Maybe instead of bringing molten solder to a joint via the soldering tip - use the two probes to heat the leads that are to be soldered. Y'all know I'm just spitballing here. I don't really expect this to actually work.

 

I wonder if a Weller Soldering Gun would work as well as a spot welder? (not highjacking the thread, just posing an idea)

See post #9, it is basically made the same as a industrial spot welder you have a large high-current primary transformer an a single turn secondary.
I belive it coule deliver a suitable weld to thin plate with very small point electrodes, and some method to maintain high pressure during the weld.
I have worked with several industrial versions.

 

bringing molten solder to a joint via the soldering tip

If that's how you're soldering, you're doing it wrong and will have bad joints!

 

If that's how you're soldering, you're doing it wrong and will have bad joints!

Well, when I solder I don't bring a dry iron to the joint. That doesn't have much chance of a thermal bridge between the iron and the joint. Rather, a tinned iron will transfer thermal energy into the joint making adding solder to the joint much more efficient with much less heating time on the joint.

However; I have seen assemblers blob their iron and take the blob to a pre-fluxed joint. That's the fastest way to solder, but at the same time there's greater thermal shock to the joint and the component. I've seen it all. From the newbie who sticks out her tongue while trying to make the joint to the person who can make perfect joints in their sleep. (not quite so literally in their sleep but they've made many thousands of solder joints in their career)

 

Also Basically describes a spot welder, be intersting to see if a weller could be adapted, pressure would have to be maintained at the points, however, during the weld.

Guess I glossed over that statement.

What I had in mind is when you see those tiny spot welders on YouTube where people are connecting 18650 batteries either in parallel or in series using a thin strip of metal, possibly nickel plated tin - but that I don't know for sure. But yeah, I've thought about building one of those miniature spot welders. As for spot welding sheet metal - I have a MOT that I have intended for many years to turn into a spot welder. Have removed the high voltage secondary and replaced it with 1 1/2 turns heavy gauge wire. Now all I have to do is finish the project. Which still sits in the garage doing nothing more than taking up space and collecting dust.

That's enough off topic for now.

As I said back in post #15

I've made out of copper wire flattened tips for cutting plastic. Made special loop tips for scooping styrofoam out of a board leaving just a wire channel for other projects.

There's a lot you can do with special made copper tips. However, they don't last very long.

 

But the most important part is maintaining a gas tight seal with high torque on the wire nuts

"Gas Tight Seal"? No gas involved in soldering. Not unless you're soldering with some exotic metals. Gas is used in welding. It prevents oxygen from oxidizing the joint. Yes, a good tight connection is critical.

No. The current is enough (from those two brass studs ) but the voltage is tooooo low. As post #13 said, a perfect conduction is key to get maximum from the gun. Spot welding is normally two steel or nicke tabs which have big impedance. That drops heat to nothing

I've seen small spot welders that use a capacitive discharge as the source of current. It doesn't take high voltage to get high current. I've seen guys use a car battery or two to weld with.

Here's a spot welder using a 12V 7Ah 28W battery. Granted, the voltage on the tips of the Weller is way lower than 12V but the current is there.

 

maintain high pressure during the weld.

Short probes plus the weight of the gun and your hand could be sufficient pressure for a small spot weld such as that linked in post #26

 

Capacitive discharge and resistance welding are two different animals, one diff is that the former uses Hi voltage, the latter, Very low voltage.

 

Tried a couple of solid copper wires from my junk box as 2.5" long (64mm) tip for a WEN model 199 soldering pistol,
the 0.039" ∅ (near to AWG18) heated well and fast but flimsy,
a 0.079" ∅ (near AWG12) heated poorly and slow but sturdy.
The 0.061" ∅ (AWG14) performed very well, will stick to it.

Suspect an in-between gauge should be fine. May try AWG16 next and report findings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A search with the Artificial Imbecility showed :

 

Hi.
What is the optimal copper wire gauge to replace the factory tips ? Cannot remember if awg 12, 14... other ? Too thin heats up to much and fails early, too thick and does not deliver the temperature... Anyone remembers ?
View attachment 367937

https://www.amazon.com/Apex-Group-7...ips+for+that+plain+weller+8200,aps,192&sr=8-1

 

https://www.amazon.com/Apex-Group-7135W-Replacement-Soldering/dp/B00002N7O3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2O38SYG5BM151&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.nQX7Q-aQ_9CbtQaVNFc8s31Lm51q-3Vg_WAfUjbwU6KpIDPYx2qJBBYZ4oKGuatYN_-oziyK-iVS00RjdNnCvqb9BgE79fobZTCuNFg3yJy5Lm05SUBu8Feq7-S_FGoHyQbzYX-QenR97-pf_e6n0Yk_Kcj8tbaSroPNAK7Om_nGPDrSaPpcE8paVY708yGVW1WLlm5Tw-okZ3mL6KY2igIWQYRHJ1GzSKF-iCbgLN2BMoIv5eKsfhXb6T-dV-cIbl6LWLKubYQwFSGlsq5bExF1fMj_fUMhll-AmHtBpNY.qVhhYbNWJBRlfXVJ8XFcLiq7NBIFAjPHcJF5y_dTjk0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Tips+for+that+plain+Weller+8200&qid=1780689579&sprefix=tips+for+that+plain+weller+8200,aps,192&sr=8-1

Post #4 !??

 

Post #4 is the original replacement tip for Weller with a something wrong 5.5mm in it. The trials above are plain replacement copper wire as requested, but for a WEN pistol.

 

Tried a couple of solid copper wires from my junk box as 2.5" long (64mm) tip for a WEN model 199 soldering pistol,
the 0.039" ∅ (near to AWG18) heated well and fast but flimsy,
a 0.079" ∅ (near AWG12) heated poorly and slow but sturdy.
The 0.061" ∅ (AWG14) performed very well, will stick to it.

Suspect an in-between gauge should be fine. May try AWG16 next and report findings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A search with the Artificial Imbecility showed :
View attachment 368054

#38 AWG solid copper wire is0.003965" diameter (0.1 mm)
#10 AWG solid copper wire is 0.1019" diameter (2.6 mm)

Be careful of what AI reports to you on a technical information search. AI is trained on everything it finds on the WEB. It takes everything found that remotely applies to the question, including all of the mis-information posted by those who don't have a clue what they are talking about, and summarizes those findings and reports them as FACTS!

Remember, the I is not an upper-case "I", but a lower-case "L". The "A" stands for All. Therefore Al stands for "All lies". If you are going rely on AI, you had better qualify it with a very large dose of critical thinking.

 

Doctor Dan... Those are the original robbery tips plus tax plus $19.99999 shipping + handling + whatever they want to add am refusing to buy and make them richer.

 

I want to say 12 AWG, but I have always used Weller tips, so I never really had to worry about it. I believe the limiting factor is how sharp of a bend you can make after the nut without fracturing the copper.

Every Weller (and Radio Shack labeled) gun has the first position as the low heat and the second (full pull) as the high heat. This applies to both the 100/140W and the 240/325W models.

The usual technique with using these guns is to pull the trigger fully (high heat) to heat up the connection as quickly as possible. Once the solder (applied opposite to the tip) starts to flow, release the trigger to the low heat position, applying as much solder and time as required to make the solder connection. Then fully release the trigger, remove the tip and solder as a single action.

Once the technique is perfected, you can actually use one of these guns on discrete component PC boards without damage. I would NOT use one on modern IC-based electronics because the tip voltage can be 170 volts above ground. If I remember right, if the tip burns out while using it, the voltage across the tip is around 2 volts AC (it is just a transformer after all).

As tonyStewart said, the important thing is maintaining a gas-tight seal with the nuts. A gas-tight seal meaning that the two conductors are in such intimate contact that air molecules can’t get in between them, not that you are adding any gasses as in welding. The exact size of the tip “wire” has a secondary effect on actually achieving this. Too thin and you can’t tighten it enough.

These guns were designed for use back in the days of vacuum tubes where you needed high heat for the physically and thermally massive connections that were the norm. It was the only thing out there where you could make solder connections to the steel chassis without burning everything around it. They have been replaced by much more refined soldering irons to suit most modern electronics needs, but they still have their place once in a while. The really nice thing about them is the tip cools down almost immediately.

 

Remember, the I is not an upper-case "I", but a lower-case "L". The "A" stands for All. Therefore Al stands for "All lies". If you are going rely on AI, you had better qualify it with a very large dose of critical thinking.

I do NOT rely in AI the diarrhea of humanity factory of lazys, but now they show up on all plain search engines and noticed.

 

I do NOT rely in AI the diarrhea of humanity factory of lazys, but now they show up on all plain search engines and noticed.

Not much intelligence here, artificial or not. 50 years ago an 8200 was an every day tool for me. It would survive its Bakelite housing's missing pieces wrapped with electrical tape, and when the tip broke, I took a piece of 12 Ga house wire, smashed a half inch of it with a hammer and formed it to resemble the real thing. 14 would work in a pinch, but I preferred the 12. Just last month a neighbor (non techie) asked me to recommend a soldering tool. He came home with a Weller 8200.

 

 

there is a barrel of apples mixed. Rotten or ripe are your choices

 

Yup, I use 10AWG on my "old" D-550 but it is the high-power model. Maybe I could put a tighter bend on it for a "finer" point, but guns were never really meant for "fine" soldering. I use it for power! The power to heat a piece of steel sheet metal hot enough to puddle solder on for making chassis ground points without having to drill and mount a soldering lug (which can come loose). Anything else I use the soldering iron with the appropriate tip for the job. Just exactly what is it that you are trying to do with the gun? If it is simply for a replacement tip, it would be hard to beat the tips designed and made for the gun and they are very durable. Not terribly expensive on Amazon and cheaper than my Hakko brand tips. I have the standard Wen tip on my other 8200N gun but I haven't used it in years...