3 simple ways to make a soldering iron out of improvised materials

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On the Internet you can find a lot of instructions for making powerful soldering irons from improvised tools. To create some products you need good knowledge in radio engineering, but in most cases a homemade soldering tool can easily be assembled even for the beginner. Next, we'll just talk about how to make a soldering iron by our own hands at home, without having the professional skills in working with radio engineering. To your attention will be given 3 simple instructions, from the most simple to the most difficult!
Idea # 1 - Using the
  • resistor Idea # 2 - The second life of the ballpoint pen
  • Idea # 3 - Powerful pulse model

  • Idea # 1 - Using the resistor

    The first and most simple technology of making an electric soldering iron by our own hands is using a resistor. The device will be rated for operation at a voltage of 6 to 24 volts. In order to make a tool on your own, you will need the following materials:

    • Resistor with characteristics: 20 Ohm resistance, power 7 Watts. The main element of the device
    • Textolite plate for comfortable handles. Screws and plate
    • Two copper bars of different cross-section. The one that is thicker, is selected strictly by the internal diameter of the resistor. The second should be thinner, for the convenience of soldering microchips a small sting.
    • One bitten spring ring( will serve as a fixative), a cog and a washer. All accessories you can see in the photo below. Initial parts

    To make a soldering iron made of a resistor at home, you have to perform the following steps:

    1. At the end of a thick copper rod, you need to drill a hole and run the thread under the screw. It is also necessary to cut out the groove under the lock, which in our case is a spring ring. Prepared copper rod
    2. From the second end, drill a hole with a diameter, like a thin rod, which will act as a mini soldering iron tip.
    3. All the elements of the rod must be assembled in one piece, as shown in the photo. Collected Stinger
    4. The resistor is prepared to fix the soldering tip of the soldering iron, which must be inserted and secured from behind with a screw and washer. Heater assembly
    5. From the textolite plate you need to make a comfortable handle with a seat under the resistor and wire. Cut out handle photo
    6. A power cord must be connected to the heater terminals. Connected cord
    7. The ready-made homemade soldering iron is twisted and checked. Ready-Made Homemade

    We draw your attention to the fact that such a portable gun can easily solder chips and even make a charger for a car battery with their own hands. It can work not only from the power supply unit, but also from the batteries. On the forums we met a lot of reviews, where this version of the gadget was connected from the cigarette lighter to 12 volts, which is also very convenient!

    Video instruction for making the simplest electrical appliance
    YouTube Trailer

    Idea # 2 - Second Life for the ballpoint pen

    Another unusual yet simple idea is to make a soldering iron with your own hands from improvised materials. In this case, we again need a resistor, but in this case no longer PEV( as in the previous version), but MLT.Materials to be prepared

    So, first you need to prepare the following materials:

    • Ballpoint pen of the simplest design.
    • Resistor with characteristics: resistance 10 Ohm, power 0.5W.
    • Double-sided textolite.
    • Copper wire with a diameter of 1 mm.
    • Steel wire with a diameter of no more than 0.8 mm. Immediately it should be noted that the steel should take shape and at the same time not be soft, then you will understand why.
    • Wires for connection to the network.

    To make a soldering iron made from a handle at home is quite simple, you just need to perform the following steps:

    1. Remove the paint layer from the resistor surface. If the paint is poorly removed, connect the product to an adjustable power source and heat a little.
    2. Two wires exit the barrel, cut one of them and drill a hole for the copper wire( diameter 1 mm) at this point. To ensure that the wire does not come in contact with the cup( this must be avoided), make a razzenkovku thicker drill, as shown in the photo below. In addition, you need to make a small cut for the current lead directly on the cup of the resistor. Prepared barrel
    3. Curl the steel wire in the shape of a knob with a ring-shaped fastener, the diameter that you drank on a cup. Prepared holder
    4. Gently from the two-sided textolite, cut the board with your own hands, exactly the same as shown in the example in the photo. Body components
    5. Next you need to collect a homemade soldering iron from the handle, which should not cause complications. Mounted Mounting
    6. It remains to install a thin stinger in the seat. To prevent copper wire from burning a resistor, you need to make a protective layer of a piece of mica or ceramics between the back wall and the sting. Collected heater
    7. The last thing you need to do is connect the self-made to the power supply unit by 1 A and the voltage is not more than 15 Volts. Final appearance

    That's the whole technology of creating a self-made mini soldering iron at home. As you can see, nothing is complicated and all the materials can be found at home, dismantling the old technique. This tool can be used to solder smd components on the chips themselves.

    How to make a more sophisticated model mini soldering iron at home?
    YouTube Trailer
    Video review of a device with nichrome wire operating from 12 volts
    YouTube Trailer

    Idea # 3 - Powerful pulse model

    Well, the latter option is suitable for those who are already more or less familiar with radio engineering and can read the corresponding schemes. A master class for making a self-made impulse soldering iron will be provided according to the example of this circuit: Diagram of a self-made soldering device

    The advantage of a more powerful tool is that the tip will heat up after 5 seconds after the power is turned on, while the heated rod can easily melt the tin. At the same time, it can be made from a pulsed power supply from a fluorescent lamp, slightly improving the motherboard at home.


    As in the previous examples, first consider the materials from which you can make a soldering iron by yourself at home. Before assembly, you must prepare the following tools:
    • Ferrite ring from the impulse converter. The primary winding of the transformer must consist of 100, a maximum of 120 turns of copper wire, 0.5 mm in diameter. The secondary winding is represented by a single turn of a copper bus, with a diameter not exceeding 3.5 mm. Ferrite ring photo
    • Copper wire, diameter from 1.5 to 2 mm as a stinger. Wire for the sting

    All you need is to connect the sting to the secondary winding, which, in fact, is already part of it. After that, one of the ballast pins must be connected to the mains of the transformer and everything, consider that you managed to make a good pulse soldering iron of rapid heating at home! Pulse model assembly Second Life impulse converter

    In addition, we recommend that you watch a video that shows how to easily make a soldering iron stand at home and a temperature regulator:

    A simple instruction for manufacturing an adjustable device
    YouTube Trailer

    Do not want to waste time and create an electrical appliance? Roman Ursu will tell you how to make a simple but effective soldering iron from a lighter without a spiral and mica:

    Compact heater from the lighter
    YouTube Trailer

    We still recommend using either the first or the second option, which is more understandable and easier to manufacture. As for the transformer version, it is even more powerful, but still not so convenient to use. We hope that these photo instructions were useful for you and at last we recommend to review all video examples in which the assembly process is considered in more detail!

    Also read:

    • How to solder wires
    • What tools should an electrician have?
    • How to make a mini drill with your own hands

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