Soldering iron tip should combine the best possible thermal transfer with certain resistance to dissolving in molten solder. Industry settled on copper core with thick iron coating as a compromise. Many years ago I used soldering tips with bare copper, I can say they had slightly better heat transfer than modern 2-layer ones, BUT lasted only a few hours before re-grinding was required even with low working temperatures used in the past.

Human life time is limited, so there are definitely better things to do instead of DIY-ing something as mundane as soldering tips Hunt down a good soldering station. JBC clones seems to be in vogue today) personally I am a bit conservative and prefer induction soldering stations. Metcal even modern Chinese built is very good, also induction cartridges with thermal feedback via thermocouple like Chinese brand Quick 202/303 are very nice too.

There is no reason to use lead free solder for personal work, as you are not bound by ecological regulations. Standard 63Sn 37Pb alloy works just better, and lead toxicity is non-issue, as it does not evaporate significantly at soldering temperatures (and even somewhat higher).
 
 

I doubt there is anything you can do to fix this, but as long as things aren't shorted out inside it should still work fine. Maybe slightly reduced performance from reduced heat reflection but nothing major I would assume.

Today, I was admiring my Philips 36W SOX-E bulb and I dropped it, thankfully on to carpet, but still, the lower mica disk holding the arc tube in place cracked and is bent in multiple different directions. Anything I can do? I'm pretty frustrated about this because I just got it.

@rjluna2
No, I only use brass wool. I hear differing opinions on which one is best, I just don't want to keep something wet so I use brass wool. No strong preference.

@Ash
My first iron was the opposite, it got way way way too hot, putting solder on the tip yielded smoke for ~1s before it all burned off and the solder started oxidizing. I had to throttle the temperature by plugging it in and unplugging it periodically (had no power switch) before I got my variac which I then used for that purpose. I still have it because it uses the old long 3/16" straight shank tips that have tons of thermal mass so I can use it for larger things.

I guess I could just try it out and see if it works...

Give it a try and compare what works for you



Your question reminds me of an iron i used to have as a kid and teenager, bought in the early 00s

Was just a plug in iron (not themally controlled), the size of 40W/60W irons but only 25W power, made in Taiwan, branded "GOLD" (i dont think that was the real name of the manufacturer)

It was slow to warm up (due to its size and low power), but had excellent heat retention - Once it was hot, it would solder everything - even huge thick Copper wires

Its tip coating was really bad - The corner went missing the moment i wiped it on the damp sponge in the iron stand for the 1st time, and it started eroding ever since

Over all of its life the tip had a concave (cup) shape, but for my back-then uses - which maxed at through hole breadboard stuff & recapping Pentium 4 mainboards - it did the job just fine, i never even filed the tip, i got a master at using it as is

I lost it at some point in the 2010's before its tip ended completely. I would absolutely keep replacing its tips and using it for stuff like wires

Today i use an entirely different grade soldering workstation, and it does things that old iron could never do, but making DIY tips for it is not an option. So can't say anything about DIY tips

Do you use the wet sponge to clean the iron after using?

Mess levels vary between :
"it trips mom's ocd but seems ordered to me"
"it's the level of mess perfectly normal for me"
"it makes me waste a little more effort getting things done / finding something"
"it makes me waste a WHOLE LOT of effort getting things done / finding something"
"it makes me UNABLE to get things done / find something"

I have oversimplified it, cause here are also intwined what mom says about it, what girlfriend says about it, what extra unaccounted for havoc can little brother and sister & their friends they bring into the house & the cats & ... add to the potion, and "things done" could be divided into "the few important things i keep in better shape" vs "everything else"

In the end of the day, your goal is not ORDER, but ENERGY EFFICIENCY

You have to find the level of mess, which, along with the amount of ORDER work required to maintain it (keep the mess from getting progressively worse), TOGETHER require the least effort investment (energy, time, ...) from you on average -

 - Leaving you with the most resources (energy, time, ...) available to do OTHER more important things in your life, than navigating or ordering the mess in your room -

 - And preferrably doesn't result in cringe reactions from girlfriend, mom, or increased risk of smashed tubes by accidents (which may or may not involve girlfriend, mom, brother, sister, their friends, or cats).

Which may be very different levels of mess for everyone

Besides, "on average" is also very different for everyone - For somebody it may be constant level constantly maintained, and for somebody cycles of "mess level going up" and "sorting it out.... till next time"

I use a cheap soldering iron that uses 900M style tips. Out of the tips it came with, I preferred the bevel style the best. But of course as I was just learning then how to solder nicely, I ruined the tip. As the plating was already completely gone anyway (evidenced by very rapid erosion), I  filed the tip down (I know, I know). Turns out the core was just plain copper inside. So unsurprisingly it kept dissolving away over time, and I kept filing it down. I just threw it out when it got too short.

Then I made my own solid copper bevel tip with a piece of 1/4" copper tubing and some 4 AWG solid copper wire that I turned down with a file in my drill and press fit into the tubing. Knowing that it was going to erode away (I use lead-free which makes it worse), I made it pretty long. That tip was absolutely excellent, lots of thermal mass and heated things really fast, and held lots of solder. Used it for everything. Wide bevel tips are definitely what I like. Well now it's getting a little too stubby after many many "resurfacings" (filing + sanding), and so I just made another one but didn't use it yet. Of course I could just buy a proper 900M 5mm bevel tip, but that's no fun.

I have seen some Youtube videos of people making copper soldering iron tips and then plating them in nickel to make them not erode away. I know that usually tips are plated with iron for this reason, but will nickel work sufficiently for this purpose? I have nickel plated various things before and I can do it again, but I don't wanna do it if it isn't actually gonna work. I haven't seen any long term results from the people who nickel plate their tips.

I also made a tip out of steel, which took a few tries to tin properly (using special acid flux) but it obviously ended up being horrible. Just not thermally conductive enough. Maybe usable for soldering very small wires, and for that it would have a very long life, but just unusable for anything larger.

Does anyone know a lot about soldering who can answer this? Should I nickel plate my copper tips, or just keep filing them away as they inevitably erode? I know lead-free solder is more aggressive, does this affect the decision?

Thanks!

That’s actually incredible! 🤔, and a good testament to how hard ass quartz is! 😎

TikTok is still brain rot. At my work we had some F32T8s on an electronic ballast get replaced with Ledvance selectable-color LED tubes, and unlike the old fluorescent tubes, these actually flicker to the point being nauseating. When a fan is on the desk you can see it as the blades spin on medium speed.