Originally Posted by
1mrdad
+1. I switched to a larger blade tip (1 size larger than stock on a Hakko 888) after reading this article (How to solder correctly (a not so brief lesson) Plus tips and more... ), and it made a huge difference in time and ease of soldering.
Glad it helped.
Originally Posted by
Schlong Connery
Guys, Thanx for all of the replies. My new tips arrive today along with 63/37 solder.
Looking forward to trying out the larger tips. I ended up buying a Xytrnic LF-1600 soldering station and I am amazed how fast these things heat up.
Quality irons make a difference.
Also remember that large wire sizes have a lot of air gaps. (all stranded wire does, large wire just has more) All those spaces between the wire strands, though small, resist heat flow. So as the wire size gets larger the more resistant to even heating it is.
On large wire, it can help to add solder closer to where you are holding the iron. As the solder melts and flows it fills in the gaps and helps the heat spread to the rest of the wire.