Grozer’s Corner
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I have been doing stained glass for well over 20 years now and there seems to be an on going debate on how to clean and maintain the tip of soldering irons. After doing some research on this process and talking with numerous people I’m sure that this debate will go on for years to come. With that in mind, over the past couple of weeks I have been in contact with several manufactures of soldering equipment to see what they recommend in the maintenance of their soldering irons. I was told everything from using a special paste that only this or that manufacture had, to using the age old tradition of the Sal-Ammoniac block. Through it all the one main theme that did seem to be a consistent item was that you should always be wiping the tip of your iron over a damp sponge after each use.

The big debate was what to do when the tip was now full of gunk that the sponge was no longer removing and the tip is not soldering well. How do you re-tin the tip? Most tips today are a copper core with a few microns of iron placed over the copper and then the tips are etched and a layer of tin placed over the iron and copper. That tined area is only the last portion of the entire tip, the last fractions of inches and what seems to be the most important part of the tip cleaning is just that “the tip” the working end of the iron.

Here is what we found and are doing with our tips and seem to be having relative good success with the process. Take your iron and heat it up to only about 300ºF, use your rheostat if needed, the object is not to get the iron real hot, just hot enough to melt solder. Once your iron is hot, dip only the tip into Nokorode paste flux or FS-100 from Hakko immediately wiped the tip on a damp sponge. Look at the tip and repeat if necessary. After you have done that process once or twice take some 60/40 solder and melt it on the newly cleaned tip, unplug and let it cool off.

It is important to note that this process is not something that you are doing each and every day, but rather something you are doing when the tip is no longer doing what it is suppose to do and the tip is filled with gunk.

We like this method better than the Sal-Ammoniac block for a couple of reasons. There seemed to be less smoke given off which is a bonus, the process was quicker and the tips seem to be cleaner. Again, these are just our opinions, but seem to be working rather well on all our irons, sixteen of them to be exact, everything from Weller, Hakko, Hexacon and others.

OK, I’ve had several of you ask about placing your newly made stained glass window into an existing opening that already has glass in it. Not a problem! The main thing you have to remember is that you need to generate an area between your window and the existing window to allow air to move through that space. Should you seal it tight you will more than likely have moisture build up between those windows and that will cause damage to the windows and frames.

A fast and easy way to do this is with Designer Glass Clips. These clips are a clear plastic and are extremely easy to install in front of dual or single glazed windows. They will not affect the integrity of the existing glass because they are fastened to the trim and not the window. When installed they will form an approximately 1/8” air space which will allow air to circulate thus eliminating moisture and heat build up. And if you don’t like looking at the plastic they can be trimmed out with wood and then stained or painted to match your existing trim.