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Just realized I've been using the wrong tip on my soldering iron for years
Was working on a old Pioneer receiver last week and couldn't figure out why my joints looked like cold garbage. Took a picture and a guy on discord pointed out I'd been using a chisel tip for everything... switched to a fine conical and suddenly I'm actually making good connections on these tiny board traces. Anyone else stick with one tip out of habit?
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pat3604mo ago
Nah, I'm gonna push back on this. A good chisel tip with the right technique can handle more than people give it credit for, even on small stuff. I've done plenty of fine pitch work with a 2mm chisel and a steady hand, no problem. Conical tips have their place but they don't hold heat as well when you're trying to solder bigger ground planes.
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johnson.adam4mo ago
600Ā°F on a 2mm chisel and some decent flux makes quick work of QFN pins, @pat360, you just have to drag it right. Big ground planes are where conical tips fall apart - they lose heat too fast and you end up fighting cold joints. Keep a bigger chisel around for that stuff and you'll save yourself the headache.
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