On 5 Aug 2007 at 12:32, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
They're made of copper, but they're also
plated with iron, and once that
plating is gone the copper doesn't last -- it gets pitted, etc. On really
old stuff I used to file tips, but not any more...
Back in the old days, we used to coat the copper tips with silver
(hard) solder (56% silver) to extend the life. But you need a torch
to do that--silver solder melts at about 1100F and requires a special
flux.
Cheers,
Chuck