Soldering Remover Ball - Color Assorted - Color Assorted (Large)

Pros: Easy, tidy, effective. These "balls" of brass shavings are sometimes supplied in lieu of sponges in soldering station iron holders. To use, you're supposed to plunge the tip in while hot in a "stabbing" motion, a few times, in a few different locations. The tip comes out still lightly tinned, but cleaned, without loss of heat (as with a water-soaked sponge).

Cons: DX doesn't sell the weighted base available elsewhere that these are "refills" for. I happen to have found a ~suitable thin sheet metal open "box" from an old computer subassembly (will post a photo) that works all right, but a weighted base would be better.

Other: If you haven't found sponges a joy to use, try this thing.

Pros: Perfect for keeping your soldering iron tip clean.
Helps a ton to get all the burned flux and unwanted soldering blobs off the tip.

Cons: Isn't really about this item, but these are supposed to go in to heavy stands so they wont roll around, and I haven't found one from DX yet.
But, this still works, just have to be more gentle with it.

Other: If you don't have one of these, and do even a tiny amount of soldering, this helps to keep the tip nice and clean, making soldering easier, and keeping the tip in good condition longer

Pros: I saw this woolly looking ball of what looked like steel wool (it's not steel wool! Steel wool can burst into flames if you heat it so don't try to substitute it!) and ordered it purely out of curiosity. However now I'm hooked, it keeps my iron tips cleaner than before, and I don't get any heat loss from dipping the iron into a moist sponge. Tthe metallic coating actually sucks up the solder similar to de-soldering braid.

Cons: It seems that this is a disposable commodity. A sponge can last for years because any dried solder can be scraped off and the underlying sponge will be fine. But this tip-cleaner actually soaks up the solder, similar to de-soldering braid which needs to be replaced often. I don't know yet how long this will last, but for the price and practicality it's worth buying a few as spares.

Other: For thirty years I've been using a sponge to clean my soldering iron tip and never thought twice about it. Now I'm a convert.

Pros: It makes my solder tip shine and ready to use. It was love at first sight. A sponge somewhat cleans your tip, but never to a shine. Then, it has to heat back up. I also found it difficult to get the very tip clean with a sponge - this product does the job.

Cons: I guess I wish it would never wear out, but for a couple of bucks, I don't really have a con. A square one would be preferable, to fit in my soldering tray.

Other: Anyone who does electronic soldering should have one of these.

Pros: Of the hundreds of things I've bought from DX, this has probably been the most useful. I used a regular sponge for years and years, and never thought twice about it. This thing removes solder 10x better without cooling down the tip. It pays for itself by making your tips usable for longer.

Cons: There's no tray and no easy way to attach it to anything - so it just sits on the table, all the solder it removes just falls to the table beneath it, cleaning all that up can be a pain.

Other: If you solder a lot or a little, you simply have to own one of these. Even if you're skeptical, for the price, you need to at least try one. I'm buying 5 more right now.

Pros: Very cheap as expected from DX. As good of quality an item as you will find from anywhere other stores around you.
Anyone who does any sort of soldering task needs one of these. It will clean your soldering tip without removing heat from it.

Cons: Wish they sold a little holder thing for these so that it wouldn't move around since it's so light. Don't know how long it will last.

Other: Very economical and useful - a must have for any DIYer!

Pros: Does the job it is suppose to do 100%.
Fair size(about that of a tennis ball)
Solder will not stick to this like other balls.
Not sharp like some other solder balls you get, so no worries about cutting yourseld, or edges cutting you.

Cons: Other than 3 weeks shipping I have no complaints about this item.
Shipping in my opinion should not bee this long for anything on deal extreme!

Other: If you do any type of soldering then this is a must have to clean the tips of your soldering iron.
It works really good, and is not too big or not too small.

Pros: - this thing sucks up all your solder on the tip of your iron. - does what its supposed to. - i got quite a fair amount of it. - works better than a sponge. - looks cooler than a sponge.

Cons: - it does not fit in any tray on a soldering station. well at least not comfortably.

Other: Great product does exactly what you need it to do when your soldering stuff. The price is also pretty good, i would easily just buy these instead of sponges from now on.

Pros: - Does the job it's meant to do - Doesn't cool down the tip during the use like the regular sponge - easy to use - Faz o que é feito pra fazer - Não esfria a ponta do ferro de solda durante o uso, como a esponja normal costuma fazer - Fácil de usar

Cons: - Not really a con, but it doesnt fit the regular solder bases - Não é realmente um contra, mas não dá pra encaixar em bases normais

Other: - I bought only one, should have bought more lol - Eu comprei só um, devia ter comprado mais lol

Pros: This is a better tip cleaner than the sponges I've used before - no water! The tip stays hot, so work goes faster and more evenly as a result.

Cons: Doesn't come with a metal cup to anchor it. Definitely needs mechanical support to contain it. I used a glass ashtray.

Other: Two soldering "best practices" are to keep the tip clean and hot. This ball helps with both.