So my tip for this nice little iron is pretty worn down. It had some fancy coating that wore off long ago, so I've been sanding away the oxidation and occasionally refiling the tip to give it a good point. Over time, I'm left with this stub. Still usable, but I'm gonna need a replacement. I didn't have any brass or even copper rod around, but I did have some old rusty steel rod that was the perfect diameter. I cut it down, stuck it in my drill press, and on high speed I began removing material with a rasp and files in order to create the narrow part. That little screw on cap needs to grab the tip for good thermal contact, so I made sure to shape that edge real good. Gave it a nice pencil tip with some patient file work, also in the drill press. I removed the rest of the rust then tinned it with a MAPP torch and something which was probably 50/50 solder. It came out pretty good. Just thought I'd share, because I'm bored. Also, any implications of using steel I should be aware of? It'll be less efficient I imagine, but I tested it and it still works well enough. Could the increased load of the steel shorten the life of the element, since it's not a very good conductor of heat? I'm not too worried, it didn't cost much. And although I haven't looked much, I haven't seen any tips that fit it. All the more reason to roll my own.
Interestingly enough, the "Fancy Coating" is actually a plated coating of Iron. Steel is mostly iron. Steel sould work fine, though it is a poor thermal conductor. You won't be able to solder large stuff, and the temperature regulation on the iron might be skewed. I can't imagine the life of the iron would be affected.
This one had some kind of blue stuff on the tip when I got it? Something to prevent oxidation maybe. It was never particularly good for large things anyway. For large stuff I have a soldering gun.
Hmm, I tried it a little more thoroughly, it's not even good for tinning thick wires, like 18 awg. I have another iron it might work in though.
They are usually coated with nickel or iron, but both will still oxidise. IMO the old copper one would be best. Shorter = easyer to hold and use. Also with it shorter, the tip will get a bit hotter, but you should clean the oxidation away on the element end.
Is the coating really plated iron? It could also be the that the surface carbon of the steel has oxidized away. That would result in plain iron surface.
There's a thin barrier plating of nickel and/or iron (not thick enough to affect thermal properties of the copper bit) to stop the molten tin dissolving copper from the bit. Plain copper bits need filing occasionally to remove this pitting; plated bits should only be wiped during use, never filed, and left tinned when switched off.
If you have bad oxidation get the tip really hot buy holding it in a large ball of solder then use plumbing solder to tin the tip it works quite well.
