• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

My Dad's Homemade Soldering Iron

Montycat

Montycat

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Subscriber
I wish I had pictures or the actual soldering iron but I managed to get the plans at least. I'm afraid the soldering iron itself is long gone. Anyway my dad was a HAM and a major tinkerer. In fact his nick name was "Tink".

He built a lot of his own gear including tube transceivers. And he even made his own soldering iron. And my older brother reverse engineered the plans for it when he was in first year engineering back in 1969. He just came across them and scanned them to send to me.

Unfortunately the pages he used to draft them were 11"x 17" so if you are interested in having a look you will kind of have to stitch it together.

...oops. I tried to attach the PDF but it's too big. I will try to edit it later and upload it.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
I managed to capture the first page of 10 in the plans.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Soldering iron.JPG
    Soldering iron.JPG
    57.3 KB · Views: 449
:thmbsp:
The things that people will build when they need them and are not readily available otherwise. Harkens from a time when everything was not disposable.
:thmbsp:
 
I was going through some of my old threads and thought this thing was so cool that I wanted to bump it for those who might not have seen it yet. I wish I had it or at least a picture of it. Or better yet, my dad using it. :tears:
 
Excellent - brings back memories of hours & hours of tech. drawing by hand.... with an old school teacher, who 'clipped' your ear if he could see construction lines ! Also about '69.....
 
Montycat said:
I was going through some of my old threads and thought this thing was so cool that I wanted to bump it for those who might not have seen it yet. I wish I had it or at least a picture of it. Or better yet, my dad using it. :tears:
Click to expand...

Wow! I would love to see a picture. Did your dad do this just for personal enjoyment, or did he have a commercial purpose in mind?
 
Very cool ... I would have loved to seen the final product. Just the precision of the drawing itself speaks to a different time. I remember taking an old school drafting class back in the 70's - It was a blast and I loved it. I grew up in a family full of engineers ... we were always tripping over something someone was putting together or tore out of the ground.
 
Looks like an articulating solder head? maybe per chance your dad worked for IBM or NEC for pcb soldering?

Goldie99;
Excellent - brings back memories of hours & hours of tech. drawing by hand.... with an old school teacher, who 'clipped' your ear if he could see construction lines ! Also about '69.....
Click to expand...

In the US the instructors were more tolerable but bit you with sarcasm versus ear tweaking. A Hungarian engineer reflected to me on [his] journeyman experience and the first thing they did was to make a precision cube 25.4mm using a file and a chunk of metal. If the instructor heard the file squeak or shrill he's slap you on the back of the head! Said the sob wore a ring the size of a good bolt on purpose. Then tell jokes.. usually the head slap followed laughing preceded by file shrill. If you didn't laugh at his jokes you got a bad mark. :D

(goldie.. got your pm today and replied.. hope you get it or pm me again)
 
Dad was just an electronic hobbyist and he probably built this at least 10, maybe 20 years before those drawings were done by my oldest brother in '69 who was in first year electrical engineering in 1969.

Dad's "day job" was the church. He was an Anglican minister.

But again one of his hobbies was HAM radio and his call sign was VE1JT. The JT gave him his on-air handle, Juicy Tomato. :)
 
A great grandad of Weller!

Trio said:
:thmbsp:
The things that people will build when they need them and are not readily available otherwise. Harkens from a time when everything was not disposable.
:thmbsp:
Click to expand...

It looks like a "home brew" version of a Weller soldering gun (not likely on the market as yet!) :scratch2:

Cool stuff! :tresbon:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom