Soldering irons
At about £60 ($120), soldering irons are the most expensive essential
item in your stained glass kits, so it’s best to make sure you choose the correct one from the start. At the Art College where I teach, we provide both gas and electric irons, and without hesitation I would say that my students prefer the electric ones. So why is this? What are you looking for when you buy a stained glass soldering iron?
First, temperature.
Your iron should have a heat capacity of between 80 and 200 watts. When you do stained glass soldering, the tip has to reach and maintain a certain temperature to melt the solder. Electric irons from 100 watt upwards are thermostatically controlled, which means that not only do you not have to keep unplugging it to regulate the temperature, but the constant temperature held by the irons is the correct one for stained glass solder and is less likely to melt the lead cames.
Second, flexibility.
Electric irons have a variety of tips that can be removed by a
set screw – so you can be sure of having the right tool for the job in hand, and you are able to replace a worn out tip. The tapered bit is the most commonly used, as it is capable of coping with a range of different angles.
Third, weight.
I’ve worked with 100 and 200-watt irons, and – along with my students – prefer the 100-watt. It’s balanced, light, and easily up to any stained glass solder job I’ve asked of it. Undoubtedly the 200-watt is quicker, due to the extra power, but this advantage is cancelled out by the extra weight and the cumbersome size of the tip.
So what’s wrong with a gas stained glass soldering iron? Theoretically, it does the job, but not without a bit more fuss. You have to maintain the copper bit by filing it down flat – it’s putting my teeth on edge just writing
it! – and there’s no temperature regulation, so melting the lead (instead of the solder) is more of a hazard. There’s also the lack of flexibility – gas soldering irons are adequate for flat work, but if you ever wanted to make a 3-D object, the clumsy tips are more difficult to manoeuvre.
Oh, and then there’s the safety and space issues – a gas bottle is more dangerous and takes up more room than a compact electric iron. OK, I know I’m biased… if you prefer a gas iron, let me know why and I may reconsider!
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