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Recommendations for soldering surface?

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kaltag

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2002
Location
Boise Idaho
Hell there. I'm looking for recommendations for the counter top material for a soldering station. Right now I'm torn between glass, cork, and butcher block but open to any suggestions. What do the pro solderers like?
 
i use a stainless steel counter with preset drilled holes for my vice and other holding devices.
 
really anything that is smooth and wont easily grab onto molten solder is your best bet, i would stay away from wood because if you heat would with a solder the oils put out a toxic fume
 
I used to use rubber matting.

It was great because you could setup your clamps (I'm talking smallish PCB's here...) without drilling holes in the desk. The solder did stick and the mat needed to be replaced now and then, but it kept the bench clean and held onto whatever I needed it to.

There are some fumes now and then so care is needed but the benefit and the rare fumes are worth it.
 
How about a tile or two?
A flooring tile can withstand a bit of heat and wont grab onto the solder.
My soldering station currently has sheet metal, but solder sticks...

And make sure you dont breathe in the toxic solder fumes because they are.... TOXIC!
I made a fume extractor, but its not filtered. I still solder in the garage and the extractor just keeps the fumes out of my face.
 
you dont want brushed stainless steel as that has little grooves for the solder to stick 2, it has to be polished stainless steel. solder uses a physical bond not a chemical bond so if the solder cant "grab" the material it touches it wont stick.
 
Table cloth ontop of my desk? :shrug:

My comptuer is also the same place as my engineering dungeon, or is it my engineering dungeon is in the same place as my computer?
 
I use a sheet of cardboard.
Easy to replace, solder doesn't stick, and it lets you know if you're doing something you shouldn't be (like letting the soldering iron tip sit on the surface...).
 
Ideally a ceramic counter top like they use in your school lab room. but for hobbyist, any counter top will do, just have good ventilation.
 
I used to use my dads dinning room table... now that I have my own place I wouldn't dream of it. I use a 1'x1' piece of hard board.
 
I used to use my dads dinning room table... now that I have my own place I wouldn't dream of it. I use a 1'x1' piece of hard board.

I learned my lesson about soldering at expensive dining room tables at a young age...

I somehow managed to burn a pretty good mark in my Grandmothers dining room table at about the age of 13...

My butt still hurts from the whoopin' I took. LOL
 
i do mine on one of those plastic fold up tables, which is my work bench, solder seems to stick to it but it pops right off, cleans up easy and doubles as a LAN desk :p
 
When my brother moved out, he left me his glass kitchen table. I already have a nice dining room set, so I just used his old one as my workbench. Youll get small stains in the glass from the solder, but the cleanup is easy.
 
i do mine on one of those plastic fold up tables, which is my work bench, solder seems to stick to it but it pops right off, cleans up easy and doubles as a LAN desk :p

I am using the same, it's all in my computer room which is too cramped but that is another story.

But as far as a soldering surface goes, I found an old electric griddle out in the barn and it works perfect, nonstick surface, hot soldering tip, no problem. works great but needs a little modding itself. Again, that is another story.
 
The best surface for soldering, is a rubber 2 or 3 layer static dissipative mat. The rubber doesn't burn at temperatures of a soldering iron. Solder will just ball up on the surface, and can be easily wiped away. It is not unusual for such mats in a professional lab to last over 10 years with daily abuse. You can hold your soldering iron to it, and cause zero damage. It "heals" when cut, so the occasional cut here or there from an x-acto is no problem. The rubber is static dissipative, and the back side is conductive, so that you can ground the mat through a 1 Megohm resistor, and you'll have a nice static dissipative work surface.

Note: The places that sell this, also sell Vinyl dissipative mats. The Vinyl is cheaper. The Vinyl damages much more easily, and is easily burned by solder.

Here's a link to one place that offers the rubber static dissipative mat material:
http://www.all-spec.com/products/Flooring_and_Matting|ESD-Safe_Benchtop_Matting|MAT-00/
 
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