Poor man's wax pen

[astromerc]

I just purchased a soldering/hobby iron. I need to regulate the temp. will a simple light dimmer work?

[Voshizle@gmail.]

Haven't tried it myself but I've heard that light dimmers can work well, anything that lets you regulate the current *should* work.

[astromerc]

I got one and it works great!

[GedTasker]

Wish i knew this before i went out and bought an expensive wax pen!!

Nice one though mate.

[GedTasker]

Originally Posted by astromerc

I got one and it works great!

How did you connect the soldering iron to the dimmer switch?

[astromerc]

The dimmer switch had a female in on the opposite side of the male plug.

Hope that helps sorry it took so long for me to answer, I never saw this...

[EbonyRaven]

How about a wood burning tool? They come with a nice selection of different tips. I think I'm going to try mine with a light dimmer.

[astromerc]

Well after using it off and on, suffering burns due to crappy china made equipment. I must say getting the real thing is better. The tool is very awkward and takes some time getting used too, so my recommendation, get a waxer, if you need to finish something, and don't have the time or money, and are okay with minor cuts and burns . Go for it at your own risk.

[Great fox]

I purchased a wax pen that was similar to a soldering iron but had a temperature knob attached already. It had heat settings for wax, wood burning, and soldering. Cost about $22 USD at dickblick (in store).

[astromerc]

Thx GF. Im in md but i may venture up to check it out. GF would you mind putting up some pix of the tool?