Make a Homemade Soldering Iron From a Lighter and Copper Wire
If you’re working on a project that requires a little soldering but don’t have a soldering iron, this clever build will work as a last resort.
In this YouTube video by MrGear, you will learn how to turn a regular gas station lighter and copper wire into an efficient soldering iron. Cut a piece of copper wire and bend it in half. Then make two more folds near the center or loop of the first fold, as shown in the video, to make the wire look like the letter “z”. Now attach this wire to the lighter so that the loop hangs over the edge where you could cook over the flame. Just heat the wire for a few seconds and you can easily melt the solder. However, you might consider adding some kind of insulation between the copper wire and the plastic of the lighter. The wire will probably never get hot enough to melt plastic, but a small piece of cloth or something will ensure that it doesn’t.