soldering

not sure what happened: using iron new for first time. it heats up and i solder couple of wires. then the tip starts to turn black, i tried wiping it off with a damp sponge and nothing, not only did the tip get black, but any part black did not get hot enought to melt solder. so i put a new tip on and it did the same thing. what is going on? (it is a weller pen style iron)

oxidation! did you "tin" the tip first?  you need to do this. what is tinning? you apply an even coat of solder to the tip to reduce oxidation and improve heat transfer. you should "tin" frequently during soldering operations.  also what temperature is your iron set to? i prefer 650f for most applications. Prove your connections, use a meter!

I promise, I'll behave!

electrostatic wrote: oxidation! did you "tin" the tip first? you need to do this. what is tinning? you apply an even coat of solder to the tip to reduce oxidation and improve heat transfer. you should "tin" frequently during soldering operations. also what temperature is your iron set to? i prefer 650f for most applications.

the first thing i did was tin the tip. and there is no temp controls. i think it is a really cheap iron

You might be using the wrong type of solder?  You might not have used flux?  Sand the connecting point where the screw tightens against the tip, and sand off the oxidation.Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.