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Old 16th Aug 2019, 4:32 pm   #1
Raptornet
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Default Henley Solon iron

I have a 25w model which I've tried and failed to remove the tip from. Fought with it today and copper tip broke free, but left part of the tip inside the iron. The whole insides seem corroded. The electrics are clean, though seem very..for lack of a better word, rudimentary.

Are these worth keeping hold of? Trying to repair? I've had it kicking around the house for ages, stopped using it when it began tripping the fuse box. Which did not impress the other half.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 4:53 pm   #2
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

It depends on whether you consider it just a means of restoring vintage equipment, or whether you value it in its own right. If it's tripping an earth leakage breaker you have another problem to sort out with it as well as the tip.
They were certainly good irons in their day (I had one as a school kid) but personally I would call it a day. There are much better irons available now from a technical point of view - although I'm sure there are people on here who would leap to its defence
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 5:00 pm   #3
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Thanks Chris, from one stand point I don't like throwing stuff away l. Especially old vintage gear, but I'm also not daft enough to use something that is a potential safety hazard. As Michael Palin might say, "I'm only 39, I'm not old!" I've no intention jumping off my mortal coil on the basis of being sentimental :-P

It's gone in the bin, sad to see it go. But one more thing that didn't work out the house!
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 7:02 pm   #4
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

This is a timely thread for me. I'm helping my parents downsize and last week cleared a lot of tools my Dad had. One of these was his Henley Solon, that I also used for a while until I got a Weller for my 18th. Really don't know what to do with it, but it brings back memories, including my youger brother burning his dressing gown by leaning against it, hooked to my desk, while salvaging parts from some piece of junk I'd rescued.

Haven't risked plugging it in and tripping our supply yet!
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 7:30 pm   #5
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I wonder just how many Solons lurk in dark cupboards? I've got the remnants of three 25W irons (maybe I could assemble one good one from them) and I've still got a little 15W iron which has hardly ever been used. I guess that they could easily damage semiconductor components, so perhaps they really are museum pieces at best and de-cluttering fodder at worst?

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Old 16th Aug 2019, 7:54 pm   #6
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

This was my father's, I would have loved to have brought it back to life. I used it for at least a year before it started playing up. I only do hobby level soldering, fixing old computers, putting projects together. I was handy to have in the tool box if for the only reason it had a decent length cable. Unlike the antex 25w I'm using now.

Duncanlowe is the tip on yours stuck in the end? Mine was sadly stuck in like a tick.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 8:00 pm   #7
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I have a 15W Solon in which the tip is non existant. I am not sure if it can be resurrected but still looks in good condition. I also have a larger one (probably 25W) on which the soldering tip is not brilliant, but was still useable last time I looked. They are indoors so probably not deteriorating much. I use an Antex (have done for years), but like to keep them as spares.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 8:24 pm   #8
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I am not sure this will be of much help now, but please see attached PDF copy of the Solon 25W soldering iron instruction sheet. In the past I always found it easier to remove a seized copper tip when it was hot and gripped in a small vice and gently applying rotational pressure both ways until the tip became loose. But don’t forget to remove the split pin first.

Regards, Stan.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 9:36 pm   #9
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Sadly mine is now resting in the bin. I had considered holding on to it, in the event I could get replacement guts.

Just been looking at a 15w Weller as I'd still like an old iron in my toolbox.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 10:11 pm   #10
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I have two in working order, although seldom used, and a third whose bit is also seized and has a broken handle that I am keeping for its element.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 11:43 pm   #11
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I'm the other way around I have a perfectly good handle but a seized up insides. Not sure how I could remove the rest of the solder tip from inside the metal shaft.
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Old 16th Aug 2019, 11:50 pm   #12
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Very much the weller of its day, fond memories of them.
When I first started work my boss had one and he used to use his toughened glass ash tray as an iron rest, til one day the iron slipped down so the tip was resting in the groove meant for a cigarette. The ashtray went bang and covered him in little glass cubes
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 12:13 am   #13
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I still have my first Solon somewhere, complete with seized and worn out bit as usual. The problem is that the stub is harder than the aluminium holder. Members with mechanical equipment (and the expertise to use it) can presumably drill it out, but it's just a memento of early days now. Since moved on to Weller, but I did acquire a good one for some psychologically obscure reason!
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 1:23 am   #14
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I was looking at Weller, saw a brand new Draper today which I was half tempted to buy as it look very much in the Spirit of the Solon.

Are there any Wellers in particular I should look at or stay clear of?
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 1:36 am   #15
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I was looking at my old Solon Iron a couple of years ago now, and found out that the metal body had almost disintegrated. I had a plastic handle with a heating element and nothing else.
At that time someone had offered me an old iron, but it looked not much better that the one I had, so I gave up and got a Weller with a wall wart, it works well for me for the odd job.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 8:26 am   #16
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptornet View Post
Duncanlowe is the tip on yours stuck in the end? Mine was sadly stuck in like a tick.
No idea. It's in the garage with all the other tools that I brought back, and although they bring back my childhood I need to decide what to do with them. I have a variety of temperature controlled Wellers that are my everyday irons, including the one bought for my eighteenth, by my Aunt. I suspect the Henley hasn't been switched on since then!
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 10:39 am   #17
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Yes the Solon and the Adcola [a super iron that still gets used now and again] ended up seized solid if the bit was not 'turned' daily and as we all know we had better things to remember. They were cheap to buy and lasted well but were a disposable item in a busy workshop.
For another 2/6d approximately 13p you could purchase the more robust Solon model on the left but it tended to reduce everything to ashes if care was not taken. The nicely finished Adcola could be seen in many professional service departments in the 60's 70's. Regards, John.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 10:54 am   #18
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

My Dad had one of those big Solons but after many years of occasional use the casing round the element rust through and he chucked it.

He also had a couple of the Adcolas but dispensed with them when a Weller became available.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 11:34 am   #19
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

Heater Cathode Short:
I have one of those giant Solons. In memory of my paternal grandfather, the stand that I made for it has a label stating- 'The Big Bogger', because that is what it is.
Occasionally, when my Pace or Metcal is not enough, I fire up TBB. It always does the trick. I have two other irons of a similar size but don't recall the manufacturers (and it is dark and raining so I won't go to the shack and have a look...)
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 11:45 am   #20
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Default Re: Henley Solon iron

I have a Solon as well and the bit is not seized. I was taught from the beginning (60 years ago) to rock it backwards and forwards with pliers after every use to stop it seizing.

I also have an Adcola. With these remove the bit after every use stops it seizing.
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