So why did I decide on a destructive teardown instead of selling on? I think people can do better with their money and I just don't feel confortable passing on something like these. I don't mind selling on sheep things I don't want, but they must be adequate. These are meant to make life easier, but instead whomever purchased them would end up struggling and trying to make do. A simple hot air station, or just an extra soldering iron (you use them as a pair) would be much better at this price point.
I'm wondering though, wouldn't those be sufficient for SMD electrolyte capacitors ? Because that's the only use I'd have for them, for the rest I can use a standard soldering iron and a hot air rework station (i don't use hot air for electrolyte capacitors to not blow them up)
Well, perhaps! There is reasonable clearance and with the tips rotated to about 45 degrees I suspect you can get 16-20mm clearance and just enough angle to get into the soldered joint. Still the hot elements are pretty close to the cap (elements in shafts) so need to get a move on. A lot of the time just use my normal soldering iron + a cheap one in the other hand.
Thank you for the teardown. Unfortunately there aren't a great deal of options out there for hot tweezers. Just cheap crap, or eye watering expensive ones. What's interesting about all tweezers is that they use AC (pulse heat); I'm thinking one could buy the expensive handpiece, and mod the control part from one of these. You could end up with a smashing tweezers, and save upwards of £500.
The pace tweezers I use day to day were very expensive, and even the tips are expensive, I can't remember exactly but I think full kit vs handset + pair of tips was probably about 200 difference. You probably can mod a cheaper supply although there would be quite a bit to do particularly if you want instant set-back to protect those expensive bits.
Unfortunately practical SMD tweezers are expensive due to design. SMD soldering tweezers in general are paired soldering irons with independent tip control. When quality soldering station with C115 or C210 like soldering iron tip is eye watering expensive then second soldering iron at least double used handle/tip price in unit. Pity that there are no such solutions for Chinese Aixun T3A/T3B or similar budget stations who already use proper tips like JBC compatible C115 or C245. Separate tweezer handle would be already affordable for DiY public. I would buy add-on tweezer handle with C115 tips for my Aixun T3A.
@@KrotowX Sorry never saw that - youtube does not flag replies for me. I agree - really wish there was a handset mid-range that would fit some of the mide price stations and clones - I would buy that as well and I think there would be a sizable market! My Pace tweezers do fit my soldering station but the price difference between the handset and the full kit with a new station was minimal and I decided I would be better with both - but it was a nasty investment, and with the price increases over the last 2 years I doubt I could justify it now. On the otherhand a well made small tweezer handset is a delight to use!
bought one of these, but since I didn't pay attention to the description, I ended up buying the 220V version. Does anyone know what modification needs to be made to use it with 110V ?
Not sure, but I suspect the first issue is the resitors and capacitors at the mains input, they are goint to form a voltage divider to get roughly the right voltage to power the logic, then pass that along to a zener or regulator. That might be all that is needed but not sure about the heating elements... A dicey proposition I think.
The only one I spotted was that if you remove the adjusting knob on the side of the handset you can slide back the handle and get access to the joint and tighten the bolt a little. I think I did say in the video to use a nylon locking nut on it - but it was a while ago. If very loose then you could try introducing a thin washer as well.
how long do they last are they worth the invesment ofr will they break down in a couple months or a drop ...its seems repairable ...if the ics are on the market ...??
Well mine lasted the time taken to take it apart! My general view is that a hot air rework station would be better value for most people, but some people think they are great (for the money). If you really have to have tweezers and can't afford better (and there are annoyingly few mid-price tweezers on the market) then you can make them work but it is almost as easy to use two cheep soldering irons with chisle tips! Anyway if you do get one remember to tighten the hinge bolt if there is a lot of give - but tip alignment and range of tips not so good so limited in use and somewhat awkward. I suspect if you open it up and make sure there are no nasty joints like shown in the video then they might last a fair while. Spare are easy enough to get and all off-the-shelf components but the main component is a S3F94C4 which is a microcontroller so you would need to program it somehow!
nice teardown, seems like a bad design, too bulky.... i have seen something very nice from weller with a multitude of choice for a detachable twizers part that has a connector to connect to a single main unit/handle and then connect the handle to a station.
Do you realize how incredibly useful those particular tweezers are in today's ever shrinking electronics? They're great for soldering and desoldering with tiny discrete surface mount component. With the correct tips they double as a thermal wire stripper for very find coax style wires. You can buy a dedicated thermal stripping tool, but it will cost you a few hundred quid with not much pro.
Yes I agree tweezers are a godsend for me. This set though was pretty difficult to use they would just slip off the component all the time, just desolder one end of send the desoldered component flying across the lab. I think my advice is right for most people that if they are short of funds then hot air is proably better the choice - slower but handy for lots of jobs. It is a bit difficult to be objective about these because I use some much nicer ones all the time, and that is a general problem (not just for me but other people doing videos) there is a temptation to compare with high-end gear but really we just need to be honest about the strong and weak points. I Never use tweezeres for soldering , just use my normal Iron and I mainly wok with 0603 and 0805 and of course all the bloddy small ics that I have to use the microsope for!
@@MakeOrRepair So they don't hold on to the component well? The real reason why I'm purchasing this tweezer set because it has the jaws stop screw. If you think soldering tiny SMDs is hard, try stripping 65awg microcoax cables from a MacBook Pro webcam cable. Replacement isn't an option unless you are willing to risk cracking an $500 display to get at the cable. Trying to strip it with any conventional blade type stripper fails spectacularly. They cut through the cable or nick the jacket. After much research, I learned about thermal wire strippers which does a much better job. When I tried to buy one, I had a sticker shock jolt. The units cost well over $1000 new and several hundred used. I realized it's merely a soldering tweezer with perpendicular metal blades and a jaw stop. I can pick up the soldering station version of the 938d for $20. LOL! It seems like some companies, primarily US and European ones, think they can charge outlandish prices. China has changed that forever.
@@bobweiram6321 If it works for you then great, and I think that a conversion to thermal stri[pper sounds great, in fact I have some others so I might just do that conversion. But most people want desoldering tweezers to desolder and if you've only got $20-50 available I think hot air is the better choice. Just to be clear this was a tear down not a review, I have not done a review of these - I did a quick comparison to the Pace MT200. My experience however is they they are very poor compared to more professional versions and could have been made better with just attention to detail, in fact I mention that in the video when I talk about tightening the bolt that holds the joint togehter.
I have these. Used them a little then realize that they even are not worth the cost of their packing bag. They struggle even with 0603 sized components and no way to keep tip temperature in desired interval. Tips are either too cold or too hot with flux evaporation in a second. Or tips dislodge and can't hold the component. Hakko 939 tip design with external heater and temperature sensor at back of heater is long outdated. Needle tips by design are worst soldering iron tip form-factor due to too low thermal mass. In these tweezers Chinese garage artisans joined the worst combination.
I hate using poor tools like this - they just annoy me as I try and get them to do their job. I see that low cost "can just about get away with it" tools have a place but, as I said, I think most people would be better with a low cost hot air solution instead of this. In fact 2 soldering irons is better! I have another similar one to try - Can't bring myself to do it!
So why did I decide on a destructive teardown instead of selling on? I think people can do better with their money and I just don't feel confortable passing on something like these. I don't mind selling on sheep things I don't want, but they must be adequate. These are meant to make life easier, but instead whomever purchased them would end up struggling and trying to make do. A simple hot air station, or just an extra soldering iron (you use them as a pair) would be much better at this price point.
I have one of these lying around somewhere. I never used it because the alignment of the tips just turned my stomach.
I'm wondering though, wouldn't those be sufficient for SMD electrolyte capacitors ?
Because that's the only use I'd have for them, for the rest I can use a standard soldering iron and a hot air rework station (i don't use hot air for electrolyte capacitors to not blow them up)
Well, perhaps! There is reasonable clearance and with the tips rotated to about 45 degrees I suspect you can get 16-20mm clearance and just enough angle to get into the soldered joint. Still the hot elements are pretty close to the cap (elements in shafts) so need to get a move on. A lot of the time just use my normal soldering iron + a cheap one in the other hand.
Thanks for the review. It's nice to see what is inside before buy.
No problem, and hope the tip about how to tighten up to remove the slack helps.
Thank you for the teardown. Unfortunately there aren't a great deal of options out there for hot tweezers. Just cheap crap, or eye watering expensive ones. What's interesting about all tweezers is that they use AC (pulse heat); I'm thinking one could buy the expensive handpiece, and mod the control part from one of these. You could end up with a smashing tweezers, and save upwards of £500.
The pace tweezers I use day to day were very expensive, and even the tips are expensive, I can't remember exactly but I think full kit vs handset + pair of tips was probably about 200 difference. You probably can mod a cheaper supply although there would be quite a bit to do particularly if you want instant set-back to protect those expensive bits.
Unfortunately practical SMD tweezers are expensive due to design. SMD soldering tweezers in general are paired soldering irons with independent tip control. When quality soldering station with C115 or C210 like soldering iron tip is eye watering expensive then second soldering iron at least double used handle/tip price in unit. Pity that there are no such solutions for Chinese Aixun T3A/T3B or similar budget stations who already use proper tips like JBC compatible C115 or C245. Separate tweezer handle would be already affordable for DiY public. I would buy add-on tweezer handle with C115 tips for my Aixun T3A.
@@KrotowX Sorry never saw that - youtube does not flag replies for me. I agree - really wish there was a handset mid-range that would fit some of the mide price stations and clones - I would buy that as well and I think there would be a sizable market! My Pace tweezers do fit my soldering station but the price difference between the handset and the full kit with a new station was minimal and I decided I would be better with both - but it was a nasty investment, and with the price increases over the last 2 years I doubt I could justify it now. On the otherhand a well made small tweezer handset is a delight to use!
Thanks for the teardown. I was considering purchasing a pair of these but now I will run the other way.
Glad you found it helpful.
Pete
bought one of these, but since I didn't pay attention to the description, I ended up buying the 220V version. Does anyone know what modification needs to be made to use it with 110V ?
Not sure, but I suspect the first issue is the resitors and capacitors at the mains input, they are goint to form a voltage divider to get roughly the right voltage to power the logic, then pass that along to a zener or regulator. That might be all that is needed but not sure about the heating elements... A dicey proposition I think.
do you know any modification of this tweezer? because there is a lot of play in the joint. Thank You
The only one I spotted was that if you remove the adjusting knob on the side of the handset you can slide back the handle and get access to the joint and tighten the bolt a little. I think I did say in the video to use a nylon locking nut on it - but it was a while ago. If very loose then you could try introducing a thin washer as well.
Helpful video, many thanks !
no problem
how long do they last are they worth the invesment ofr will they break down in a couple months or a drop ...its seems repairable ...if the ics are on the market ...??
Well mine lasted the time taken to take it apart! My general view is that a hot air rework station would be better value for most people, but some people think they are great (for the money). If you really have to have tweezers and can't afford better (and there are annoyingly few mid-price tweezers on the market) then you can make them work but it is almost as easy to use two cheep soldering irons with chisle tips! Anyway if you do get one remember to tighten the hinge bolt if there is a lot of give - but tip alignment and range of tips not so good so limited in use and somewhat awkward. I suspect if you open it up and make sure there are no nasty joints like shown in the video then they might last a fair while. Spare are easy enough to get and all off-the-shelf components but the main component is a S3F94C4 which is a microcontroller so you would need to program it somehow!
nice teardown, seems like a bad design, too bulky....
i have seen something very nice from weller with a multitude of choice for a detachable twizers part that has a connector to connect to a single main unit/handle and then connect the handle to a station.
I've taken a look, weller seem to have some nice ones, but still hoping someone produces someting better for the budget market.
Do you realize how incredibly useful those particular tweezers are in today's ever shrinking electronics? They're great for soldering and desoldering with tiny discrete surface mount component. With the correct tips they double as a thermal wire stripper for very find coax style wires. You can buy a dedicated thermal stripping tool, but it will cost you a few hundred quid with not much pro.
Yes I agree tweezers are a godsend for me. This set though was pretty difficult to use they would just slip off the component all the time, just desolder one end of send the desoldered component flying across the lab. I think my advice is right for most people that if they are short of funds then hot air is proably better the choice - slower but handy for lots of jobs. It is a bit difficult to be objective about these because I use some much nicer ones all the time, and that is a general problem (not just for me but other people doing videos) there is a temptation to compare with high-end gear but really we just need to be honest about the strong and weak points. I Never use tweezeres for soldering , just use my normal Iron and I mainly wok with 0603 and 0805 and of course all the bloddy small ics that I have to use the microsope for!
@@MakeOrRepair So they don't hold on to the component well? The real reason why I'm purchasing this tweezer set because it has the jaws stop screw. If you think soldering tiny SMDs is hard, try stripping 65awg microcoax cables from a MacBook Pro webcam cable. Replacement isn't an option unless you are willing to risk cracking an $500 display to get at the cable. Trying to strip it with any conventional blade type stripper fails spectacularly. They cut through the cable or nick the jacket. After much research, I learned about thermal wire strippers which does a much better job. When I tried to buy one, I had a sticker shock jolt. The units cost well over $1000 new and several hundred used. I realized it's merely a soldering tweezer with perpendicular metal blades and a jaw stop. I can pick up the soldering station version of the 938d for $20. LOL! It seems like some companies, primarily US and European ones, think they can charge outlandish prices. China has changed that forever.
@@bobweiram6321 If it works for you then great, and I think that a conversion to thermal stri[pper sounds great, in fact I have some others so I might just do that conversion. But most people want desoldering tweezers to desolder and if you've only got $20-50 available I think hot air is the better choice. Just to be clear this was a tear down not a review, I have not done a review of these - I did a quick comparison to the Pace MT200. My experience however is they they are very poor compared to more professional versions and could have been made better with just attention to detail, in fact I mention that in the video when I talk about tightening the bolt that holds the joint togehter.
I have these. Used them a little then realize that they even are not worth the cost of their packing bag. They struggle even with 0603 sized components and no way to keep tip temperature in desired interval. Tips are either too cold or too hot with flux evaporation in a second. Or tips dislodge and can't hold the component. Hakko 939 tip design with external heater and temperature sensor at back of heater is long outdated. Needle tips by design are worst soldering iron tip form-factor due to too low thermal mass. In these tweezers Chinese garage artisans joined the worst combination.
Yes, these are not for me, I like tools to help me not to add struggle and stress to the job
Bought one of these,is rubbish
I hate using poor tools like this - they just annoy me as I try and get them to do their job. I see that low cost "can just about get away with it" tools have a place but, as I said, I think most people would be better with a low cost hot air solution instead of this. In fact 2 soldering irons is better! I have another similar one to try - Can't bring myself to do it!
@@MakeOrRepair i just bought an Atten from Aliexpress as they have it on sale for £150.That one looks like professional tweezers
@@thegreathitsstation That sounds more like it - and pretty reasonable - do you have a link?