Henley Solon 65W Soldering Iron

[ajgriff]

I was lucky enough to acquire a 65W Solon industrial type soldering iron as a result of cliff2903’s Christmas cull. Very occasionally my Weller TCP struggles with things like chunky chassis tags so I thought the 65W Solon would be a useful addition to the armoury. Cliff very accurately described the iron as ‘looks unused’ and I’d be surprised if it’s ever been connected to a source of power. The photos from the offered post are shown in the first image below. It’s the 110/120V model which I believe was introduced in 1949 (some 13 years after the original 200/240V versions) and was in production for many years thereafter. Based on the Solon logo, the patent pending statement and the braided flex I’d guess that this example dates from quite early on in the production run so it may well be over 70 years old.

Because I was so impressed by the iron’s overall condition I decided to spruce it up a little as shown in the remaining four photos. Anyway I think it deserved a little TLC after all its time in storage. All I’ve really done is give it a good clean, touched up the painted wooden handle and given the plated parts a going over with a fine grade of steel wool. Electrically it seems sound apart from the rubber sheathed flex and really should just be connected up to the Variac so that it can be put to use. However, although I’m not normally a collector of museum pieces, it does seem something of a shame to apply power. Perhaps I should just keep it as it is!

One thing I’ve been puzzling over is the thin plating/coating on the copper (chromium copper to be more precise) bit. The only on-line photo of an unused 65W pencil bit I’ve found is just plain copper with no plating/coating. Does anyone know if there was a change in production methods at some point? Is the plating/coating there to prevent oxidation on the shelf and does it need to be removed before use? All the unused 25W bits I’ve seen have had no plating or other coating.

One thing I find interesting is that the iron exhibits excellent continuity between the bit and earth which is clearly due to the clamping screw used to fix the bit in position. If only the Solon 15W & 25W instrument irons were the same. Unfortunately their wobbly bits allow the build of cupric oxide thus destroying good earth continuity.

I’ve always enjoyed looking at period advertising for our sort of equipment and this link has an array of Henley ads dating from 1898 up until 1956:

https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/W._T._...graph_Works_Co

I particularly like the 1939 Solon ad featuring the Murphy Radio factory production line. It’s interesting how the soldering irons were clamped to stands so that the components to be soldered were held to the iron rather than the other way round. Presumably there must have been some point along the assembly line when the irons were used more conventionally.

Alan

[ajgriff]

Here are a few more shots of the iron:

[Mr Moose]

Hello,

I have two new old stock 65w Henley Solon irons but they have the oval tapered bit rather than the bit holder and round bit.

The instruction sheet states as follows :-

"The copper Bit is provided with a special finish to prevent corrosion. This special finish should be removed with a file from the portion of the bit which is required to be tinned and used for soldering. Care should be taken to see that not more of the special finish is removed than is necessary."

Hope this helps.

Yours, Richard

[ajgriff]

Certainly does help and much appreciated Richard, thank you. I imagine the photo of an unused bit I found on-line had already had its protective coating removed.

Alan

[60 oldjohn]

Hi Alan, Nice find. I think if you were to apply power you will cause the barrel to "blue" and never be the same again. Happened to me on a modern 200w iron that I use.

John.

[ajgriff]

I agree John, once it's switched on it'll never be the same again but I did buy it with the intention of using it. Oh dear, it's not hard to see where this heading!

Found the attached image in an old thread about Solon irons.

Alan

[G6Tanuki]

I'd plug it in and use it.

What's the point of having it if you don't use it?

[ajgriff]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

What's the point of having it if you don't use it?

A perfectly valid view of course. However, not everything we own has utility but we nonetheless value certain items for other reasons. In this case it could be argued that the iron is a piece of technological history which has survived many decades in more or less its original condition. For this reason alone I look at this unassuming object in much the same way as the beautiful (my perception) piece of art glass sitting idly on my mantle shelf. Also I don't suppose there are many 110/120V 65W Solons with a pencil tip that survive in this state so it could be seen as a shame to reduce their number still further. I could drivel on about the pleasure I derived from the light restoration I undertook etc. At the end of the day I'm in the happy position of being able to keep the Solon as is and buy another iron for those occasional jobs where some extra heat is required should I so choose.

Alan

[The Philpott]

- Once the potentially crunchy cable had been replaced i must admit i'd be tempted to use it if i needed to. Graeme gave me a (free) 100w solon some time ago but unfortunately on first startup the element 'pinged'. I recall the connections in the base were very well made, and it provided an old neon and some useful (BA?) brass half nuts for other projects.

Dave

[Techman]

A good old soldering iron - I've got one.

John Birkett in Lincoln had a big stash of these in his shop a few years ago (probably a few decades ago now) and I bought one. They were brand new old stock and had the other type of bit fitted. I can't remember the exact price but they were cheap, probably a quid each or something like that, perhaps a quid fifty. Even back then the mains cable would never lose its folded up shape when unwrapped...and it still hasn't to this day. I've used mine a lot on larger soldering jobs and as soon as I got it I connected it to the 110 volt transformer that I already had (shown below) and it's been like that ever since, earth free, and lives in the outside workshop for use when called upon. I note from your very interesting link that it wasn't until around 1949 that a 110 volt model was first advertised, so I guess these date from somewhere between 1949-51. I'm guessing that there must have been a large unsold stock of these 110 volt types somewhere, as I seem to think that they've come up before and been discussed on here in the past, hence probably why I took those 'below' pictures back in 2018, but can't be totally sure about that.

[ajgriff]

It's also interesting that Henley's produced 12V & 24V versions of the 65W Solon. Can't imagine that they sold in large numbers.

Alan

[Techman]

Yes, I noticed that the low voltage examples were shown earlier than the 110 volt types. It makes me wonder whether they were making 110 volt irons earlier than 1949, but didn't show them listed in adverts for the British market until that date. I'm wondering whether these irons were for the American market or whether they were for some sort of industrial or military use. What we can say is that although the low voltage 12 & 24 volt types were made, none of them ever seem to turn up, but these 110 volt types don't seem that rare. There has to be a story behind all this that we don't know - yet!

[Mr Moose]

Hello,

For information, I am attaching photos of the instruction sheet that came with my soldering irons.

The third picture shows my two NOS irons. They are 110v models and have a WD stamp on them and are dated 1951 and 1952, and have rubber leads.

The fourth picture shows a 250v iron I have which has had very little use. It is probably newer as it has a pvc cable.

Yours, Richard

[Techman]

Very interesting!

It doesn't specify a voltage on the instructions (that I could see), so obviously would apply to both voltage types. There definitely wasn't any form of instruction sheet with the NOS one I bought from JB, so I'm guessing that these 110 volt ones were all for one industrial/military bulk purchase order where no separate instructions would be needed. There wasn't any outer box or packaging with the 110 volt irons either, unless there was a paper wrap, I can't remember, but certainly no box or instructions with any of them that he had, and he had a lot.

I would say that your instruction sheet (thanks for posting it) would have come with the 250 volt iron that would have been available to the domestic market and probably came originally packed in a Solon marked box.

If your two 110 volt irons didn't come from JB in Lincoln, then I think it proves that there was a massive stock of these somewhere that were never used and became available to electronic salvage dealers around the country.

The other interesting thing is that your two irons have ordinary rubber cable without the cotton covering and are perhaps a slightly later date than the cotton over rubber cabled examples that we're thinking are 49-51 in date, with yours being actually dated as 51-52. Perhaps when they reached their destination market, such as the military, they were then given their 'WD' stamp.

[G6Tanuki]

There was also a 48V version, because 48V DC was the default voltage in telephone-exchanges [and is still sometimes found in old hill-top radio-relay sites].

[Techman]

Yes, I seem to remember a 48 volt version being mentioned in a previous thread some years ago - I don't think 48 volts were mentioned in any of the adverts shown in the previous link...unless I missed them.

[Techman]

I note that in a 1945 advert it tells us to write for details of the complete Solon range of low and normal voltage irons, so not all voltages shown unless asked for.

I like an earlier instruction to just plug it into a lamp holder - that's the way to do it!

[The Philpott]

I can imagine many 12 & 24v versions going to the military. It would be interesting to see what type of plug they were supplied with...if any.

Dave

[ajgriff]

Originally Posted by Mr Moose

For information, I am attaching photos of the instruction sheet that came with my soldering irons.

The third picture shows my two NOS irons. They are 110v models and have a WD stamp on them and are dated 1951 and 1952, and have rubber leads.

The fourth picture shows a 250v iron I have which has had very little use. It is probably newer as it has a pvc cable.

Many thanks for posting the photos of the instruction sheet Richard. I've converted them to a single PDF file (attached) for anyone who prefers things in that format.

Am I right in assuming that your NOS irons have 'braided' rubber leads?

Alan

[Techman]

Originally Posted by ajgriff

Am I right in assuming that your NOS irons have 'braided' rubber leads?

I got the impression from what he said that they were just black rubber with no cotton covering and I think a part of the cable can just be seen in the corner of the picture, but perhaps he could confirm.

Thanks for the pdf conversion.