This post is primarily to provide some previously-scarce information on the Pinecil short tips for Pinecil and TS100/TS101 soldering irons.
Owners of Pinecil to TS100 and TS101 may find that the standard tips are a little long for optimum fine manipulation, so there may be some attraction to the "short" tips that Pinecil offers. Pinecil offers these tips only in one or another set of four tips: a "Fine" set and a "Gross" (larger) set. That, combined with a lack of clear information about the sets, slows down a decision about whether to purchase one or both of the sets.
In a series of posts with my friend Jack, we will present some info and pictures which we wish we'd had, and think will help others. (We are not affiliated in any way with Pinecil, nor any soldering iron manufacturers.)
Basic informationUnsurprisingly, the tips for these types of soldering iron all have a consistent "plug" that inserts into the handpiece. What differs between them is the hot end of the iron, which varies in detailed tip shape, and length by which the tip extends out of the handpiece. In general, the "standard" tips have the following length dimensions:
- Total length about 105 mm
- Length of "plug", about 33 mm
- Tip protrusion from handpiece: about 70 to 75 mm
Pinecil's "short" tips vary from this:
- Tip protrusion from handpiece: 53 to 59 mm
- Side note: The electrical resistance of the short tips is lower than the standard tips. The TS100 and 101 need a firmware upgrade to accommodate this -- not addressed in our series of posts here.
Often the product descriptions for this family of tips lists a total length. You will want to subtract the "plug" (33 mm) to assess the tip protrusion length.
Detailed photosThe following photos show each tip next to a ruler. The ruler zero is positioned as follows:
Pinecil "Gross" tip setPinecil "Fine" tip setNotes- Tip names share some commonalities with other brands
- When a tip has a number in the name, it often refers to the diameter of the tip. Thus a "BC2" has a approximately 2mm diameter.