How to make a simple stand for your soldering iron.

If your soldering iron was as cheap as mine, it's not really worth splashing out on expensive extras.

This is a simple way to provide a safe place to stand your iron close at hand.

Step 1 You will need ...

• A wire coathanger.
• Something to cut the coathanger, such as strong snips.
• A forming mandrel (otherwise known as a suitably-sized lump of wood, furtherly otherwise known as a piece of pipe or a broom handle).
• Pliers, to aid bending.
• 2 wood screws.
• Screwdriver.

I will be mounting the stand directly into the wall of my shed, but you may want your stand to be more portable, in which case you need to find a lump of wood.

Comments

[volto]

An obvious improvement on this design would be to mount a piece of galvanized steel (like roof flashing) behind the coil, so if you accidentally leave the soldering iron on overnight your shed doesn't turn into a heap of ashes. Otherwise, great idea!

[static]

Pretty much what we had at our work stations at votech, mounted on the divider panels between the stations. Leave it to me to give myself a nice small 3rd degree. burn on the back of my hand. When a snug fitting tube/valve come out of the socket all sudden. like. Now I just pick up the radio shack stand, of course that little sponge is the lost in short order, no worry I have been using my jeans to wipe of the tip shortly after I started using a pencil iron. As well as the Weller 240 W. gun.

[LinuxH4x0r]

Cool! I usually just drop mine down on my desk...

[Kiteman]

After I did that once too often, I realised I'd rather keep my shed.

[Kitewife]

Because I was going to ban him from it if he burned it down!

[Kiteman]

It was only a paper towel!

_{That was under a plastic bottle of methanol...}

[static]

LOL ...anything else you aren't revealing about that event, or do we have to depend on kitewife to tell all?

[LinuxH4x0r]

LOL! Mine is a soldering gun, and its flat on the side so it doesn't matter.

[knektek]

kiteman you always find a solution lol kewl idea though :)

[stephenniall]

my soldering iron cost me £1 Its a draper one its A good enough wattage and is great Just needed cleaning when i got it !

[GorillazMiko]

Thanks Kiteman! A very smart idea. I don't have a soldering iron, I have battery powered wireless one. +1 rating.

[tech-king]

you have a wireless soldering iron? what model?

[GorillazMiko]

It's a red and black RadioShack one.

[zachninme]

Yeah, I'm surprised that it works so well. It heats up fairly quickly, its hot, and its not a ColdHeat.

[GorillazMiko]

Yeah, I got it on a sale for $5. :-) But once I was using it too long, the tip got SO HOT it turned to the orange color, like a coal burning up. That could burn through anything. Then since that happened, I guess it went up the metal and like melted the bottom of the red button thing, so now I have to hold it down. It made me mad.

[zachninme]

Hmm... for mine, you need to hold down the whole time... Also, I've left a real soldering iron on overnight (oops!), and it wasn't a nice regulating one, it didn't break, but it was like a self-cleaning cycle on an oven O_O

[GorillazMiko]

Yeah, that's what you have to do, same on mine.
Except since I was holding it, it got really orange.
Now the button is screwed up.

If you want to risk it-- move it up to ON format, then hold it down for about 10 minutes. Hopefully it will turn orange by then. If it doesn't wait another 10 minutes, it should turn orange in less than that time.

_:-)

[tech-king]

i find the best battery irons (that are under 20$) are made by iroda. but the red a black radio-sh*t ones do work well.

[zachninme]

I know, I was really surprised when it worked.
It also has a nice small tip...

[el eliel]

that's as good as mine, which is a vintage 1998 floppy drive that has a groove in the bottom that matches the shape of the solderer, and makes a nice flame proof surface...prevents angry wife syndrome too :)

[Brennn10]

I like this! I need to get a new workstation, but if I do, I will definitely keep this in mind!

[alvincredible]

neat idea! this is so simple! ...i just gotta get to buying one for myself ... -_-