 02:24:03 pm
content: I have the JBC-DIT station (or what it's called), put the station itself, on an shelf above, and JBC have an cord from the staiton, to the iron-holder, so the cord for the iron, is only attached to the ironholder, not the station itself.Much better than the hakko 888d i have... I also have the JBC CD-2BB(or was it the BA), not so bad either, there the station and theholder is on one unit, and it have the aforementioned rod to hold the lead away.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 05:45:34 pm
content: Ok after work I went to the DIY market to get stuff for my new setup.I built a small sidetable, four ready to go legs of 75cm and a white MDF 650x300mm nothing fancy just wanted to get it going.Placed that at the right to the workbench (as suggested), on the picture it looks higher than the workbench but actually it is a few cm lower.So I realized that the SMT tweezers are only used occasionally in rework say <10% of the time so I set those apart from the rest, I can connect and fetch it when needed, one down four to go.The desoldering iron has a double wire one for vacuum one for electricity which makes it more rigid and harder to handle.So after some thinking and trying I decided to move those twincords to the back, behind the switchbox to the station, so that is also no longer a workbench problem, two down, three to go.Then the three other irons, I did as suggested by some of you (thanks again I really appreciate it) to let the wires just hang down to the side of the workbench.So I am going to experiment with this setup the coming weeks, maybe tweak something but my first try was really a great improvement.Thanks to all that contributed!BTW the rest of the bench is a mess, it is really time to do a spring clean up. Oh boy....

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 06:29:41 pm
content: Well, that was quick! Looks great, too.I wonder still if I would more than rarely need 3 irons on my bench at any given time. I would consider building a shelf under the extension for holding some of the irons, leaving only one or two "on deck" as needed.Quote+1. It would be super rare for me to want to use tweezers. To remove the occasional SMD passives, it is easy enough to use a blob of solder on w/e tip I'm currently using. For removing passives on a large batch of mistake boards, I find it is often worth switching to a knife tip; because you don't have to add any additional solder, you can remove many parts in a row without stopping to remove them from the tip. The removed part will stick in place. Just set the tip down on the next part, pushing the last removed part up the side of the tip. After you collect a stack of 3-4 parts, you can move to a new part of the knife tip and build another stack. Then wipe them all off and start over. This can be faster than tweezers, so long as you have room to use the knife tip!QuoteNot for me. But my bench is 3-4" taller than a normal desk. My 888 is analog, so I can feel where the knob is pointed. (My 888D is also modified so I don't need to look at it). The way the flux smokes off and the time it takes the solder to reflow tells me everything I need to know; and the way those things happen are the reasons why I would adjust the temp, nevermind what the display says. And I suppose my stations are shorter than yours, too, so I'm able to put them up a bit higher than you could.

author: FrankE
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2016, 11:37:31 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on April 07, 2016, 11:37:04 amThat was the bit I recognised. The thing on the left looks alien to me.