This week I learned about soldering. According to the American Heritage dictionary the definition of soldering is a , “fusible alloy used for joining or binding together metal surfaces or joints, as the edges of tin cans, jewelry, and kitchen utensils.”

The more wattage you have the more heat that is produced to unite the two pieces together. The  Screwdriver, spade, and conical tips are some of the more common tip shapes. The key is to get as much surface area contact between the tip and the work as possible. The Chisel and spade tips have larger surface areas at their ends then a conical tip.When it comes to preserving tip life, the number one thing you can do is lower the tip temperature, if your iron allows you to do so. After that, keep a layer of solder on the tip to prevent it from oxidizing, and clean it between uses. Oxides and charcoal flux majorly reduce the tips ability to heat the connection which is why it is very important to clean the tip. If you don’t clean the tip the oxides will become harder with time and heat and won’t work as well.