How to Easily Connect Copper Pipe Without Soldering

Soldering copper pipe together can be frustrating for some people. The process can be very difficult especially in tight places where the pipe is close to walls or other areas that are difficult to work in.

Weller Soldering Tools

If you are one of the solder challenged and ever wondered if there was a way to connect copper pipe together without solder, then you need to look at a new type of plumbing devices that actually do the job efficiently and without the hassles of solder connections.

Weller Soldering Tools

If you have a need for redoing an area and have procrastinated because of the cost of getting a plumber, then the snap fitting system is what you have been searching for.

These little gems come in different configurations such as unions, tees and ball valves and other configurations that provide easy leak free connections. With a cut, snap and click, you will be able to quickly connect copper to copper or transition to CPVC piping without much effort.

If you ever need to reconfigure a previous connection, a little tool can be used to disassemble the connections and allow you to easily retool the area without much effort.

In summary, if you are a do it your selfer who cringes at plumbing work, because of the potential soldering that the job needs, then you must look into these snap together fittings that take the entire soldering process out of the equation. Plumbing connections without solder can be a dream come true to many who think they need a high cost plumber to complete their small bathroom or kitchen job.

How to Easily Connect Copper Pipe Without Soldering

Weller Soldering Tools

Special Price!!! Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station

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Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station Feature

On/off switch with "power-on" indicator light
Variable heat setting
Cushioned rubber grip
Replaceable heating element
Quality performance at a discount price

Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station Overview

The Stahl Tools variable temperature soldering station is designed to exceed the expectations of veteran technicians—at a price that's appealing to the electronics hobbyist. Many different soldering tasks are accomplished easily by using the adjustable 5 to 40 watt temperature adjustment. The lightweight pencil iron features a fatigue-reducing rubber grip, and a Bakelite-ringed holder keeps the iron at the ready. A field replaceable, precision ground, iron-plated solid copper tip provides maximum heat transfer, minimizing cold solder joints. Includes tip cleaning sponge. Additional tips available for a variety of soldering applications. Stahl Tools—The Technician's Friend™

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Stained Glass - Basic Skills You Need To Make Stained Glass Art

Making stained glass crafts is a wonderful hobby for almost anyone. There's just something magical about the unique beauty of these wonderful objects, but you don't have to be a magician to create stained glass art. Anyone can do it!

Weller Soldering Tools

Making beautiful stained glass objects requires very little initial investment, and even if you have only a basic skill level, the results of your efforts will amaze you.

Weller Soldering Tools

Read the following overview of the skills needed, and I'm sure you'll agree there's no reason you can't jump right in and make a success of your new hobby:

Cutting stained glass

Cutting is probably the most demanding skill you'll need to develop. But don't worry. Over the years, plenty of clever people have refined the glass cutting procedure to get it just right. Cutting is now safe, predictable, and easy.

If you follow standard glass-cutting procedure, use good equipment, and put safety first, you'll find yourself easily cutting the shapes you need with very little waste or breakage.

Grinding pieces of stained glass until they're just the right shape

Glass cutting is an inexact art. When you cut glass, you get the pieces close, but they're never exactly the shape you need them to be to fit your design. And that's where glass grinding comes in.

A good glass grinder resembles a miniature router table, and it makes it a snap to easily shape your rough-cut glass however you want. Any misshapen or jagged edges are easily ground away, and you're left with a perfectly shaped piece that's ready to take its place in the pattern.

Foiling the edges of the cut pieces of glass

As you probably know, solder doesn't adhere to glass very well. In fact, if you tried to solder directly to glass, your creation would fall apart like a loose puzzle. That's where foiling saves the day.

By wrapping copper foil around the cut edges of your pieces of stained glass, you give the solder something to stick to. Foil ties everything together so your stained glass creation becomes a single unit rather than a collection of separate pieces.

You can foil by hand, or use an inexpensive foiling tools to help you along. Either way, it's an enjoyable task that's almost impossible to get wrong.

Soldering stained glass

This is the one you've been waiting for, right? Soldering turns your glass pieces into a single, beautiful creation. And with the right equipment, it's not as difficult as you might think.

Although clean, even soldering takes a bit of practice, even an absolute beginner can get the hang of it very quickly. And if you get some stray blobs of solder where they don't really belong, there's no reason to worry about it. After all, it adds character to your artwork. Anyway, you'll almost always start soldering the back of your artwork first. So when it comes time to do the front, you'll be up to speed and soldering like a pro!

With a good soldering station, you'll always know if your soldering iron is heated up and ready to produce an even bead of solder.

Finishing and framing stained glass creations

Once your artwork is soldered to your satisfaction, there's nothing left but to finish and frame your masterpiece. Finishing is an optional step that removes any imperfections in the solder joints, but lots of folks like to leave things unfinished for a more natural, hand-crafted look.

Framing is easy too, assuming your art is a standard size. If you made your artwork from a kit, it's almost certain that you'll easily find a frame to that fits. But if you're the do it yourself type who designs his or her own stained glass, you'll want to design it to fit a frame.

Stained Glass - Basic Skills You Need To Make Stained Glass Art

Weller Soldering Tools

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Weller 8200PK Soldering Gun Kit

Special Price!!! Weller 8200PK Soldering Gun Kit

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Weller 8200PK Soldering Gun Kit Feature

All-Purpose, 120V Soldering Gun
Dual-Heat Gun Produces 140W Or 100W With Pistol Grip Design
Fingertip Trigger Selects High Or Low Output
Ready To Use In 6 Sec
High-Efficiency, Tin-Plated Copper Tip

Weller 8200PK Soldering Gun Kit Overview

Type: Single
Wattage: 140 W/100 W
Temperature Range: 1020° F/900° F
Cord Length: 6 ft.

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Weller Tip, Soldering, Conical For WP Series Irons, 1/32"

Special Price!!! Weller Tip, Soldering, Conical For WP Series Irons, 1/32"

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Weller Tip, Soldering, Conical For WP Series Irons, 1/32" Feature

Conical tip
1/32"

Weller Tip, Soldering, Conical For WP Series Irons, 1/32" Overview

Conical tip; 1/32".

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Weller 7135W Replacement Soldering Gun Tip

Special Price!!! Weller 7135W Replacement Soldering Gun Tip

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Weller 7135W Replacement Soldering Gun Tip Feature

Returns will not be honored on this closeout item

Weller 7135W Replacement Soldering Gun Tip Overview

Fits Tool(s): 8200, 9200
Tip Style: Standard
Tip Width O/D: .165 in./4.19 mm
Reach/Length: .885 in./22.48 mm

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WES51 Weller Soldering Iron - Review

The WES51 is excellent soldering iron that is designed and manufactured by famous Weller company. It is perfect for all kinds of soldering projects including repairs, rework, industrial manufacturing, etc. Its economical price makes it also a good soldering iron for occasional users such as hobbyist or home electronics enthusiast. The WES51 is best-selling soldering iron on Amazon.

Weller Soldering Tools

And Weller has been around for many generations. Weller has started designing and manufacturing soldering irons in 1940s. Even though Cooper Tools acquired Weller Soldering in 1970s, the Weller brand name is well-respected and recognized throughout the world as a best manufacturer of soldering equipment.

Weller Soldering Tools

When you buy the WES51 Weller soldering station, you will receive the main power unit, the pencil, the pencil stand and a sponge attached to the pencil stand that you can use to clean the tip of the soldering iron. All of those tools combined into the soldering station setup, provide you everything that you need to start your soldering project.

Some of features of WES51 Weller station:
50 watt iron is is perfect for most soldering tasks Temperature range at the tip of iron is adjustable from 350 to 850 degrees Fahrenheit Non-burnable cord made of silicon rubber (cord length 4 ft.) Temperature lockout control so you do not burn up your circuit board with a careless mistake Easily switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius readouts Electronic temperature control is accurate to within 9 degrees Fahrenheit Station automatically powers down after 99 minutes of inactivity Static proof so you do not destroy delicate circuit boards Fast heat up of iron from cold to hot, even with bigger tips

The WES51 comes with PES51 soldering pencil that has a comfortable foam grip that improves the ease of use and reduces heat transfer from the iron into your fingers. I found the soldering pencil to be really quite comfortable to grip for extended periods. It features a stainless steel heating element which extends the soldering iron's life by minimizing corrosion. Soldering pencil PES51 uses ET series tips - Weller has a huge range of tips in ET series to suit all kinds of soldering jobs.

Main problem with most of soldering irons is that you need to wait for them to heat up from cold stage to ready-for-soldering stage, not only when you start using them, but also in between jobs if you leave them alone for a long period of time. For example, one of my soldering stations automatically powers down after 15 minutes of inactivity. Unfortunately, this particular setting is not adjustable so you can not customize it for your needs. In other words, you can not increase this time if you do little bit of soldering with a long periods of time between two soldering jobs. WES51 has a built-in activator that allows it to automatically powers down after 99 minutes of inactivity. That is right setting of this shut down time - you have enough time even if you have some longer interval between two soldering jobs.

Another great characteristic of the WES51 Weller soldering iron is that it has very accurate electronic temperature control. Temperature of iron can be adjusted with the front panel temperature control knob - you can precisely control the temperature of iron to within 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Electronic temperature control means you'll always know if the tip of the iron is hot enough for the material you are soldering. It makes your soldering task a whole lot easier. In addition, electronic temperature control allows precise control of the heat level at the tip of the iron. This means that you can rest assured that your iron is hot enough and ready for soldering, and at same time you know that it is not too hot to burn some temperature-sensitive components on circuit board. If you do not pay attention on temperature of iron's tip you can accidentally damage or ruin your soldering project by applying too much heat. For every soldering task you need enough heat to quickly and reliably melt the solder and apply it to soldering joints, but you do not want too much heat that can burn or melt delicate electronic components or circuit boards.

In conclusion, WES51 Weller soldering iron is solidly built, it has a very durable design and you can count on using one for many years with no problems. It comes in well known Weller-blue color. It is very comfortable to use this Weller soldering iron, even if you spend several hours of continuous soldering on your soldering task.

Weller WES51 analog soldering iron is very similar to Weller WESD51 soldering iron but does not have a digital display (digital display shows current temperature of iron's tip during operation or set-up).

Weller soldering iron WES51 is an excellent low cost soldering iron. It is one of the best soldering irons on market that can be found under 0. I give 4 out of 5 stars for this soldering station, as it lacks a digital readout.

WES51 Weller Soldering Iron - Review

Weller Soldering Tools

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Weller Soldering Tip, 0.031", Long Conical, ET Series Feature

ETO long conical tip
1/32"

Weller Soldering Tip, 0.031", Long Conical, ET Series Overview

ET Series Tips - For EC1201A, EC1201AFE, EC1204, EC1001-1, EC2002m, WCC100, WES50, WES51, WESD51 irons. ETO long conical tip. Size: 0.031".

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Solder Sucker

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Solder Sucker Feature

Simple design allows easy one-handed use

Solder Sucker Overview

Fast action, heavy duty desoldering pump. Simply heat up solder joint and push button. Automatic nozzle cleaner. Display packaged. Standard replacement tip #370-031. Length: 8".

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WESD51 Weller Digital Soldering Station - Review

I have been using this soldering station very often for soldering through hole and surface mount components including components in size 1206, 0805, 0603 and SOIC ICs. It is easy to set an accurate temperature on this iron - this is very important when soldering temperature sensitive components. The WESD51 digital soldering station has been designed for industrial manufacturing, but it can also be used for variety other soldering projects,including repair of circuit boards, replacement of electronic components or some soldering projects for hobbyist.

Weller Soldering Tools

The station comes with a power unit, detachable 50W iron (PES51), iron holder and tip-cleaning sponge, and 3-wire power cord. There is a power on/off switch, power-on LED, and temperature adjusting knob on the power unit. The station has processor control and digital display. The WESD51 Weller soldering station is the digital readout version of the popular analog WES51 soldering station. The unit display shows a "Read" mode by default, which displays the current temperature of the tip. To switch into the "Set" mode, turn the temperature control knob slightly and the display will show the current "Set" temperature. In other words, while adjusting the temperature, the display shows your target temperature and then automatically switches to show the current tip temperature. Tip temperature is adjustable in the range of 350 ºF to 850 ºF (177 ºC to 454 ºC), temperature accuracy is: +/-10 °F (+/- 6° C). The temperature shown on display can be switched between Degrees "F" and Degrees "C"- the factory default is ºF. The unit's grounded soldering iron tip, a digital readout, zero power switching and anti-static design allow the WESD51 soldering iron to meet high quality standards including CE mark. This soldering station will automatically shut off power to the tool and digital display after 99 minutes of inactivity.

Weller Soldering Tools

The WESD51 Weller iron comes with a PES51 soldering pencil. The PES51 is a slim, comfortable pencil style soldering iron that features a Nichrome wound stainless steel element construction, a non-burning silicone rubber cord, and large selection of tips in various styles including tips for surface mount devices. The iron uses ET series soldering tips, and changing the tips is quick and easy. The assortment of tips is very extensive - there are tips for heavy duty work to fine tips for SMD including conical, long conical, single flat, screwdriver and narrow screwdriver soldering tips.

The WESD51 Weller soldering station is "one of a kind" and I strongly recommend it. It is a real pleasure to work with WESD51 soldering iron. Absolutely worth the money! I give 5 out of 5 stars to this soldering iron.

WESD51 Weller Digital Soldering Station - Review

Weller Soldering Tools

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Weller WP35 35-Watt Professional Soldering Iron Feature

Ideal For A Wide Variety Of Electronic Tasks
Uses St Series Long Life Double-Coated Iron-Plated Tips
Tip Temperature: 850°F
Quick-Change Knurled Collar and Stainless-Steel Barrel
Light Blue With Cushion Grip Handle and Plug-In Heating Element

Weller WP35 35-Watt Professional Soldering Iron Overview

Product Features: # Ideal for a wide variety of electronic tasks - has ST3 soldering tip # Uses ST series long life double-coated iron-plated tips # Tip temperature: 850Â°F # Quick change knurled collar - stainless steel barrel # Light blue with cushion grip handle and plug-in heating element # 6' 3-wire cord - iron is 7 7/8 long # IMPORTANT: Use only WellerÂ® tips # UL and cUL listed (120 VAC units only)

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Weller Soldering Station

The soldering station is a great tool for those who love do-it-yourself activities or for those who need to repair something. This tool is a great partner even for housewives who need to keep the house fixed and for students who need to get their projects done. The station consists of a soldering iron, holder, sponge and a power unit.

Weller Soldering Tools

The Weller soldering kit is the most recommended product. The Weller brand was started by Karl Weller, a radio repairer, back in 1945. In his desire to make his job easier, we produced the first soldering station. As of now, Weller brand is under the ownership of Cooper Industries. Many reviews and recommendations will point you to the Weller brand for a great product.

Weller Soldering Tools

The soldering station kit is the better, if not the best, replacement for an individual soldering iron or gun. This tool can give you better performance without spending big amount of cash because this comes in affordable and reasonable price.

This tool should be heavy enough to be stable or hard to be moved when laid down on a surface, but light enough to be portable. Portability should be one of the major considerations you should take when buying a soldering station. If you are a daddy who needs to fix the house, a housewife who needs to maintain order inside the house, DIY lover or a hobbyist, or a student, you would always want to save on time and effort and portable stuffs can give you that, especially on soldering kit. This tool is also great for industrial purposes or manufacturing.

Weller Soldering Station

Weller Soldering Tools

Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station

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Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station Feature

On/off switch with "power-on" indicator light
Variable heat setting
Cushioned rubber grip
Replaceable heating element
Quality performance at a discount price

Stahl Tools SSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station Overview

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Soldering Your Jewelry With the Soldering Iron

It is common for the jewelry makers to have the skills to use the tools. One integral skill which is must owned by the jewelry makers is using the soldering tool to solder jewelry.

Weller Soldering Tools

Some people consider that it is safer to melt and attach the jewelry using the iron. You will also find it is easier to join the jewelry with that tool than using the blow torch. However, to do that, you will need the technique which is different from the old torch soldering. You also need to pay attention in choosing the metal. The iron can only be used on the basic metals like the tin or the copper.

Weller Soldering Tools

Before you do that, you will need to prepare some tools like the soldering iron, solder, the soldering tape, the metal jewelry to be soldered, and the soldering blocks.

The first thing you should do is pushing the two metal pieces together. If you do it correctly, the pieces will sit flushing against each other. You need to keep the gap is as thin as possible. After that, you will need to place the tape on the piece's surface which is not made from the metal. You can put it on the glass for example where you will melt to the pieces of the metal.

Do not forget to heat your iron while you do that. After it heats up, you can touch the tip of your tool to the area you want to join for seconds. Press the tip a little to the gap where the two pieces join together. You have to heat the iron's tip until the solder can flow to the gap. After you have done, do not forget to cool the area. Do not touch it with your bare hands. Let it cool until it has the room temperature.

Soldering Your Jewelry With the Soldering Iron

Weller Soldering Tools

Choosing the Right Soldering Iron for Electronics Work

Dan, one of my Facebook buddies, wrote to me asking about choosing a soldering iron:

Weller Soldering Tools

"Quick question... I'm looking for a new soldering iron. would you recommend anything under 40 dollars without a soldering station? I'm getting tired of my RadioShack 45 watt iron with the screw on tips (and having to use a bench grinder everyday to clean the tips)."

Weller Soldering Tools

I've been asked this question quite a bit, so I thought it was time to put something together explaining about soldering irons, flux and tinning.

Soldering Iron
The first thing I would recommend is getting an adjustable temperature soldering iron, and get used to setting the correct temperature for the different types of parts you are working with - hotter for larger gauge, and cooler for thinner, finer work. I typically work in the 325F to 400F range. I've been using the Velleman LAB1U, it has a built in multi-meter and power supply. These can be a bit pricey, so check out the Weller brand - sometimes they go on sale for around . I would avoid the Cold Heat soldering irons - they are unsuitable for delicate electronics, as are the big soldering "gun" type irons.

I used to use quite large gauge solder and tips, but just recently (after doing a lot of surface-mount work) switched to 1/32″ tip and 0.32″ diameter solder. This allows for much finer control with less overspill.

My soldering iron has a built in "damp sponge" to clean off excess solder inbetween uses. In the past I have used regular paper towels to do the same job, but a dedicated sponge with a circular hole cut in the middle really works best.

Helping Hands
The next thing I wouldn't be without is are some "Helping Hands" - these are pairs of crocodile clips that can be used to hold the workpiece while you concentrate on the soldering. this is really important, as it won't be long before you realise that you need 4 hands to solder things.

Even better than helping hands is a:

Bench Vice/Vise
I bought one of these 2 years ago and it's proven to be invaluable. The brand I use is "PanaVise" and they come with a range of bases and options - Fry's carries them, and they are available online. You can put the whole PCB you are working on into the vice, insert the components and then just flip it over to solder.

Flux Pen
Rosin Flux is a substance that encourages the solder to flow. If you find that you are having trouble getting a good solder joint then it's probably because the heat transfer isn't working correctly, or the components are dirty. Applying some solder flux to the joint area will really help - I've been using a flux pen for years and wouldn't want to be without one. An alternative is flux paste - like toothpaste it comes in a tube and can be applied with the fingers.

Tip Tinner and Cleaner
When you first fit a new soldering iron tip it will be bright, shiny and very difficult to work with. The solder will not stick to it and so you cannot "tin" the tip properly. Some people will use fine sandpaper to break in a new tip but I prefer to dip the new tip into some RadioShack "Tip Tinner and Cleaner". This starts the process nicely. It's also a good idea to dip the soldering iron after you are finished, and before you switch off. I find that it really helps to prevent the tip from wearing out prematurely.

Fume extractor
If you do a lot of soldering, then you need to get something installed on your bench to divert the fumes away from your face. It's not recommended to breath in solder fumes at all. I use a small fan, but a proper extractor is a very good idea.

Wire Cutters
The final piece of essential equipment is a pair of sharp, flat bottomed wire cutters. These are used to trim off excess component wire (the "leg") after soldering. The flat bottom is important to get the cut as close to the PCB as possible. Don't go too cheap with these, I paid about for mine.

That just about covers the basics of soldering, I would also think about getting a loupe (magnifier), some solder wick and solder "sucker" for removal, wire strippers and isopropyl alcohol and an old toothbrush for flux removal.

Very soon I'll put together a series of articles on soldering technique - covering basic through-hole assembly, and the more advanced surface-mount technology.

Choosing the Right Soldering Iron for Electronics Work

Weller Soldering Tools