Soldering tips

hi all

recently i have noticed that my soldering tip is becoming dark and takes a while melt solder is it time to replace it? also the screw that holds it in has become darke, does this matter?

thanks alex

What you need to do is re-tin the tip.

If simply cleaning the tip on a sponge and re-tinning with solder is not working, you can use some special paste for this purpose.

This is one example available from Maplin Electronics and other similar companies.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...9&doy=21m12Tip

I just use a file and file off the blackness, it seems to bring out the bronziness of the tip (or whatever material its made of)

This method probably doesnt prolong the life of the tip as much as a cleaning set would but its the cheap-ass student way of doing it which works fairly well :)

just rub the tip with some fine sand paper to get the black off

I find that heating up the soldering iron and then just wiping it on my jeans works fine :)

Sounds like a good way to singe your tackle to me!!!
Im with Kenny on this one and then dip the tip in flux when hot and apply some solder to re-coat it.
Tips are generally made from copper or copper alloy.