maybe. the ground strap is a battery cable i installed that goes
through the floor of the truck to the chassis, and the ground wire i
was trying to attach was probably 10 or 12 gauge, i can't remember. i
agree totally that the cool heat isn't powerful enough to handle it and
is better for more of a 18-24 gauge wire type of job, or, like i said,
circuit board work, as my melting one of the tools proves well.

Oh yeah, I could definitely see it getting ruined attempting to do anything
more than one or two really small solder joints. I'll stick to my Weller
adjustable for anytime I need more than one or two quick connections.

For those that haven't seen one of these things, it works by having a tip
with two contacts that when touched to a metal surface immediately heats up
'enough' to melt solder. Utterly useless for a tiny pinpoint joint like one
might make on a surface-mount chip. But passable, just barely, for exactly
the sorts of joints they show being done on the TV commercial. Just don't
try anything more than that.

Bad soldering techniques won't work with even the best of irons.

oh absolutely, i'm a moron who doesn't know the first thing about what
he's doing, thanks for putting me in my place. cheers.

Well, dang, I'm gobsmacked. Someone in a newsgroup actually taking the hit
and not turning it into a flame fest? Will wonders never cease!

-Bill Kearney