What do you use for soldering 30 ga. wire to those tiny decoder pads?

[ednadolski]

Altho my Weller WESD-51 station works well for a number of things, it seems rather oversized for soldering the small 28-30 ga. and similar wires for speakers and (pre-wired) 0402 LED wires to the pads of the Loksound 5 decoder, and other kinds of delicate work.  I have not been able to find a tip that would be small enough, so I am thinking it might be good to get something to dedicate to that kind of work.  What to you folks use that has worked well for you?

I did try one of those little 12-watt irons (the one from Ngineering IIRC) but didn't like it since the tip kept falling off.  Maybe there are better ones nowadays?

N.B. I use a lead-free, Sn-Cu alloy wire solder, which has a higher melting temp. than most lead-bearing solders.

TIA,
Ed

[bigdawgks]

So I find that it is actually more difficult with a thinner (pointy) tip. They are less efficient at transferring the heat and it takes a lot of fiddling with them to get the solder to flow. I therefore use a flat tip and try very carefully to center it on the pad. I find it's easier if you first get a round bead of solder on the pad first then stick the wire into it with the tip as it's heated up.

[TrainCat2]

That is a very good soldering station, but if you are using the default tip, you would be have a harder time with those wires. I use a very long conical tip on my Weller. It is over 1in long and is only 3/64 at the tip. I have used this setup to solder SM IC’s & components on my own boards. Try to get some .020 or .030 dia solder too.

[wvgca]

i use a hakko solder station, probably over twenty years old by now, bought used on ebay .. but anyways, it's a good idea to use a size of tip two or three up from the 'needle' ones .. the little bit bigger ones do a better job of transferring the heat and resulting in a good looking solder joint .. ps .. don't forget the flux !   and solder with a mix of 63 / 37 works a little better also ..

[Curtis Kyger]

For the small stuff I use an ANTEX N40M2 115V 12W soldering iron with the Needle Tip which I purchased several years ago from NEnginnering.com. 
If I were to do micro small really really tiny stuff, I'd do the Z-Scale trick and wrap the tip of the iron with a very small wire and use the heated end of the wire as my soldering tip.

[peteski]

In the past there have been several threads discussing soldering irons.

Without repeating myself, here is what I use.  Rest of that thread is also useful.

Other related threads (where I chimed in with my choice of soldering iron):
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=49025.0
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=44644.msg575069#msg575069

I also recommend using HOTWEEZERS wire stripper.  It allwos for stripping the insulation from any type of a wire, even in very tight locations, without nicking the strands.

@Kentuckian  followed my wire stripper advice, and he is happy with his choice.  See https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=49106.msg654067#msg654067

 

[mmagliaro]

I have the earlier version of that iron (without the digital display).
I was using the 1/32 or 1/64 round point tips in it for very fine work like that, and while they work, I too found that a pointy tip doesn't tin and hold solder as well as a REALLY SMALL flattened chisel tip.

Look for the ETJ (0.79 mm screwdriver tip), ETU (0.38mm flat tip), or ETV, another very small, fine tip.  Newark Electronics sells the completely line if you can't find them elsewhere.

Also, since I have that electroplating kit from Caswell and plenty of nickel plating solution left over from my brass engine building days, I have taken to filing my own tip shapes and then nickel plating them so they will hold up to soldering and tin nicely.  The tip I'm using right now is a pointy "conical" tip where I filed the point to a little flat and then plated it.  If you're not into plating DO NOT JUST FILE THE TIPS!!  They are iron clad or nickel plated and if you file the plating off and don't replace it, they will oxidize, corrode, and in general be a bear to tin or use after that.

[Steveruger45]

Digikey sell Weller tips too. 

[Sokramiketes]

I'm using the same Weller unit you are.  I swap to a fine tip and turn down the temperature.  Been a long time since I've purchased tips from them, but hope they still have the long fine point tips available!

[wazzou]

Amazon has a good selection of tips for the Weller unit that it seems many of us have.