Material: A piece of 1⁄2-in. round copper, 3 ins. long, a piece of No. 8 wire, 18 ins. long, or a piece of light telephone or telegraph wire will do. Some soft solder. Resin and sweet oil. Small piece of clean tin. Manufactured fluid for soldering (used sometimes in place of muriatic acid).
Tools: Punch, vise, file, hammer.
Soldering iron
Place the end of the copper rod in the fire and heat it red-hot. Take it out of the fire and punch a hole about 1⁄2 in. from the end of the rod, large enough to allow the No. 8 wire to go through. Push the wire through this hole until half is on one side and half is on the other. Bend the wire close up to the sides to form the handle. In order to make this rigid, place the rod into the jaws of the vise and pinch the wire into the copper rod. This prevents any swinging motion. Take hold of both ends of the wire with the pincers and twist them close to the copper rod. This makes a good handle. Heat the copper end of the rod red-hot, and with a hammer flatten it to a four-sided tapering end about one inch long and ending in a blunt point. (See [picture].) Cool off in water and file the end of soldering iron smooth.
Now it must be tinned. On your piece of tin place some soft solder, oil, and resin. Heat the soldering iron hot enough to melt the solder, rubbing it up and down on the tin, mixing all together. Do this on all four sides, and in a little while you'll find the solder has covered the end of the soldering iron. When this is done the iron is ready to be used.