I'll start with an apology:
I did not make clear that my questi>we have been telling you it won't work
I started this thread with two very specific questions: 1:Has anyone used this tool to solder came? 2:What is your opinion/observations? (on the tool being implied.)
I gave a little background on my thoughts of why I thought it might work, and what specific concerns I had.
To date, no one has answered: (1) they have used this tool, and (2) have found that it doesn't work.
You asked a question "why I don't I just buy the purpose tool", and I tried to explain my reasoning. Apparently, your question was rhetorical.
There was a short side discussion of dimmers, and how they worked, and if/when they were needed. In this JavaHut explained why he didn't use or need a dimmer (usually).
Some folks stated that "it won't work" but didn't say why they thought that, or indicated that they had tried the tool.
Andy Dingley had the closest reply that addressed the original question:
30W is not enough. I thanked him, and asked if all 30W irons were the same (and tried to show why I thought it was possible that they were not, but that it's likely they were). In hindsight, a better question would have been: "Are all X watt irons the same?".Since he stated that a 30W iron is not enough... knowing more info on if some elements are better than others would help me decide which brand/wattage of iron I will buy. I was hoping for discussion along the lines of: "I find Brand X irons to have quicker recovery than Brand Y" or "Don't get the 40W irons for sale, they are not enough... go with 100-150W" etc. In your first message you mentioned that you like the inland 100W model. I replied that that was good to know....which was an implied "thanks for that info." Perhaps I should have created a new thread, to make it clear that I was pursuing different information.
If my questions seemed "childish" to you, please remember that when it comes to the SG craft, everything that is old hat to you (collectively), is new and exciting to me. Consequently, I'm enthusiastic.
I'm trying to understand what I can, and the way I do that is to read, ask questions, and then probe the answers to those questions. In my probes, I learned a little more about dimmer use (or non-use) in the industry, sculptural solder, that "diamond tipped glass cutters" and Flair marking pens apparently do not work very well, got a praise of the inland 100W, etc. All good information not relating to the original questions. Info which I might not have learned otherwise.
I'm not arguing for the sake of argument, really, I'm just trying to gather, understand, and extract information.
I hope that I've better explained from where I was coming. I'll try to be more clear in the future.