I was updating some of my wiring harness for my ham radio emergency go-kit, and needed to unsolder some wires from a LED switch to that I could try to reuse it. I succeeded in getting the older wires removed and cleaned the solder off the terminals so that I could later reattach the connectors of my choice.
But something happened (this was 3am in the morning) and the soldering pencil (all 12 watts of it) decided to roll off the table and land on the inside of my left forearm.
Ouch! Those things are hot enough to melt solder, and hot enough to start burning their way thru my skin, especially the more tender skin on the inside of my arm rather than the weather beaten outer side. 🙂
Kids, don’t try this without adult supervision, and adults, don’t try it without adult supervision.
I should have used my soldering station to put the pencil in while hot, but that was outside in my van from when we were installing the antenna and power lines for the radio, and (did I mention it was 3am?) so I didn’t feel like going out side to fetch it back inside just for a quicky task.
Shame on me for taking short cuts and using my spare soldering pencil without taking proper precautions to ensure it didn’t get knocked off and start a fire or other hazard (like hitting my arm).
Six days later (8/5), and burn mark still very noticeable. Not hurting as much, still keeping neosporin applied, plus those spray on bandages instead of tape on bandages. Here’s a current photo.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Welcome to the club! My real first “electronic tattoo” happened when I was working at a Long Island radio station back in the late 1960s. Back then only 1 st Class FCC Commercial Radio Telephone Licensees (which I had) could work on the transmitters. I had a helper, as I was under a console, and I gave him my soldering iron to hold while I did some minor work. He put it on the desk top and when I got up my arm hit the iron! Same kinda burn and years later you can still see a bit of it on my arm. W2IK Bob