How to Tin a Soldering Iron

Video Transcript

" Hello! This is Ross on behalf of expertvillage.com. In this clip I am going to show you how to tin a soldering iron. This is a new soldering iron and the tip. If you replace the tip you want to tin also, tinning is when you take solder and flow it on the tip of the soldering iron here. You also have tin components and wires, which I will show you later and your soldering makes it easier. The soldering iron is getting hot for the first time and I want to be sure to go through and tin it. If you watch the solder melts, now this is a good place to be wearing your safety glasses because this is molten lead and it can splatter. And you also want to be careful about getting it on furniture, clothing, skin, you see how it is boiling up here and he has a good coverage on it. Now it is fluid right now, I snapped it and it bounced but I do not want to bounce because it is dangerous having that hot liquid around so I am just going to use this wet sponge and wipe it off now see how it is still on there. It is why I tend to use the edge of the sponge and its real fine to solder down on the sides when you go to clean the sponge, take it out, put water on it and fine solder down on the sides there. It protects the tip and gives it a good flow. There is rosen in the solder and helps clean connections. It is great right, that’s all we need to do, its just the tip because that is where your solder point is and that is tinning a soldering iron and now soldering iron is still hot. So that is why you want to be sure not to let touch anything if you go ahead and turn it off and put it in its stand and it will be good and will be safe."