Have you grabbed the wrong end of a soldering iron?

[XOIIO]

Alright, so this is something I am guessing has happened to everyone, but hey, maybe a couple people have gotten through life so far without ever grabbing the hot end of a soldering iron.

I know it's happened to me three times so far, possibly a couple more that I can't remember, but it always leaves a familiar feeling blister that is sure to form. Last time for me was a few months ago when I was fixing my a cheap laminator I got, I was distracted, listening to music, multitasking, and grabbed the hot end, it was not fun, and I couldn't believe I did it, it seems like such a rookie mistake.

At least I got it on video since I was recording the process, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) my channel isn't popular so I not many people laughed at my noobery.

So, when was the last time you burned your hand with a soldering iron? What were the circumstances?

Another fun (but much rarer I think) situation is when a ball of hot solder flings off or drops leaving a round indent in your skin for a while. That's only ever happened to me once.

[TheBorg]

Hey, it's better than putting hot glue on your thumb "just to see what would happen". And it wasn't the low temp melting stuff either... I am less of an idiot (but still an idiot! ) after that...

[XOIIO]

Hey, it's better than putting hot glue on your thumb "just to see what would happen". And it wasn't the low temp melting stuff either... I am less of an idiot (but still an idiot! ) after that...

Oh wow lol, that's certainly something.

I get plenty of hot glue burns (well, not burns but just a fair bit of pain) using high temp hot glue, always from using my fingers to adjust the glue, scrape it away from where I don't want it or trimming edges, so it's all self injury, but yet I still do it. I do make sure it cools a bit though.

[houdini]

I have grabbed the wrong end of the iron when i had a plug in one.  something pulled on the cord or the table shifted and pulled it and somehow the iron turned sideways.  It was just one a little wire stand so i reached over and grabbed it and it hurt a lot.  Also i have done the same thing with hot glue when it runs off the side of what i am gluing or something and i try to wipe it off with my finger.

[TheBorg]

Hey, it's better than putting hot glue on your thumb "just to see what would happen". And it wasn't the low temp melting stuff either... I am less of an idiot (but still an idiot! ) after that...

Oh wow lol, that's certainly something.

I get plenty of hot glue burns (well, not burns but just a fair bit of pain) using high temp hot glue, always from using my fingers to adjust the glue, scrape it away from where I don't want it or trimming edges, so it's all self injury, but yet I still do it. I do make sure it cools a bit though.

Yeah... I think it was freshman year in high school. Needless to say I've respected the hot glue gun ever since.
As for grabbing a soldering iron, I think the worst I've done is held the iron and tried to do something else (switch playlists or something) and ended up burning myself or some nearby plastic. Lessons learned
I did burn myself a lot more with the fire-starter iron and wire stand, as houdini says. It's certainly easier to do that...

[Rerouter]

I have had the tip unscrew and land on my arm, gas tips actually degrade to a point where they snapped off and land on my chest, and other people flick abnormally large bits off solder on my various body, and carelessly swiped it across bits of my hands while soldering things (and burnt my self stupid amounts with a gas iron in my first 6 months of using one))

but through all of this i have never actually grabbed the hot end, i think having a enclosed stand style iron for my first probably helped a large amount with this. if your in a quarter of a million dollar bus and the soldering iron is in mid flight to the floor, i let it fall, its less painful to replace carpet than it is to replace skin,

[cybermaus]

You guys need to use a stand.
Not just to avoid grabbing the wrong end, but also to avoid accidents where the iron shifts and scars stuff and wires.

Not that I do not know the feeling of hot irons, but most of my burns were the shape of resistors or leads that I felt I needed to hold on to while the solder solidified. 3rd hands are so difficult to work with sometimes.



PS: does not even need to be an expensive stand: An old glass jar is already better then letting your iron float all over and touch stuff.

[rexxar]

Yes, but not since I got a proper soldering iron with a stand. (I stole my brother's wood burning iron when I was a kid. Dear god was that some awful soldering)

Another fun (but much rarer I think) situation is when a ball of hot solder flings off or drops leaving a round indent in your skin for a while. That's only ever happened to me once.

My favorite is when you slip and jab the hot tip of the iron into your finger. Twice. On different hands 

Hey, it's better than putting hot glue on your thumb "just to see what would happen". And it wasn't the low temp melting stuff either... I am less of an idiot (but still an idiot! ) after that...

Oh, I remember doing that as a kid. My thinking was "Oh, I can touch it once it's sat for a minute, I wonder if I can put it on my fingers..."

[Kjelt]

I was lucky till 2006 in my company I grabbed a small Weller 80W SMT pencil on a WD81 with a very minute grip (the old one) and while pushing the iron against the pcb area i slipped my hand through over the iron burning two fingers. Never used those wellers again and they have been replaced since, I wonder why  .
The Wellers I have at home are fine  BTW never an incident.

[XOIIO]

You guys need to use a stand.
Not just to avoid grabbing the wrong end, but also to avoid accidents where the iron shifts and scars stuff and wires.

Not that I do not know the feeling of hot irons, but most of my burns were the shape of resistors or leads that I felt I needed to hold on to while the solder solidified. 3rd hands are so difficult to work with sometimes.



PS: does not even need to be an expensive stand: A while back I was fixing something at a friends house using his stand-less iron, and the first think I did was empty an old glass jar of the nails he was keeping in it, and use that as a stand. Very effective

Yeah, my earlier burns were without a stand, and just a radio shack plug right in iron. I didn't get an adjustable iron until a year or so ago, man was it a nice change going from that to a second hand hakko 936. The most recent burn was just epic failure though.

I know what you mean about helping hands though, maybe it was because I only got radio shack ones but you have to struggle to get them just right, and eventually the stupid little clamps get loose and fall off, and you can't solder them in place, and they never came with three hands, only two :/

Here is that video if you are interested, skip to 35:40 or so.
(not sure how to embed here)

edit: ah, it embeds for you.

[Rerouter]

with the helping hands buy new alligator clips (jaycar has ones with little black nubs on the compression point, compress the crimp so that it fits losely with the screw wound all the way out, secure it somehow so the wire loop is pointing down and flood it with solder, now you have a crimp that will take years to fail,

[XOIIO]

with the helping hands buy new alligator clips (jaycar has ones with little black nubs on the compression point, compress the crimp so that it fits losely with the screw wound all the way out, secure it somehow so the wire loop is pointing down and flood it with solder, now you have a crimp that will take years to fail,

Neat. I was thinking of making my own like this though, I just need to source a nice block of aluminum and a tapping bit, then I'll just use my drill press for the holes, I don't have access to a mill, and make one where I can have, oh heck, 6 hands if I want.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

[cybermaus]

... and they never came with three hands, only two :/

The entire thing is called a "3rd hand" because first two are attached to your body.

[PA4TIM]

I never used or missed a third hand. I use my thumb and second finger as one "clamp" and middelfinger and 4th finger as the second "clamp".
I'm in the "Lucky" circumstance that I do not feel burns so I have to be extra carefull. However the chance to burn is rather small. The solder irons are in their stands so it is impossible to grab the wrong end.

But looking at the way you tear that poor laminator down I'm not really supprised you burn your self. (only looked a few minutes, I think you will have to change a lot if you want more viewers)

[cybermaus]

Congenital analgesia? Would be rare!

But if so, or if any other reason why you do not feel burns, does that not mean you should exactly avoid trying to hold stuff with your hands?

[XOIIO]

I would advise you guys to never start playing with HV stuff. Natural selection is always ready and waiting.

Can't say as I've ever grabbed the wrong end of a soldering in all the years I've been using one. Always use the stand!

Not everyone was lucky enough to start out with a stand.

I never used or missed a third hand. I use my thumb and second finger as one "clamp" and middelfinger and 4th finger as the second "clamp".
I'm in the "Lucky" circumstance that I do not feel burns so I have to be extra carefull. However the chance to burn is rather small. The solder irons are in their stands so it is impossible to grab the wrong end.

But looking at the way you tear that poor laminator down I'm not really supprised you burn your self. (only looked a few minutes, I think you will have to change a lot if you want more viewers)

Had no choice but to tear it apart that much, I build up my own simple circuit using an attiny85 to replace the purely analog control method it used which stopped working properly.

[KJDS]

I've done it, repairing a disco unit years ago using an old Weller mains powered iron without a stand. I'd unplugged it an hour before picking it up, but my helpful mate had plugged it back in just in case I needed it again.

[GEuser]

Plenty of times , I'm a slow learner Ha Ha

The last time I had a all smd radio that I was modifying , it needed both hands really and I could not look away from the area as that stuff is so small so there I was , i had the target area fixed and really concentrating not to move anything , reached out for the iron unconsciously (it was flat on the bench after loosing the area several times) and still unconsciously as I was so fixed on keeping the target and me thinks 'what's that sizzling sound I can hear' THEN yeeoooowwwch! , it went deep too .

Until next time  , I'm a hobbyist .

[iampoor]

I left my Hakko 888 on all night. Anyone who is familiar with this iron is well aware of the.......questionable....lack of an "on" LED>
Of course this also happened to be the day that I picked it up from the bottom, for absolulty no reason.

And yes, it was at max temp.

I am an avid drummer and lets say I remeber that week fondly....

[XOIIO]

Plenty of times , I'm a slow learner Ha Ha

The last time I had a all smd radio that I was modifying , it needed both hands really and I could not look away from the area as that stuff is so small so there I was , i had the target area fixed and really concentrating not to move anything , reached out for the iron unconsciously (it was flat on the bench after loosing the area several times) and still unconsciously as I was so fixed on keeping the target and me thinks 'what's that sizzling sound I can hear' THEN yeeoooowwwch! , it went deep too .

Until next time  , I'm a hobbyist .

It actually sizzled? oh god, I've never had that happen. You must have gotten it by the tip.

[8086]

I've touched something I recently soldered before it was cool on several occasions but never grabbed the hot end of my soldering iron.

People actually do this?? 

[GEuser]

Plenty of times , I'm a slow learner Ha Ha

The last time I had a all smd radio that I was modifying , it needed both hands really and I could not look away from the area as that stuff is so small so there I was , i had the target area fixed and really concentrating not to move anything , reached out for the iron unconsciously (it was flat on the bench after loosing the area several times) and still unconsciously as I was so fixed on keeping the target and me thinks 'what's that sizzling sound I can hear' THEN yeeoooowwwch! , it went deep too .

Until next time  , I'm a hobbyist .

It actually sizzled? oh god, I've never had that happen. You must have gotten it by the tip.

That's what the wrong end is!

[cybermaus]

@lampoor: I do remember coming home from a 2 week business trip to discover I left my iron on.

I still did not grab it wrongly. But I did decide on that day to have a master switch for for the entire workbench with a clearly visible light.

[iampoor]

@lampoor: I do remember coming home from a 2 week business trip to discover I left my iron on.

I still did not grab it wrongly. But I did decide on that day to have a master switch for for the entire workbench with a clearly visible light.

Same here! Now my work lights and the iron are wired on the same circuit with a switch. No accidents now. :-)

[XOIIO]

I'm a total retard due to arthritis but even so I've never grabbed the wrong end. Worst I did was drop an Antex iron once but didn't burn myself. Now I use Hakko and the cables are much more flexible, so I don't drop them. Really, I find it hard to imagine how anyone could grab the wrong end when the iron is in the stand.

Yeah that's another thing changing from a direct wall plug one to a proper adjustable one, in my case a hakko as well, you don't need to fight the cable every time you want to move the iron. It definitely reduces mishaps.