? for the builders/modders. Good quality soldering iron?

[el_Bajo_Verde]

A solder sucker can also be very helpful.

Indeed, I actually ordered one as well after I made that post.

I'm going to have a lot of work to do...this thing does not have a bit of shielding on it at all. No shielding paint, no nothing. Going to spend the next week doing more research until everything arrives. My main concern is just how to ground all the shielding together, since I have one large cavity, the J-pickup cavity which is separate, and the pickguard.

 

[willsellout]

I love my weller. I'd also agree about the brass sponge. When @boomertech speaks, you should listen

 

[Balog]

This post is a few years old now and a lot of the links are dead. Any updates on what's good now? I was looking at this X-Tronics model specifically. https://www.amazon.com/X-Tronic-3020-XTS-Digital-Display-Soldering/dp/B01DGZFSNE/

 

[johnk_10]

if you're going to use it a lot, this one is great for the money:
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...0ANZRT4M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8

 

[Alex_H]

I used a Hakko once by a friend and that interface was not very userfriendly at all. But it was a nice station.

Personally I used a small Weller soldering iron for years and it's real nice. But with the need of lead-free solder I had to upgrade and the nice Weller stations are out of my budget. So I settled for a Yihua 862D+. It put a Weller tip on and it's a damn nice station.

 

[Loring]

Mods, if this should be in a different section, please forgive and move accordingly.

Birthday is coming up, and family/partner are asking me what I want. I think a good quality soldering iron station would be good. Right now I'm using a cheapo Weller that I got from Lowes. It's decent, but it takes a good 10 minutes to heat up and the tips are impossible to find.

I was looking at Amazon, and the two leaders seem to be the Weller WES51 and the Hakko FX-888D.
Here are the links:
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51...id=1469329513&sr=1-13&keywords=soldering+iron
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...id=1469329513&sr=1-17&keywords=soldering+iron

Does anyone here use either of these stations? Opinions? Is there another one I should be looking at?
Right now I'm modding pedals, making cables, fixing/swapping pickups, and building BYOC and GGG kits. So I'd like a better quality tool. I think reliability, and ease of finding replacement tips would be my biggest concerns.

Thanks in advance.

Hakko for me - nearly instant heat and it stays hot

 

[sunbeast]

if you're going to use it a lot, this one is great for the money:
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...0ANZRT4M/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8

I’ve been using mine for years and LOVE it!