Dude seriously??? I have absolutely no idea why this video would be in my suggestion box but I’m a heavy line mechanic at a Toyota dealership and I’ve been having some issues repairing damaged wires in certain make and model wiring harnesses mostly because the wire gauge is to big making it take forever to solder a single joint with my propane iron and cumbersome if not impossible with my 120V iron. In addition to that, some of the crazy positions I have to twist my body in just to get to these wires under the dashboard is nothing short of hell on earth and you absolutely just gave me the solution to my problem when I least expected it. THANK YOU!!

ELECTRONIC GURU: A PERSON WHO BUYS FLUX BY THE QUART.

Sir your office is how I used to imagine my make believe office was when I was a kid gauges computers buttons and such absolutely amazing

This is how I did it as a teen in the early 2000’s once the tip broke on my dads old Weller gun like that, and I wanted to use it / had a few feet of old house wiring. This was the only soldering iron I had access to at the time and used it best I could for tinkering with electronics until I got a cheap pencil style. I had a few feet of old Romex, and it made tips for years. Been subscribed for quite a while, have watched a lot of videos, but this one was just recommended for some reason and figured I'd comment as it brought back some memories.

Mr Carlson. You are a natural in electronics. I want to thank you for your excellent videos!! You are very clever.

I've had one of these for years, and I always hated using it. Found this video and it changed my soldering life! I have a ton of projects I've been avoiding and ones I want to redo now, and I'm excited about it! Thank you!

Wow! I've used a Weller 8200N for almost 40 years and never knew that the first click on the trigger was the higher power. I also never realized that I needed to loosen and tighten the nuts periodically. Thanks!

Been in the game 30+ years. Wish I had learned this 30+ years ago! One of the best tips I have ever seen!!!

My original Weller has a hole in the case, but it still works! Guns are great for chassis grounds, stained glass, cables, hoses, carburetor floats, toilet floats, toy steam engines, big resistor dummy loads, antennas, etc. Silly me, I go buy tips. No more no more! Thank you Mr. C!

Mr Carlson´s Lab is the number #1! Thanks for sharing your huge and solid knowledge with us! Greetings from Brazil!

I made one of these a couple of years back after watching this video and I still use it to this day to solder tin tabs on 18650's for small power packs. Thanks!

just loved those soldering guns! i'll manage to get one soon! Thanks Paul for the Demo!

I just tried to this tip tip. This works amazingly well. I could not believe the instant powerful heat.

Great tip on making your own tips! I'm becoming addicted to Mr. Carlson's videos.

started working in a tv repair shop back 1980 at 16 yrs old. learned and have been using this same tricks ever since !

I just happen to have some 14 AWG copper wire and it fits great on my 80watt soldering gun. The best thing about using copper wire as the heating element is that, you can design what ever soldering bit you want. Great job on the video!

Thank you so much Mr Carlson. I first watched the video 2 years ago and this has helped me immensely in fixing generators. My solder joints end up so nice that I've gotten more work because of it.

Sir, there is absolutely no question that you make THE greatest videos on UKposts. They actually make my entire day better and for that I can not thank you enough. Cheers!

I just bought a Hakko and wondered if I would ever use my Weller gun again. Now you show me a way to use it. Perfect. Thank you!

When I was 12 in 1967, I bought my dad a soldering gun for Christmas. Since I could solder better than he could he just let me have it. It was the same model as the first one you showed. I still use it for heavy work like soldering larger wires together or to a board. I've never even changed the bulb.

Mr. C ,you are the greatest . I wish I could do 10% of what you know and can do !

Outstanding Tip!! I have a new Weller 9400PKS and the tips it comes with were not getting hot enough even though this soldering gun is rated 100/140w. I simply used a 3 inch long piece of copper ground wire from of an old piece of Romex and perfect! Gets super hot really fast and I was able to heat up my application exactly the way I needed. Thank you for sharing this info!

My grandfather's weller which is now mine, takes no time to get to working temperatures, I remember when he didn't have a proper replacement tip, he used a metal coat hanger and trimmed it down to about 3" and it worked...

Wow that's great. I have a very old soldering gun like the large one you have and I'm going to fix it up right away. Thanks

On the original tips it was recommended and I did it was to silver solder coated the tip end to reduce corrosion of the tip and was tinned with solder using borax as a flux. Made the tips last a long time. Since the current in the tip was current limited by the transformer, you can hold the trigger continuously.

Back in the 1960's while in electric shop we used a longer wire in the think it was we!let's 100/140 watt soldering gun. Uses a #222 pre focused light bulb if my memory serves me right. My dad purchased one of these for me in 1967 and still have it. Became an electrician and seldom used it last 40 years. Keep a wet sponge to keep tip clean. Now stays would just drop a hole in chassis and use a crimp on lug for wire then instal a nut & bolt. Nice vidio. Did put together a 25" Heath kit TV, Tube & transistor tester & a scope back in the 1970's while taking a master correspondence class in electronics that the VA paid 90% of it.

Been making my Weller tips using a 6 inch piece of 10ga bent to the same shape as the original Weller tips for 40 years.

I was kind of exited when I noticed we have the same D-550 Weller. I found it interesting that mine says 240/325 watt. not a big deal but surprising non the less. I love your work, good job.

Bought my first one in 1955 and its still in use. Remember that electronics is not the only application for a soldering iron. Give it another 20 years and everyone will want one.

I've watched many of your videos in the last year, but this was the first one!

Thank you-I have an old weller/130/100 I've had for probably 30 years. I was just getting into soldering and never could use it!!!. It has been in my closet all this time until I saw this video. Like to have never found it. Because of you, I have brought it out again. Thanks.

Nice to see the old Weller gun again. I used to make my tips for it exactly the same way! (since the 1970s :-)

That is one heck of a radio you have in that shop! Thanks for the tips/video, so I subbed!

This is a great tip for anyone using a soldering gun like this. I have an identical Weller gun, and it's great for doing quick ad-hoc repairs especially of stuff like cables, wiring etc. I'll often help a friend in his motorcycle workshop, and he just happens to hate doing electrical work - the Weller is perfect for that. I also figured years ago (based on similar transformer-based guns produced in Poland) that replacing the original tip with something slightly thinner and shorter might make heat up much quicker. With a tip made from some scrap wiring, it heats up in 2-3 seconds, and produces enough heat to solder even quite thick wiring (I think we once used it for 4mm thick multistrand, and it worked fine). So yeah, it might be a 60's design made of bakelite, but it can still be plenty useful.

You're so cool!! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

Very useful. Thanks. I built one and it stopped working. It turns out the screw terminals got loose from me mashing the tips so this walkthrough helped me figure it out. The old tools often work better but you have to know how to use them!

Make your own Soldering tip, who'd thunked & go figure! Thank you. I wish I could go back 47 some odd years and start over. I'm still excited about electronics. I started in 1968 and graduated US Navy, Treasure Island, as an ET and worked for Sylvania as a TV tech and Micro-wave GTE and so-forth.

Great Tips on tips!!! I have a couple of those guns that I am gonna mod now.

Thanks, very informative and just what I needed to know for my scanner antenna project. I needed to weld some #10 solid copper wire together for an attic multi-band scanner antenna. The hottest iron I have is a Weller 8200N gun I've had since tech class about a hundred years ago. I was considering using a butane hand torch but this will solve my problem nicely. I normally use a Weller W60P iron for most of my work but your video will give more purpose to my old Weller gun. EXCELLENT VIDEO!

I’ve Got the Same Weller Soldering Gun ! Way back in 1966 I built a Heathkit guitar combo amp head with that gun !! I now have a Hexacon Station !

Great Tips! Thanks for sharing your knowledge as always

I will be trying to fix my first alternator soon. I think this may come in very handy.

You can also twist and flatten the #14 a bit to make a bulkhead tip. A butane torch can also be used to preheat the cabinet.

I thought I was the only one that did those tip's. I use to use mine for putting PL-259 on the coax. I made my tip's in the shape of the original tip. Thanks for sharing.

Love all your videos, can't wait for next Tuesday.

Those tips were the Bain of my technical existence for 37 years. No more thanks to you. 2 thumbs up! 👍👍

Great video I have a few of these old wellers Lying around. A great way to save on tip costs and have a hotter iron! Thanks and cheers!

I have one soldering gun exactly like yours (120watts). Used it on repair of TV sets on 80s years. It still works, thanks for the video.

Very helpful and well-done video. Thanks for the tips on tips!

I still have the Weller like yours I received as a Christmas gift in 1968. I built my first shortwave with it. It still works like new.

Thanks for the great tip. I bought an exact gun on nextdoor for $5.00, and the tip was broken, so I just made a small loop as you did. Now it's my go-to for chassis and #0 gauge wire and big lugs. Or course the bulb was burned out, so I replaced it with an LED type. It's indispensable to me now. Thanks again.

I learned to solder using the same 100/140 gun. I've made soldering tips in a pinch using 14 or 12 gauge wire except I tried to shape them into the same shape as the factory tips which worked well enough. Never tried the short loop like this and can see it could be quite useful. Thanks for the video.

wow it's the soldering iron I learned on. It was my moms grandfathers lol. I could never remember the brand but I loved that light bulb.

i have had the same Weller soldering gun for 42 years. Still works great.

Great tip. I was about to buy another solder gun, so now I know what options I have with it. Thank !

My dad had the same exact soldering gun. Man that just brought memories :-)

I still have one of those weller guns that I bought as teenager in 1974! Thanks for the tips (pun intended!) on getting more life out of this old tool!

I used to run through soldering irons like CRAZY in my younger days working as a mobile electronics installer at a car stereo shop. It didn't matter how much I spent, I could buy *anything* from any vendor and it would be clapped out within a month. The absolute *VERY* best non-HF soldering irons like these here, in my humble opinion, is the $19.99 jobber from Radio Shack. It had the janky cheap soft-metal screws which cinched down on the soldering tip, and they always stripped out (the head, not the thread), but a few twists with pliers on the outside shoulder of the screw head and they would work like a top. The weller, craftsman, and even the more expensive Radio Shack guns would always die within months, but I could get 2-3 years out of those $19.99 cheap radio shack guns, with continual use, in a car stereo shop, 5-6 days a week, with no problem. Enjoyed the video, as always, Mr. Carlson. Thanks for the tip... on tips!

Good tip. I´ve got a couple of that type of gun (75W) and when I needed to test CT ratio, I managed to inject more than 100 amps by replacing the tip with a short loop of 10AWG cable through the CT primary. Thanks for sharing.

Great video...just what I needed to do the job! Thanks again , you are the best.

I especially enjoy the use of the "L" in the word solder. He doesn't miss a single opportunity.

Nice tip. Love the idea of Tip Tuesday. Thanks!

c u next Tuesday! watch out with the acronyms there Mr.C ! love your stuff. don't ever stop making clips- you are establishing a video database of a dying art and wealth of specific knowledge. I have learnt so much. :)

Good stuff eh! My Electronics mentor used the higher watt gun you have, but always used o.e. tips. (He was an ex RCAF radar tech). I myself only have the low watt (Weller Gun, with standard tip) & a 100w heavy pencil for steel chassis, & a 25w pencil for boards. My 1st tech job yrs ago had a 65w Weller thermostatic controlled iron, & loved it.

I've done the same with my old Russian soldering gun. It works really great with that kind of copper wire.

All those screens and knobs at the beginning. Looks like mr Carlson is sitting in the cockpit of a ultra fast spaceship.

Very interesting video about this Gates transmitter. I actually found one of these transmitters at an abandoned transmitter site some 20 years ago. Unfortunately most of the iron was gone, the tubes were gone and it had some issues with rodents too. Really a shame that happened to this great broadcast transmitter. I would really like to see a video on how you modify the frequency on these transmitters for amateur use. Great video as usual Paul.

That explains the label "BLACK" on the bottle, old ink bottle, thought at first it was some kinda new fangled flux...lol. Brings back memories with the old Weller gun, I think everybody from the 60's had one of those. Came with different tips, a big flat one for like seams on plastic, and a knife edge one for cutting, things like that, all in a steel container. Very cool you can roll your own tips, did not know, thanks. Neat trick swapping the two speed wattage switch wires, I hated the order as well. Yes, do a video of replacing the antiquated incandescent bulbs to the LED kind, I want to do that as well. Seems like a habit that every time I pick up my gun, the first ting I do out of habit is make sure the bulb is twisted all the way in before I do anything else...haha. Thanks for another great video.

Seems I’m a late commenter but your “tip” is new to me as was searching for new tips for my 8200 and Sears 5366 that have been using for plastic repair lately so a lot of abuse on the business end. Looks like I found the solution and try some different ideas with making a pan of sorts to puddle better. So from a non electronic use side of the industry thanks and have a great New Years

You are the best. Thank You, Sir.

Paul, I am liking the concept of this series. I will be following it with great interest. Regarding the Weller gun, I have done as you demonstrated for many years. I am not sure when I last purchased an actual stock tip for my Weller gun :-) It is also possible to fabricate tips for specific purposes: hard to reach areas, higher heat requirements, etc. Thanks for the video!!

Those are good tips, thanks for sharing!

No messing Paul, your videos are ace! I just hope that it is possible to still get this type of soldering iron. Many thanks for your time making these videos. Saludos

My dad showed me this 40+ years ago! he was an electronics repairman who got his start in WWII as a radar technician / operator and went on to repair radios and early televisions. His first amateur radio transmitter was made from an old Setchell-Carlson television. I've saved much of his old tools including his old 550!

Excellent video. I tried your tip on my (pre-set screw) 100-140 watt soldering iron and I have to say it works fantastic! BTW, I reversed the switch leads on mine as well since I never use the 100 watt setting.

Excellent tips!!! Thank You!

Thanks, clear and friendly. Liquid flux, I want to get some now. Thanks for sharing. From Burlington Washington.

enjoyed the tip on the soldering guns. also it is possible to solder to ALU. I have read a process, but one has to use oil to shield the ALU while heating. food for thought. Keep em comming , Greg

love your videos keep on keeping on man really enjoy

You are so detailed,informative,educational,and I love all your videos and watch them every night before I sleep to inspire me in the morning.Thank you so much for being our teacher that really knows his stuff,and every ready for sharing.Keep it up Sir and we all will keep watching and learning and loving you.

Update. My soldering gun is not a Weller and I think it's lower wattage. I had some strange looking tips which I thought I might modify. I cut one end off and used just one leg bent in the same fashion as yours. The wire is slightly thinner and this has resulted in a much faster warm up time. They are plated but it must be the new style tip plating as it takes solder very well. Thanks again for this tip. I don't like the idea of cooking batteries and quicker is better.

Another great video. Thank you for sharing.

It worked like a charm...thank you again!

I remember these, my replacement tip was a coat hanger, worked great.

Very Helpful, just what I needed . . . Hooray!

I got one of those for Christmas in the 60's and still with me. Before that I used a soldering iron which I was taught to hold like a dagger.

Didn't realize it had the double click! Thanks for the tips

Bravo Mr. Carlson !

I bet the thinking was 1st click high to get temp up fast, then full pull-low just to maintain the tip temp for longevity of all parts concerned.

Eevblog eat your heart out this channel is awesome! Just did this to my 180watt Chicago Electric (harbor freight) gun using 10 gauge wire and it is a beast. Might blow up, but whatever it was 15$

I was given a gun like yours. It had had a tin of paint over it which took hours to remove. If you think yours looks tired mine looks like it's been used for knocking fence posts in. I have stripped it and internally it looks fine. Mine is a bright red and about to be given the Carlson treatment for battery soldering. I have an LED lamp that says the 3 x AA batteries cannot be replaced and then tells you how to remove them for recycling - just 2 screws and 2 wires. Thanks again Paul.

I had the same Weller gun for decades never thought of making my own tip, good tip! You're so right about the version with the sleeve and screws. I've got one of those as well. I've had to tap the screw holes out and put bigger screws in that one. The nut retainers are so much better. Why did they take something that works perfectly well and screw it up? To save 5 cents I suppose.

hey, you prommised a video on the desoldering tool and the laminator. they are long overdue. and tech tips tuesdey were great.

Wow. I never even thought about doing that. I've had one of these Weller guns I inherited from my dad over 30 years ago, and still works. I think it's 240w/320w, but I'm not going out to the garage to confirm it.

Quite the awesome tips on that Jurassic gun! I still have one around here somewhere... I learned how to make cables with one of those 44 years ago! And Yes! the original tips are crappy. Thanks Mr Carlson!

One of the best tips EVER (for me)... Mahalo nui loa !

Paul, good to know I am not the only one that does it this way. I busted my case on my D550 10 years ago. Since I have lost many pieces of it lol. Got to find me another one soon. Great tip :)

This is a good tip Mr. Carlson I just got done rebuilding a Lionel transformer for my son and somebody had rewired it kind of goofy and globbed up all the solder. And the Weller 140 100 gun that I have the tip is wearing out and it's not getting as hot as it should so I'm going to try this out...👍

I built my first Benton Harbor Lunchbox with one of those 200 W Weller guns back in 1963. I was 13, and it was all I had. Fortunately, back then everything used tubes and long-leaded components, not SMT's.

Hi Paul, very good tip on the tip :-) Have to try it with mine probably I can get more heat out of it. Great idea thank you!