Soldering gun tip oddity.

[mrbreezeet1]

Actually it's a Craftsman gun, But l had a hard time getting my wire hot to accept solder.
Tip is glowing red hot at areas shown. What could this mean?
Do I need a new tip?
TY!

 

[George7941]

It means that the two contacts between the tip and the body of the gun is not 100%. Loosening and retightening the two setscrews, visible in the pic, should restore operation.
As it is now. the poor contacts is leading to excessive heat generation at the contact points and not enough heat at the tip due to the lower current.

 

[mrbreezeet1]

Great Thank You It was getting dark on me, had to quit for tonight.
Will Try to tighten tomorrow!

 

[Nessism1]

I have a similar gun and same experience. Red hot tip wires, but can't melt solder. Sanding the oxide layer off the tip helps, but it doesn't last. For serious soldering, I bought a Hakko soldering station and it's amazing.