Hello. No doubt this is a soldering iron, what did you use to get into the hole. Is there charcoal or liquid fuel? It is stamped J.T.A.S, which I know means Jysk Telefon Aktieselskab. Tom
Never seen one before! But anyhow, this is what I think. The JYSK telephone company was the user, not the maker, the marking stamped in to prevent theft. The way I see it being used is with a small field forge to get the soldering iron up to using temps and at the same time a fat ring (kinda donut shaped) of iron or copper also being heated in the forge. A hook can be used to lift it out of the heard and drop it in the soldering iron. To keep the iron hot one changed the donut for a fresh hot one when needed. It is obvious this would be for outdoor use, laying new telephone lines etc., in the factory gas heated irons would have been used. BTW, judging from the colour in the photos this would best be called a soldering copper, not iron. So, this may be a load of male cow droppings but that's what I think might be how it worked....
@Wim Hello. Thanks for your reply. The mystery is solved. An older employee from J.T.A.S has approached me. He wrote that something called MOX Cartridges was used. These consist of pure phosphorus, which sputtered terribly when ignited, and they developed a colossal heat. He wrote that if you put one on a shovel blade it burned a hole in the shovel blade. No heat source other than these cartridges was used You say that it was only used outdoors, and you are absolutely right. Tom
I guess that MOX was not quite the correct term: MOX fuel - Wikipedia To use those it would have been quite harmful...
@Martin K. Thanks for your reply. Have seen a picture of the box. It says MOX on it. Could be a Danish company name perhaps. Tom
I've never seen a soldering iron like that. That's certainly different. By the way, is that a copper tube hard-brazed to the chamber with vent holes? It looks rather like a tube by which air could be forced blown into the chamber. The chamber might function as the location where the combustion of some solid fuel could take place to generate heat. The solid fuel could possibly be charcoal. Air is forcibly blown-in to supply oxygen for combustion. Could it work that way?
Great iron.. i have seen similar in poorer condition and always assumed they had iron ‘slugs’ which were swapped with others that were heated.. similar to the clothes iron types? Perhaps there were different ways of using them? @MYN there is a pierced cover with a long handle that swivels to allow access ?(most visible in the last photo) intriguing how tools adapted and changed over time..
Here is a link where you can see fuel for the soldering iron. They consist of pure phosphorus. Moxbrikett Tom
@Tom Pedersen Fascinating Tom. Thanks for the link. Translation to English of the text accompanying the photo: John
Thanks for the link. Very interesting! Never heard of these, and they seem to be pure energy. Quite dangerous, I assume.
I've seen them a couple of times, these soldering irons. They pop up on flea markets and such, but it was several years ago since I saw one last time. The same tablets were also used to heat up hotbulb engines. I know that atleast the maker "Skandia" used a little dish on top of the hotbulb where you placed the mox-tablet as an easier alternative to a blow torch.
Phosphorus? Is it the white or the red variety? Sounds like interesting stuff they used. Pretty nasty I suppose
@MYN I do not know whether it is white or red phosphorus that is used. I have been told by an older telephone technician who has used it that it continued to burn even if you threw it into a bucket of water. Tom
@Tom Pedersen That makes it even nastier . White phosphorus is spontaneously combustible in air. Red isn't. Phosphorus has a density than is greater than water. Therefore, regardless of whether it is red or white, phosphorus should sink in water. The flame should extinguish once the phosphorus is underwater and starved of oxygen. Now if the Moxbrikett stuff could continue to burn underwater, it means the stuff contains an oxidizer in addition to phosphorus as well. It is almost going to make it similar to thermite incendiaries .
@MYN It sounds dangerous, and it is. Can you tell me how many degrees of heat white phosphorus develops when it burns. Tom
I won't be sure if they would really use white phosphorus for this. W.P. is a little unstable and can spontaneously catch fire in air. More suited for incendiary bombs and such devices of destruction. Red phosphorus is way safer. I would estimate it to burn at around 800°C or so in free air. Since heat would be lost or conducted away soon enough, it is unlikely to destroy the soldering iron. If a small amount of oxidizing agent is incorporated, it could be in excess of 1000~1200°C on the flame itself. Still safe for the soldering iron chamber to handle because the overall temperature of the copper piece and chamber won't get that high:- Considerably lower in actual. However, depending on the ratio, oxidizer type and quantities involved, it can be formulated to develop up to 1500~2000°C. This, of course, wouldn't be suited for the soldering iron. Not only it is too high, but it would also burn out too quickly to be useful. Nevertheless, it should still be somewhat lower than what is possible with the usual thermite mixture (powdered aluminium and iron oxide).
