Bench Hacks: Cordless Tacking Iron

While trying to solve the problem of short rheostat life for tacking irons, I realized the shank diameter on mini hot tool tips (the kind we use for tacking down paint, removing tape, etc) happens to fit C210 soldering iron tips.

That means if you get a cordless soldering iron with a C210 tip, you can pop those spatula tips on and you have lightweight, cable-free tacking iron. Ditching the cord is ideal when working across large paintings or maneuvering around delicate paper without a heavy cable pulling on the tool or dropping onto the surface.

Temperature: the model I sourced runs between ~100–230°F across the spatula, which covers most heat-set adhesive work.

Battery life: you get 15–30 minutes on battery for quick jobs, but you can also use it plugged in (with a USB-C port) for as long as you need.

If you want to try the setup without hunting down compatible parts yourself, I put a few complete sets up in the shop.

Let me know if you’ve tried similar portable setups in your lab!