# Why is the shaft of a soldiering iron burning hot bare metal instead of being insulated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137 "2021-10-08T14:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/1 "2021-10-08T14:52:32Z")
A soldiering iron typically has a metal shaft a few inches long below the soldiering tip with the back half being plastic. You have to hold the iron by the plastic back end to avoid getting burned. This can make working with it a little awkward since you’re trying to control the tip by holding the back end. I think most people would prefer holding it closer to the tip. That would be most comfortable and allow more control in the same way we hold a pencil. But there’s not really that option because the top end is just bare metal. Through experience you get used to using it from the back end, but it seems like a welcome improvement would be to have the front end insulated so you could hold it there. If nothing else, it would be useful from a safety perspective to not have a 3" shaft of burning hot metal that you may accidentally touch. Sometimes I see stock pictures of people soldiering, but the models are holding the iron by the metal tip. It’s funny because we know that’s not how it’s supposed to be used, but it points out that it’s how most people would assume it’s used. And it’s the way it would make the most sense. It seems weird that modern soldiering irons don’t have the shaft insulated for both usefulness and safety reasons. Is there some valid reason it’s not covered or is it just historical inertia? [![](https://i.imgur.com/uyxCeLL.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/uyxCeLL.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/2 "2021-10-08T15:08:12Z")
I am not looking at any of my soldering irons at the moment, but my recollection is that this metal shroud is ventilated (in at least a few cases), indicating that the design depends on shedding excess heat in the vicinity of the heating element. Since the heat is generated well away from the soldering tip, the waste heat needs to go someplace or the element will burn itself out. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/3 "2021-10-08T15:12:58Z")
It could be inertia. But if you put an insulating handle closer to the tip you either have to figure out how to get the parts inside that handle to be a lot cooler than they are today, or you need a very thick insulator, making for an awkward grip. Isolating the heat to the end of the iron might just not be possible. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/4 "2021-10-08T15:14:01Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > A soldiering iron… the soldiering tip … pictures of people soldiering… modern soldiering irons … Nitpick: _Soldering_. Soldiering is a different skill. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/5 "2021-10-08T15:20:01Z")
Soldering iron: [![](https://www.thegeekpub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/The-Best-Soldering-Stations-1280x640.jpg) ](https://www.thegeekpub.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/The-Best-Soldering-Stations-1280x640.jpg) Soldiering iron: [![](https://cdn.britannica.com/s:1500x700,q:85/82/107582-004-E80F0AA2/components-rifle-assault-M16.jpg) ](https://cdn.britannica.com/s:1500x700,q:85/82/107582-004-E80F0AA2/components-rifle-assault-M16.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/6 "2021-10-08T15:40:33Z")
I’ve been hand soldering for over 40 years. (I’m 54.) I’ve never had a problem gripping on the plastic/foam/whatever handle, but I’m also fortunate to have steady hands. One of my coworkers does not have steady hands, and thus can’t solder. He relies on me to do all the soldering when we are adding small wires to a PCB when performing diagnostics & failure analysis. I use a stereo optical microscope when soldering surface mount devices (SMDs). Fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/7 "2021-10-08T17:12:06Z")
That metal section between the handle and the tip is the heating element. Kind of hard to insulate well enough to grab onto that section. You want finer control get a Metcal soldering iron, which inductively heats the tip: > **[CV Series | CV-5210 | METCAL EN-US favorable buying at our shop](https://store.metcal.com/en-us/shop/soldering-desoldering/soldering-desoldering-systems/cv-series/CV-5210)** > > Buy METCAL CV-5210, CV Series, from EN-US Shop. BTW, the photos you posted show people using a hot air rework station, not a soldering iron. They’d still burn themselves holding it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/8 "2021-10-08T17:17:10Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > That metal section between the handle and the tip is the heating element. Right. And the heat from the element is released into the air via natural convection, which is what you want. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/9 "2021-10-08T17:17:46Z")
Even if it was possible to make an iron like you described, it wouldn’t be very useful. First of all, you don’t want your fingers that close to hot, spattering flux. And, for most modern electronics, components are packed closely enough together that having your fingers in the way of your vision (especially when using a microscope) would be an issue. I have one iron that is close to what you describe: [![](https://iso-tip.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/7700-catalog-1.jpg) ](https://iso-tip.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/7700-catalog-1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/10 "2021-10-08T17:21:01Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I’ve been hand soldering for over 40 years. (I’m 54.) I’ve never had a problem gripping on the plastic/foam/whatever handle, Ditto in my case. Except for the few times when I was dumb and young and reached blindly for the soldering iron because I was sure the joint I was working on would disintegrate if I wasn’t watching it. I discovered the alternative – make the joint mechanically sound without solder – is much better than grabbing the barrel of the iron and knocking the workpiece apart in pain and surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/11 "2021-10-08T17:40:02Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Ditto in my case. Except for the few times when I was dumb and young and reached blindly for the soldering iron because I was sure the joint I was working on would disintegrate if I wasn’t watching it. Or before you learn the corollary to the falling knife rule: “Never catch a falling soldering iron.” ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/12 "2021-10-08T19:19:54Z")
An [American Beauty soldering iron](https://americanbeautytools.com/Soldering-Irons) is on my wish list. Great for working on old radios. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/13 "2021-10-08T20:38:04Z")
I assume that comes is a plastic bag. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tB0th8vNLxo/maxresdefault.jpg "The Dancing Bag - American Beauty (6/10) Movie CLIP (1999) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB0th8vNLxo) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/14 "2021-10-08T20:59:19Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > That metal section between the handle and the tip is the heating element. Kind of hard to insulate well enough to grab onto that section. Thinking about it… what material could be used to insulate it? Short of the sort of really expensive materials like aerogel or the tiles they put on the space shuttle, most materials would, within the normal duty cycle of use, eventually allow the heat through ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/15 "2021-10-08T21:06:22Z")
Stainless steel Thermos. Probably would require several levels. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/16 "2021-10-08T21:08:19Z")
Hmmm… those don’t seem so terribly good at staying cool on the outside, in my experience - and they are only filled with hot water (which is cold compared to a soldering iron) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/17 "2021-10-08T21:22:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Thinking about it… what material could be used to insulate it? Fiberglass wrapped around the shaft with an aluminum sleeve around it could work. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/18 "2021-10-08T21:55:04Z")
After an hour of use, that’s going to be very hot ---
**Author:** ![BertNobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3e96dc/32.png) [@BertNobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BertNobbins)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/19 "2021-10-08T22:46:31Z")
_I discovered the alternative – make the joint mechanically sound without solder – is much better than_ This advice is very old and very wrong. Spare a thought for the poor soul who has to unsolder the joint without wrecking the equipment. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137/20 "2021-10-08T23:01:20Z")
When I first got progressive lenses, which I should have known better than to wear at my soldering workstation, I would reach out to the side and - you guessed it. I asked my optician if they make lenses for the way I worked. Yes - they do - first quote was several thousand dollars. Turns out I was trainable after all - pain is VERY instructive. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-shaft-of-a-soldiering-iron-burning-hot-bare-metal-instead-of-being-insulated/952137.md?page=2)