Have you ever tipped all the stray bits of solder out of your tip cleaner by mistake? [MisterHW] is here with a bit of paraffin wax to save the day.

Hand soldering can be a messy business, especially when you wipe the soldering iron tip on those common brass wool bundles that have largely come to replace moist sponges. The Weller Dry Cleaner (WDC) is one of such holders for brass wool, but the large tray in front of the opening with the brass wool has confused many as to its exact purposes. In short, it’s there so that you can slap the iron against the side to flick contaminants and excess solder off the tip.

Along with catching some of the bits of mostly solder that fly off during cleaning in the brass wool section, quite a lot of debris can be collected this way. Yet as many can attest to, it’s quite easy to flip over brass wool holders and have these bits go flying everywhere.

That’s where [MisterHW]’s pit of particulate holding comes into play, using folded sheet metal and some wax (e.g. paraffin) to create a trap that serves to catch any debris that enters it and smother it in the wax. To reset the trap, simply heat it up with e.g. the iron and you’ll regain a nice fresh surface to capture the next batch of crud.

As the wax is cold when in use, even if you were to tip the holder over, it should not go careening all over your ESD-safe work surface and any parts on it, and the wax can be filtered if needed to remove the particulates. When using leaded solder alloys, this  setup also helps to prevent lead-contamination of the area and generally eases clean-up as bumping or tipping a soldering iron stand no longer means weeks, months or years of accumulations scooting off everywhere.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle to starting a home blacksmithing operating is the forge. There’s really no way around having a forge; somehow the metal has to get hot enough to work. Although we might be imagining huge charcoal- or gas-fired monstrosities, [Shake the Future] has figured out how to use an unmodified, standard microwave oven to get iron hot enough to melt and is using it in his latest video to cast real, working tools with it.

In the past, [Shake the Future] has made a few other things with this setup like an aluminum pencil with a graphite core. This time, though, he’s stepping up the complexity a bit with a working tool. He’s decided to build a miniature bench vice, which uses a screw to move the jaws. He didn’t cast the screw, instead using a standard size screw and nut, but did cast the two other parts of the vice. He first 3D prints the parts in order to make a mold that will withstand the high temperatures of the molten metal. With the mold made he can heat up the iron in the microwave and then pour it, and then with some finish work he has a working tool on his hands.

A microwave isn’t the only kitchen appliance [Shake the Future] has repurposed for his small metalworking shop. He also uses a standard air fryer in order to dry parts quickly. He works almost entirely from the balcony of his apartment so he needs to keep his neighbors in mind while working, and occasionally goes to a nearby parking garage when he has to do something noisy. It’s impressive to see what can be built in such a small space, though. For some of his other work be sure to check out how he makes the crucibles meant for his microwave.

    Bacon Cheese Garlic Bread, We were invited to a potluck. We offered to bring garlic bread. We thought we would test a new recipe we were working on. “Bacon Cheese Garlic Bread”, oh yeah we rocked this. This was quick, easy and ooey gooey great. Jam packed with crumbled bacon, two kinds of […]

If you still need help hooking up the barbecue pitmaster in your life, here are some last-minute holiday shopping ideas for grilling, smoking, and outdoor cooking.

The post Our Last Minute Barbecue Buyer’s Guide first appeared on Burn Blog.

  South of the Border Crustless Pizza! I love just about anything “South of the Border”!! Our crustless pizza was packed with a mound of Spicy Chorizo sausage, jalapenos, smoked garlic and smothered with our smoked Pepper Jack Cheese. Low carb and huge flavor. More than just good, it is a supper easy camp or […]

  Smoky White Chicken Chili because Ken has been making chili for almost 40 years, but this is the first time with chicken. Patti found a great deal on boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it’s definitely chili weather. So, we came up with our own version of white chicken chili. Spicy enough for Ken and […]

    Bacon Cheese Garlic Bread, We were invited to a potluck. We offered to bring garlic bread. We thought we would test a new recipe we were working on. “Bacon Cheese Garlic Bread”, oh yeah we rocked this. This was quick, easy and ooey gooey great. Jam packed with crumbled bacon, two kinds of […]

Fruits are very important for our well-being. They are packed with nutrients and help in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

If you are looking for the easiest vegetable side dish, this healthy veggie stir-fry with mushrooms and zucchini is the one you should bank upon! This is super quick to make and pairs fantastic with any meat of your choice this holiday season! Why I love this Veggie Stir-Fry Since the time I started mindful eating, […]

The post Healthy Veggie Stir Fry with Mushrooms and Zucchini appeared first on Flavor Quotient.