I use a Weller WESD51 soldering station and I have a few tips. A LOT of tips. 10, and a few more on the way. Until now, I’ve always used the 3 little holes on the soldering iron holder, but they only fit 3 tips, so I needed something with more room. It had to be metal (so hot tips wouldn’t fry it), wide (so nearby objects wouldn’t brush hot tips) and it had to hold the tips a fair distance off the desk so they wouldn’t scorch that, either. Here’s what I came up with.After a couple minutes looking at the metal stock section in Home Depot, I decided a piece of aluminum bar stock bent down at the ends and drilled with a bunch of holes for the tips would do best. I drilled 7/32″ holes spaced 1/2″ apart along the centerline of the 1″ bar. I meant to turn the ends down 1″ in from the edges, but using a C-clamp as a brake didn’t work out so hot. After drilling the holes out, I used a Dremel with a fiberglass cut-off disc to cut off the burrs and brush the top of the bar for an even, cool finish. After everything was said and done, it took about an hour to get it made and on my desk. Not bad for solving my problem perfectly to the tune of $7!
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