Are honeycomb ceramic soldering any good for hot air jobs?

[zapta]

I am considering getting one of those high temperature ceramic soldering boards for occasional hot air reworks.

Any they any good? Does the hot air passes through the holes, damaging the bench underneath?

https://www.amazon.com/honeycomb-ceramic-welding-Jewelry-smelting/dp/B0CQ522TS5

[SteveThackery]

Not seen one of those before. I would have thought you were supposed to heat it from below.

[edavid]

I don't think these are very useful for electronics.  They are mostly for jewelry pieces that you need to tie down with wire.

For hot air use, you need to put a heatproof surface underneath, like a solid tile, so you might just as well solder on that surface.

[coppercone2]

it might be a ESD hazard and it will get stained if flux gets on it. Ceramic tiles register poorly on ESD meters.


you probobly want to keep just a piece of ESD rubber to work on

those are good for anything fire, I do small plumbing on a charcoal block or those things

[MariuszD]

These aren't special soldering tools, just parts for burners. Someone found a new use. And he set a new, better price. Sometimes I braze with a blowtorch. I like to see if such a plate is good for anything.

https://www.amazon.com/Meter-Star-Effeciency-165x75x14mm-Replacement/dp/B07P9QVJSQ

[coppercone2]

https://www.riogrande.com/product/ceramic-honeycomb-block/502005GP?code=502005&objectID=502005&queryID=776384475b0831e27ff44ae65bd389e9

if you don't want the holes, use this
https://www.riogrande.com/product/solderite-pads-hard/502063GP?code=502063&objectID=502063&queryID=fd8beb6327a984db236f547863b119b1

you can get little pins
https://jetsinc.com/soldering-and-torches/soldering-blocks-and-boards/honeycombs/ceramic-honeycomb-block-4-ceramic-pins-soldering-plate-pins-jewelry-making/



BTW From what I understand, they are not burner parts. I have seen ceramic burner parts, and I believe those are catalyst coated, but it may depend on the burner.


I think its a very old technology, back to the days of asbesthos, for precious metal smiths

But if you put a ESD tester on it, you will be scared. Tiles are no better, its not for electronics

Interestingly enough, a dirty charcoal block.. may be ESD safe lol, I think its somewhat conductive. I prefer them , but they are smokey

[mikerj]

Interestingly enough, a dirty charcoal block.. may be ESD safe lol, I think its somewhat conductive. I prefer them , but they are smokey

Charcoal varies widely in conductivity from very low to high depending on the temperature it was processed at.  It's very messy to work with though, I don't think it has a place on an electronics bench other than inside the fume extraction filter.

[SiliconWizard]

I have a couple of these ceramic boards. I use them if I need to use a small blowtorch on small parts. Not for soldering.

If you want to use them as insulators for soldering, I'd recommend placing a metal grid on top of them and ground it to be ESD safe.

[coppercone2]

Interestingly enough, a dirty charcoal block.. may be ESD safe lol, I think its somewhat conductive. I prefer them , but they are smokey

Charcoal varies widely in conductivity from very low to high depending on the temperature it was processed at.  It's very messy to work with though, I don't think it has a place on an electronics bench other than inside the fume extraction filter.

they auto-flux though. its reducing, and also it displaces oxygen. Things solder better on them (metal parts), but you NEED ventilation. Won't help for non-flame though.