Hammerhead Soldering Tips
Hammerhead soldering tips are tips for a soldering iron that split off in two different directions. These tools are extremely useful in many soldering projects, and they're available at almost any hardware store. Depending on your needs, these tips come in a number of materials and sizes.
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Appearance
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A hammerhead tip is an accessory that goes over your soldering iron's tip. It pushes the tip into a central heating area that splits into two different tips like a hammerhead shark's cranium. Different soldering iron tips can be placed into the two split-off tips depending on the needs of the current project.
Material
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Hammerhead soldering tips can be made out of a few different types of material, but copper and aluminum are two of the most popular. The metal must be conductive to heat, easy to produce, and durable as well as resistant to corrosion.
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Gauge
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A hammerhead soldering tip can fit two different soldering tips into the ends, provided those tips fit the hammerhead tip's gauge. The gauge should be listed on the hammerhead soldering tip's packaging, and any tip that is sized appropriately can be used with it. A tip that's too small will fall out while you're soldering and ruin the project; a tip that's too big simply won't push into the connecting socket.
Permanent Vs. Temporary
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It is possible to get a hammerhead soldering iron that is permanent, as well as one that's temporary. Permanent hammerhead soldering irons are complete pieces that are made that way. Temporary hammerhead soldering irons are tips that go over a regular soldering iron to modify a single iron into a double end. If you don't need to constantly switch back and forth between tips, the second option is more your style. If, on the other hand, you find that you need a hammerhead tip for most of your soldering, you might want to invest in a permanent hammerhead soldering iron.
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