I have been soldering for about 50 years and am always
looking for ways to refine the process. The stainless steel
tubing sounds very useful. What was this tubing originally meant
for?
Another thing that would be useful is some sort of glove
material that would let one briefly touch the tip of a hot iron
while placing it against the work. I once discovered that cotton
work gloves were very good for this except it only takes a
fraction of a second to burn a hole right in the glove which
brought a quick and painful end to the experiment.
Such gloves would also work for handling desoldering
tools which get even hotter.
The idea is not to hold the tip for extended periods of
time, but briefly pinch it while guiding it in.
Martin WB5AGZ