Although this is not intentional, sometimes it happens.  It is more of
a possibility with the "gun" type soldering irons, due to the nature
of the heating element (comes in direct contact with solder).  Make
sure you do NOT use anything stronger than a 30 watt soldering iron on
electronic components, a Good 15W Weller with a transformer base is
probably one of the best (These with a transformer at the base make
sure the 120V AC is converted to high-current, but very low voltage
power before it is applied to the heating element, expressly for the
reason below).
Cetin

H2obxr@aol.com writes:
 > >
 > Also, there's voltage present at the tip of the soldering iron (if I remember
 > correctly), so there's always the possibility of damaging sensitive
 > components that are normally static sensitive.  I haven't tested the tip of
 > my soldering iron personally, so don't know if this is true or not.
 > 
 > 
 > 
 >