Soldering with essential tremor
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From: electronman99 on 18 Jan 2010 13:58 Dear scielectronicsbasics people, I am 65 and was recently diagnosed with essential tremor. It is not Parkinsons and is not a serious health threat. (Bill Clinton was diagnosed with it a few years ago). Basically it means that my hands shake a little bit. This shaking now makes soldering difficult. What would help me is to find a soldering iron with a short tip. I have a Weller 25 watt, but the tip is over 5 inches long, and, as a result, the end of the tip shakes quite a bit while I'm trying to solder. I have searched the Internet, but cannot seem to find an iron with a short tip. Does anyone know where I can purchase a soldering iron that has a short tip? Thanks. electronman99
From: Ecnerwal on 18 Jan 2010 14:24 In article <779914af-ba11-4ec0-8d7d-d23376615386(a)q4g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>, electronman99 <electronman99(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Dear scielectronicsbasics people, > > I am 65 and was recently diagnosed with essential tremor. It is not > Parkinsons and is not a serious health threat. (Bill Clinton was > diagnosed with it a few years ago). Basically it means that my hands > shake a little bit. This shaking now makes soldering difficult. What > would help me is to find a soldering iron with a short tip. I have a > Weller 25 watt, but the tip is over 5 inches long, and, as a result, > the end of the tip shakes quite a bit while I'm trying to solder. I > have searched the Internet, but cannot seem to find an iron with a > short tip. Does anyone know where I can purchase a soldering iron > that has a short tip? Thanks. electronman99 Try relaxing your grip. While I doubt I've ever taught anyone with your specific condition, the usual problem for people with shaky hands that I have taught soldering is grabbing the iron too hard so it shakes when they do. If you can relax and let the tip rest on the work while you and the back end of the iron shake around, your problem may cease to be a problem. Arranging a place (think a small bridge or shelf over your workpiece) you can rest your hand on while you have the iron in position on the work may also help. I don't know of any particularly short decent irons, except perhaps the butane powered Portasol, and even that you don't want to grab too close to the tip or you'll get burnt. -- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
From: Tom Biasi on 18 Jan 2010 14:28 "electronman99" <electronman99(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:779914af-ba11-4ec0-8d7d-d23376615386(a)q4g2000yqm.googlegroups.com... > Dear scielectronicsbasics people, > > I am 65 and was recently diagnosed with essential tremor. It is not > Parkinsons and is not a serious health threat. (Bill Clinton was > diagnosed with it a few years ago). Basically it means that my hands > shake a little bit. This shaking now makes soldering difficult. What > would help me is to find a soldering iron with a short tip. I have a > Weller 25 watt, but the tip is over 5 inches long, and, as a result, > the end of the tip shakes quite a bit while I'm trying to solder. I > have searched the Internet, but cannot seem to find an iron with a > short tip. Does anyone know where I can purchase a soldering iron > that has a short tip? Thanks. electronman99 What you are describing might be a "stubby". I haven't seen any recently. You may be more comfortable with a battery powered iron. You can get your fingers up closer to the tip. Good Luck, Tom
From: amdx on 18 Jan 2010 14:37 "electronman99" <electronman99(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:779914af-ba11-4ec0-8d7d-d23376615386(a)q4g2000yqm.googlegroups.com... > Dear scielectronicsbasics people, > > I am 65 and was recently diagnosed with essential tremor. It is not > Parkinsons and is not a serious health threat. (Bill Clinton was > diagnosed with it a few years ago). Basically it means that my hands > shake a little bit. This shaking now makes soldering difficult. What > would help me is to find a soldering iron with a short tip. I have a > Weller 25 watt, but the tip is over 5 inches long, and, as a result, > the end of the tip shakes quite a bit while I'm trying to solder. I > have searched the Internet, but cannot seem to find an iron with a > short tip. Does anyone know where I can purchase a soldering iron > that has a short tip? Thanks. electronman99 Would having a support to rest your hand on and just manipulating the iron with wrist, thumb and fingers help? Mike
From: Joel Koltner on 18 Jan 2010 15:19
Jameco used to sell a little soldering iron that strapped around your index finger (it was about 4" long, total, protruding perhaps an inch behind the tip of your finger in use). It was popular when SMT soldering first became attractive to hobbyists, but unfortunately they don't seem to sell it anymore. I did a little Googling, and while you can find articles about finger tip soldering irons, in the first few hits I didn't see anyone selling them anymore. But perhaps with a bit more searching... |