Walthers Catalog: Soldering Iron

Matt

Matt=A0&=A0Kathleen=A0Brennan wrote: I am wondering about this item - and its low price: too low or so it seems.

-------------------------- Page 914 Walthers Item #: 370-910

----------------------------------------------- That's about the same price as Radio Shack.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

Bill, Is the Radio Shack one 60 watts? I may be wrong but isn't about 40 watts or greater what would be most useful for various model railroad projects? If you can get one at 40 to 60 watts for $8 that's not a bad deal at all. Bruce

-------------------------- Page 914 Walthers Item #: 370-910

----------------------------------------------- That's about the same price as Radio Shack.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

Yeah, and try to change the tip when it comes time. Hah! Better have a drill and an EZ-out. I've never yet seen a cheap iron where it's possible to actually extract the tip without breaking it off.

Jay CNS&M Wireheads of the world, unite!

Hi Matt,

I'm not sure if that is big enough to solder electrical feeder wire to rail or not. I've always used a soldering gun I picked up at the old Allied Electronics store in Chicago back in the 1960's when I was around 12. Sucker still works!

It should be OK for general wire to wire, etc. connections, though.

Paul - "The CB&Q Guy" (Happily Modeling 1969)

so it

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but I

Matt,

Take a look at .

It's a bit pricier than a Walthers or Radio Shack iron, but I've found it's worth every penny. Or, as my Dad used to say, "You can buy a good tool once, or spend twice as much replacing cheap ones when they break. Take your pick."

I've been using this handle/45watt tip combination (the handle was blue back when it was just Ungar) for just about everything except fine PC board work going on 30 years. And I still use one on an almost daily basis at my train repair shop business.

It get's plenty hot (1,000degF), has a plated tip for extended life, and (in spite of it's apparent size) has enough mass to allow fast heat transfer for getting on & off a track feeder wire connection before the ties melt.

And best of all, the tip/heater element units can be swapped in a matter of seconds if you need a different shape tip, or lower wattage to work on PC boards.

Len Head Rust Scraper KL&B Eastern Lines RR Museum

Bruce=A0Favinger wrote: Bill, Is the Radio Shack one 60 watts? I may be wrong but isn't about 40 watts or greater what would be most useful for various model railroad projects? If you can get one at 40 to 60 watts for $8 that's not a bad deal at all. Bruce

------------------------------------------------- Bruce, the $7.99 RS soldering iron is 40w (#64-2071).

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

Excellent. Thanks Len and thans everyone for your input. I have a nice, light 15-watt pencil, but I certainly need a much hotter, faster soldering unit for feeder wires, etc.

I will compare the choices, but the Weller still seems like a very popular choice.

Thanks Again!

One more quick response: I have a Hakko 936 with a variable temperature dial. It is a two piece unit with a power station and a fairly light weight pencil (#907). For working around the layout, it means carrying two pieces around, but for me, the variable power makes up for that inconvenience. It is not as cheap as the $10. Units, but for me, it wos worth the difference.

The difference is considerable: the Hakko I bought was about $80 at Fry's.

Ed.

in article snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com, Matt Brennan at mc snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote on 10/8/03 4:59 AM:

I've bought a Radio Shack 40 watt iron for about $8.00.

-- The Gratiot Valley Railroad Club bi-annual train show and sale November 2, 2003, at the Macomb Community College Sports and Expo Center. Macomb County Michigan. Please visit our Web Site at:

I have replaced the tip on my Radio Shack iron. It just might need a gentle twist with a pair of pliers.

-- The Gratiot Valley Railroad Club bi-annual train show and sale November 2, 2003, at the Macomb Community College Sports and Expo Center. Macomb County Michigan. Please visit our Web Site at:

There is type of anti-sieze (Ungar 8001, for one) designed for such service. It greatly reduces the problem of getting a used soldering tip off the heating element.

Dan Mitchell ==========

"Frank A. Rosenbaum" wrote: