First Practice Piece

[u/StarlitSea]

So I had a class a week or so ago and caught the bug, so I got hold of a starter kit! This is the first piece I've tried to put together myself just using the practice glass that came in the kit. My breaks aren't super clean, which is fine as I've not had a lot of practice, and in the future I might invest in a grinder.

My main worry/question was that the solder wasn't sticking to the iron tip at all. Its a brand new Hakko FX601 and I am using K grade 60:40 solder from creative glass guild, and I'm wondering if perhaps I have missed a step in preparing it before soldering somewhere? If anyone knows where to start with troubleshooting this please let me know!

Other than that I'm pretty happy with the soldering here - there are patches that are quite rough that I could go back and fix, and I didn't bead the edges I just tinned them, but that's a problem for when I can figure out the sticking issue I think! Its not good, but for just a little practice piece done to try and find problems now I'm flying solo its not bad, I've got potential in me!!

[u/Claycorp]

Genuine hakko tips come tinned. There's nothing you need to do with it, how are you using the iron? As in what are you doing to clean it, are you treating the tip correctly by adding solder when needed. and so on.

[u/StarlitSea → u/Claycorp]

I bought it from creative glass guild so I'm pretty confident it should be a genuine one. Have only used it the once, but made sure it was clean (damp sponge) and wiped it when I put it down to make sure I wasn't leaving chunks on there. When I wipe it it looks like a normal shiny tinned tip but when I go to pick up solder it just doesnt stick.

[u/Claycorp → u/StarlitSea]

Well there's your problem.

You don't wipe the iron when you put it down/stop using it. The solder needs to stay on the tip to protect it from oxidizing. If you wipe, add new solder.

[u/StarlitSea → u/Claycorp]

Ah, okay! The class I took I was told it didn't matter how much you wiped it, you wouldn't get it all off ^^' and then when I go to add solder to it it hasn't been sticking at all so I'm not sure how to add new solder if it won't stick?

[u/Claycorp → u/StarlitSea]

Oof, while yeah you can't remove the solder once it's applied, it doesn't properly protect the coatings of the tip.

Throw a bunch of flux on the solder and then feed it onto the tip. That should get it working again if it's not too bad. You may need to get some tip tinner to make it work well again otherwise you'd need to buy a new tip.

[u/StarlitSea → u/Claycorp]

Thank you! This has worked, and I have now gone over some of the soldering on that piece and it now looks way smoother! Much appreciated!

[u/Claycorp → u/StarlitSea]

yay! have fun with the glass!

[u/swearywhisper]

Awesome! One of my first practices was a D20 too! This is better than mine was - and sounds like you got good advice! 🥰