Introduction: How to Make a Solder Pen

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Hello All.

Today I'll be going over the steps on how to make a Convenient Solder Pen. I find these a lot easier to use than pulling the solder directly from the spool. 

Step 1: Parts and Materials

You will only need 2 different materials and 1 tool for this project:

1 Spool of Solder (I used 0.8mm / 0.032")
1 Non Mechanical Pen (Larger pen works well)

1 Pair of Wire Cutters.

Step 2: Disassemble the Pen

Take the pen you've chosen and completely disassemble it. Do not throw away any of the components.

Step 3: Coil the Solder

Take the Ink Insert from the pen. Begin coiling the solder around the insert.

Depending on the type of pen you've selected, you may only be able to coil a certain length. The pen I used could only hold a coil from the top of the pen housing, down to about where the rubber grip begins, anything more wouldn't fit.

After you've coiled a sufficient length of solder, you'll need to remove it from the ink insert. I find that gently rotating/twisting the ink insert as you remove the coil helps it come off easier.

Once you've removed the ink insert, use your wire cutters and remove the solder coil from the spool. Be sure to leave about 1-2 inches of excess on the coil.

Step 4: Insert Solder Coil Into Pen Housing

Straighten out the excess solder you left on the coil and begin to fit it into the housing of the pen.

Step 5: Reassemble Pen

After you've inserted teh solder coil, reassemble your pen.

And that's it! When you're soldering, just pull it out from the pen tip when it gets too short. Be sure not to let it get so short that you cannot pull it out, otherwise you may need to disassemble it and uncoil some solder.

Step 6: Other Thoughts

You may want to create spare solder coils refills for convenient reloading. A good idea is to take the ink insert, make some marks on it showing how long the solder coil should be and keep it with the refills you create.