View Single Post
Old 13th Oct 2006, 10:11 pm   #6
Skywave
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Chard, South Somerset, UK.
Posts: 7,457
Exclamation Re: Weller Magnastat TCP-1

Soldering iron bit for a TCP-1.

A bit of advice (yes, pun intended!) . . .

DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, file the end!
The "business" end of the tip is plated over the copper beneath. If you file away - or even make a small hole in the plating - the copper beneath will very quickly migrate into subsequent solder joints, leaving a cavity at the end of the bit. The bit is then useless.

The important thing with these bits is always keep them clean - hence the sponge pad. And don't use the iron for making holes in plastic by melting. This causes non-recoverable contamination of the plating, and any further soldering with it will be impossible.

By and large, they are quite good irons for lightweight soldering. The only occasional problem is a bit that either won't get warm (let alone hot) or a bit that gets far too hot. The usual cause of this trouble is a sticky thermostat switch inside the handle. This 'stat is available as a spare part.

BTW ~ Note: TCP-1 = lightweight soldering. If you find yourself needing to do medium to heavyweight stuff, you need a much more powerful iron. Personally, my favourite is the RF-powered "Metcal" - will solder almost any chunk of copper - snag is, though, they are very expensive!

Hope some of that helps.

Al.

Last edited by Skywave; 13th Oct 2006 at 10:14 pm. Reason: Typo
Skywave is offline