Solder Iron tips types - per Job requirements - what does the forum say? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: roli_bark
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 11:39:55 am
content: What type of tip will suit the best forThru Hole / Smd work - pointed, chisel, chisel knife, slotted?Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 12:52:06 pm
content: What type of iron do you have?

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 01:03:08 pm
content: I collect them; yes, i'm a solder tip collector. Soooo, take them all if you can afford, you will find a use for them in the future.Sent from my home using 2 fingers.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 01:13:50 pm
content: Chisel tip in 3 sizes, like 4mm 2.4mm 1.5mm plus one small conical(pointed)~4mm chisel for heavy soldering like heavy gauge wire or chips with large metal heasinks attached.~2.0-2.4mm chisel for general use SMD/TH~1.5mm chisel for general SMD use when above tip is too bigSmall conical for special SMD useDon't get any chisel tips so small you cant easy tell which orientation the chisel is pointing.1.5mm is probably the smallest you'd want to go, however it does depend how sharp the chisel is.The 900M 0.8mm hakko chisel tip is about as tall as it is wide so it's more like a conical and totally useless since you can't see which is the flat side.

author: ben_r_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 04:48:31 pm
content: OP what iron do you have?

author: roli_bark
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 05:10:20 pm
content: Thanks psi.For what it worths, I have an old Hakko 936. Why does it matter?

author: John Coloccia
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 05:12:56 pm
content: I tend to keep a chisel tip just about the same size as the solder pads in my iron 99% of the time. A good solder station will dump plenty of energy into the tip for some larger soldering jobs, and on even larger jobs a little gob of solder on the tip will effectively make heat transfer even better. I do use a large tip for truly large jobs, like soldering to the back of a pot, but that's pretty rare.It helps to feed the solder somewhat slowly, or in short jabs. That keeps the joint supplied with a constant supply of flux. That's how you get those beautiful, shiny, flowed out joints on solder tabs and things like that. That's also why it's pretty important to use a separate flux if you're going to drag solder something....all the flux is gone from the solder on the tip in the first couple of seconds.

author: ben_r_
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 05:23:41 pm
content: Quote from: roli_bark on June 28, 2013, 05:10:20 pmGot one of those myself and use it all the time. Matters because then we can recommend to you even specific model numbers for tips, give further personal experiences and know whats out there for your model.

author: Chet T16
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2013, 05:43:00 pm
content: I had a 2.4mm chisel tip for my Atten (936 type clone) and it was used for everything, i have the same for my JBC but rarely use it as the conical tip is so good at transferring heat.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2013, 09:49:31 am
content: Quote from: ben_r_ on June 28, 2013, 05:23:41 pmYour right sir.

author: poodyp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2013, 01:11:39 pm
content: I've found a bent conical tip to be my keep-in-my-iron-most-of-the-time tip.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2013, 01:39:13 pm
content: i hope not all your posts are going to end in 'what does the forum say'...depends on the job at hand. i have a bunch of soldering ironssmd tweezers , wrs3000 with hot air , big flat tip , medium flat tip. mt1500 with all kinds of tips from needles to plcc and tqfp removal heads

author: roli_bark
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2013, 01:36:27 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on June 29, 2013, 01:39:13 pmWhy not? isn' t this what the "forum says" is all about?

author: cthree
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2013, 04:27:23 am
content: Because its redundant and obvious?I use a 2.5mm screwdriver tip mostly and a fine pencil tip for really fine work.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2013, 04:34:03 am
content: Exactly, most people end up sticking to what they are comfy with, theres no single tip for a specific type of job for everyone. Unless of course you are talking about those square special tips for ICs pins.

author: Spunky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 11:10:39 pm
content: Years ago I used to have a sewing needle as a tip to solder the heads back onto hard drives, all in the interest of data recovery. Usually the old quantum bigfoot drives if you remember them, the heads used to swing far enough to get thrown off.I think my eyesight and patience were a lot better then though.