Have you grabbed the wrong end of a soldering iron?

[arcom]

Happened only once when I was in elementary school. I have never been good at multitasking while music was playing so I grabbed the wrong end of a 25W iron. After that I bought a cheap soldering iron stand and nowadays I use a proper soldering station. Had plenty of hot solder balls flying around and hitting my fingers though. Once I managed to touch the tip with my thumb so now I have a nice little scar as a reminder

[Psi]

I really don't get how anyone can 'grab the wrong end' of an iron.
It's not like the ends look the same in any way.
Slipping with the iron and touching it to skin on the other hand, sure, i've done that many times.


Oh, and on the subject of hot glue burns.. The trick with hot glue is really simple.
If you get it on your skin, RUB IT IN!!
Seriously, rubbing it in massively spreads out the surface area and it cools down to non-burn temp almost instantly.
It still hurts but doesn't keep hurting.

Once you start doing this you will never get burnt with hot glue again.

[tom66]

Never directly burnt skin on a soldering iron, but I have burned my fingernail when I first started because I held the soldering iron wrong (holding board next to iron with flat finger...) The funny thing is, since fingernails don't have pain receptors, you don't notice until you smell burning keratin, which smells like burning hair. Then you see the hole in the fingernail.

[nihilism]

I voted yes but i don't think I've actually ever literally grabbed the wrong end of the iron, just a few mishaps over the years where I've made contact with the wrong end. Never at the bench though, always in the field soldering wires sticking out a wall or under a bench etc. requiring three or more hands sometimes. (I've been a security / audio-visual field technician for the past 10 years).
The worst soldering injury i can remember though was not from the iron, but from a large blob of solder landing on my leg while i was in a difficult position (under a supermarket checkout counter). I couldn't flick it off and i made it all the way through the skin. I still have the scar.

[TerraHertz]

The lesson I seem to have a lot of trouble learning, is DON'T solder sitting down while wearing shorts.
Yes I did once very long ago grab the wrong end of an iron. Careless, not looking, it had moved due to the weight of the cord, etc. Never again.

But the shorts mistake is so easy. 'It's a hot day, I'll be careful not to drop solder splatters...'

At least I've learned never to arc weld while wearing sneakers.

[Psi]

At least I've learned never to arc weld while wearing sneakers.

hehe, jandals would be worse.

[sleemanj]

Can't say I've ever grabbed the wrong end of the iron.

But the odd burn is a given, hot glue and solder wick are the worst for it, I can't seem to ever use hot glue without much swearing, and solder wick is about the same, whoever invented that god awful stuff should be shot.

[c4757p]

Can't say I've ever grabbed it. Brushed many times. And I've pretty much built up a tolerance for holding leads/wick while soldering - though the key is knowing exactly how long the iron can touch it before it becomes too hot. If you squeeze harder you get a bit more time, as the heat distributes more thoroughly.

[VK3DRB]

Not only that, I poked the very fine hot soldering tip deep into my finger.

But there was no blood as the juices had been sealed in, just like sizzling a steak at an Aussie BBQ.
Ouch!

[and101]

I grabbed the wrong end once when I was younger and not so experienced with a soldering iron.  It sizzled a bit and left a perfect imprint of the iron tip on my thumb.  That was around the same time I learned that it is a bad idea to wear shorts while soldering.

[hiddensoul]

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.

I still have the 1cm across scar on the inside of my left leg just above the knee from a rouge solder drop when i was a kid in the 80's.... Now the solder was one thing but who can remember the attire of the 1980's ?

Do Nylon tracksuits come to mind ? Mine was a silver and navy blue one and molten solder mixed with molten nylon seared in to my leg I still wince..... 

[TerraHertz]

At least I've learned never to arc weld while wearing sneakers.

hehe, jandals would be worse.

Probably not, because you could flick the blob of molten steel off your foot. Nylon woven sneakers and synthetic socks on the other hand, make a melted mess that retains molten steel very well. Trust me on this.


Oh hey! I just remembered a really funny one. I was up a step ladder using a hot air gun while doing some PVC ductwork installation in the ceiling during house construction. Hot air gun used for bending the ducts, so it was set on 'hottest'. I'd momentarily rested the hot air gun on the top of the stepladder. It slipped off, and swung on the cord. The very hot round metal end of the gun made a hard landing on my bare calf. Shorts again.
For a long time I had a rather cool looking new-moon shaped semicircular scar.

[GreyWoolfe]

I can honestly say that I have never grabbed the wrong end of a soldering iron.  I always wear shorts here in Florida so, of course, I regularly drop molten solder on my legs.  I used to have a Radio Shack desoldering iron that I have scars on my arms from touching it while reaching over it.  I also use a small butane torch with a hot air attachment for small heat shrink tubing that I have laid my arm on.  I have a very high tolerance for pain so I typically hear the sizzle before feeling anything.  I do like the fact that there is no blood as the wound is instantly cauterized .  When we were remodeling the second bathroom, I was sitting on the floor using a hot air gun to loosen the glue from the old linoleum floor when I laid it down on my leg-see above with the shorts wearing in Florida thing.  I jumped and so did my wife.  There was a point a few years ago where I was burning myself so much soldering that my wife got me a prescription for silvadene, which is a burn treatment medication.  Ironically, she ended up the first one to use it

[Fsck]

Wow...

Never touched the hot end of an iron. Have however touched things that were previously soldered that I thought were cooled but were obviously not.

[grumpydoc]

Managed to pick up an iron which I thought was off by the hot end when I was a teenager and managed to brush the desolder gun briefly against my knuckle recently but no major burns from soldering. Hot fingers and the occasional "ouch" don't really count.

Potentially the worst burn was actually when I was doing some plumbing - I'd turned the butane torch off but managed to knock it back against my finger almost immediately. I wound up with the curved edge of the burner making a neat pucnhed out hole about 2mm deep by 1mm wide and maybe 1cm long. Of course as it was a full thinkness burn it didn't hurt.

Remember, the worst burns aren't painful because they kill the nerve endings in the skin rather than just damage them (which is why burns hurt in the first place).

[Hypernova]

One is not considered a true electronics engineer until he receives his Mark-of-Iron 

All things considered I got burned surprisingly rarely. My first iron was a stand-less from Dick Smith in grammar school and I usually just sling it over my desk lamp (where I also hanged tools under with magnets) or even my bedside post (small room), it got left on often too.

[robrenz]

No but I have buried a 3/32 diameter tungsten electrode of a tig torch about 3/4" deep into my thigh.
I was using a gas lens to have that much electrode extended to reach into a crevice. The electrode was still glowing red/orange and it slipped out of gloved hand a fell into my thigh right thru my apron and jeans. I yanked it out instantly and the ceramic cup left a burn circle around the hole which did not bleed at all since it was cauterized. It only gave a dull ache which lasted about a day

[G7PSK]

Tempting fate here but I have never burnt myself with a soldering iron, but I did shrink fit a steel toe cap leather boot onto my left foot once when cutting some steel plate with oxy-fuel cutting torch, somehow while not concentrating on where my feet were I cut the plate right over my foot, the shower of hot metal and gas shrank the boot and residual heat in the leather turned the whole of the top of my foot bright red before I could get the boot off, which I had to do with a Stanley knife as it had become so tight. Blast Google's broken the smileys again.

[cybermaus]

Smileys work if you first "preview". They do not work directly from the reply.
(Preview would be a good habit anyway)

[IO390]

Yes, unfortunately.

I've also burned my tongue with a soldering iron too.

As well as a few other places, which I shan't delve into. And no, I have absolutely no idea how. None at all.

[GreyWoolfe]

Yes, unfortunately.

I've also burned my tongue with a soldering iron too.

As well as a few other places, which I shan't delve into. And no, I have absolutely no idea how. None at all.

 

[Phaedrus]

I accidentally blew up a capacitor with my Weller. I was soldering on a board, and because of the angle the body of the iron was right next to a 50V electrolytic. I accidentally rested the iron against the cap without noticing. I noticed an odd smell, then POP. The cap vented. Fortunately it didn't spray out like a volcano, but I could still smell the electrolyte.

Fortunately I had a spare. I think there's still a stain on the iron though, from the burning plastic wrapper.

[carpelux]

I've done it. Once.

A looong time ago, when I was about ten years old i got a soldering iron as a christmas present. I spent all christmas eve practicing my soldering skills, and as I didn't have any stand for the iron I just laid on the table. At one moment I got tangled up with the cable and the iron fell of the table.I reacted by reflex and grabbed the iron by the palm of my hand. Wrong end, Ouch, couldn't straighten my hand for weeks

[hagster]

Yes, I'm ashamed to admit I once passes the iron from one hand to another(the stupid way). Let go pretty darn quick. No scars.

[XOIIO]

Yes, unfortunately.

I've also burned my tongue with a soldering iron too.

As well as a few other places, which I shan't delve into. And no, I have absolutely no idea how. None at all.

Your toungue? how???

Yes, I'm ashamed to admit I once passes the iron from one hand to another(the stupid way). Let go pretty darn quick. No scars.

Yeah that's how I have usually done it