Soldering iron

I learned to solder an my first shop class when dinosars roamed the earth.  My first iron was a Radio Shack 35 watt bought in 1983.  It continues to work but in 2024 I updated my iron to a Q-MING 100W LED Digital Solder Iron.   I found some lead free solders were slow to melt with the 35 watt iron.  

The Q-MING Soldering Iron Kit comes with a 100W LED Digital Solder Gun extra tips, a roll of braided wick to desolder, a stand, a roll of solder, a sponge and flux paste.   The ceramic heater of the iron has adjustable temperature controls.  Iron must be turned on after plugged in.  Press the on/off (RED) button for 3 seconds to enter the power on state, and press the on/off (RED) button 2 times quickly to switch between °C/°F . It comes up to temperature in less than 30 seconds.  

Types of solders

Aluminum Welding Rod is extremely low temperature (420℃ or 788℉) used in propane or acetylene welding where the higher temperatures may damage the base materials.  The low temperature aluminum welding rods are used for welding cast iron, copper, aluminum, stainless and galvanized steel and other metals with high strength.  Aluminum welds are known for durability & good corrosion resistance.

Lead Solder Wire is an extremely low temperature (136℃ or 360℉) is for electrical connections.  

Tin/Silver Solder Wire is another type of extremely low temperature (221℃ or 430℉) fusion using an electric hot iron or propane/acetylene welding.  It is often used for plumbing and electrical connections.  

Thoughts and Hacks

1. Remember to turn on after plugging in

2. Like the lcd panel showing temperature.  Temperature in Celsius. 

3. Set temperature for the type of solder and size of material used.  

4. A magnifying glass with clamps from Harbor Freight ($5) is useful to hold items to be soldered.  

5. A soldering station was made to clamp on the vise to create a work space.