Chris gave me this really cool soldering iron for Christmas. It runs open source software (!) and there is quite the cult, er, community that has grown up around it.
I’ve already upgraded the software to the most popular open source contribution, which was so good that I actually sent the developer five bucks (well five bucks AUS which is closer to four USD).
I decided to make it into a full soldering station. I found these neat panel indicators that are also voltmeters. Kinda pointless, but they look cool. Note the OLED on the iron itself.
Here’s the guts. Nothing really other than the power brick, a switch, and the panel indicator
Now I’m machining a holder for the iron. It will mount on top of the project box, and, I hope, not melt it. the holder is milled from a chunk of aluminum rod, and the base will be an aluminum block. I think I will have an air gap between the holder and the holder base, so not much heat will transfer to the base. I think.
Here is the holder. The base will have holes to hold the alternate tip and the little hex key that’s for changing tips
The iron holder, finished.
And the completed project.
