On 3/7/2021 9:40 AM, Josh Malone wrote:
On Sun, Mar 7, 2021 at 4:25 AM Brian K. White <[email protected]> wrote:
That tip is bizzarrely good for everything. It's both wide & flat, and
narrow & sharp, whichever you need just by rotating the iron to flip the
bevel up vertical or laying flat. You can get in and touch an individual
soic or qfn leg, or effectively heat up wick enough to clean out
filled vias even without suction.
I don't know why that isn't the default shape for all irons, even cheap
$10 junkers.
After 30+ years of soldering, I can say without any hesitation, that
the "conical" tip that some irons come with is 0.2mm above useless.
About 2 years ago, a console repairer I follow on Twitter turned me on
to the knife tip, and I've never looked back (with the exception of
drag-soldering). After watching a few videos on proper technique, the
Hakko T18-K tip almost never leaves my iron. And once I get a second
iron for my bench, it *never* will. :)
https://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/type_k.html
-Josh
That tip looks amazing. I sadly do not have a Hakko, but I'm almost
convinced to buy one just to try out that tip. Can you suggest a not
terribly expensive model to select? (I currently have a Metcal MX500,
and I love it, but I agree that tip seems too good to pass up).
Jim
--
RETRO Innovations, Contemporary Gear for Classic Systems
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