Homebrew PCBs

There is ammonium chloride stones which you sort of press the iron against  
and it helps tinning.
What i did WAY back then before i had any tools was file the tips while  
hot and tin immediately. Always keep tin on the tip.

But really, do yourself a favour and get a temperature controlled station  
with plated longlife tips. It isn't that expensive and it is like the  
difference between a stone axe and a chainsaw.

ST


On Thu, 15 Dec 2005 01:27:34 +0100, soffee83 <soffee83@...> wrote:

> Sorry to keep hounding you people with questions, but there's a decent
> amount of knowledge in here. :)
>
> I've been told that it's OK to re-grind the regular style copper
> soldering tips, and I've been doing so. I usually spin them in a press
> and by working up to a high grit emery cloth, I can get a nice sharp,
> shiny point.
>
> Trouble is, they turn a smoky grayish black soon after they heat up,
> and they can't be flooded with clean solder, so they don't often
> retain and release it properly while I'm using them.
>
> Am I expecting too much, or is there an additional step I'm missing in
> prepping them? I do remember some weird recommendation of coating with
> a plumber's flux/solder and a torch, but it may not have been copper
> (or a good idea for that matter).
>
>                             -Thanks Again!
> George
>