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Recommend a soldering iron/kit
- Thread starter SlugThrower
- Start date
A Blue Point copy of a Weller. Likely older than a few members of the forum. Still going strong.
A simple soldering iron you plug in is fine for basic stuff. Eventually you will want something better with temperature control. I have a Ryobi that you can either plug in or run off a rechargeable Ryobi battery. Gets up to 900 deg pretty quick and last several hours. I'd also get a solder tip cleaner over a sponge because a sponge will drop the temp. I use this set up for not just guitars but for soldering and building lightsabers.
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So the obvious question is - and this should be obvious guys: What's the best iron for metal?
Is it Friday yet?
Is it Friday yet?
Wattage helps in a couple of ways, but unrelated to typical "toolbox" use. The main thing is recovery time, if you're doing a lot of soldering all at once, such as an entire printed circuit board. The other is if you want to solder something massive such as the back of a pot, or directly to a chassis. I still own an old Weller Junior soldering gun, rated at 130 Watts for that kind of occasional use, plus tinning the ends of bike brake and gear cables.
I've been using my crappy pen iron for about 5 years now. It's gotten me by in various situations.
But this thread has me wondering why.
A decent station appears to be incredibly affordable. I've got GAS!
P.S.
I've only accidently grabbed ahead of the handle once. I'm not sure it's possible to make that mistake a second time.
But this thread has me wondering why.
A decent station appears to be incredibly affordable. I've got GAS!
P.S.
I've only accidently grabbed ahead of the handle once. I'm not sure it's possible to make that mistake a second time.
This one just arrived last week:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZV2DW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have a cheap Weller I got a Radio Shack a couple decades ago for quick self-repairs. Any tech that opened my basses or guitars up over the years would inevitably comment afterwards on my hack job and we'd have a good laugh. I tried the Vastar the other day on replacing the midrange pot on my bass and it took 1/4th the time, looks legit, and gave me confidence to take on some larger projects I was going to outsource.
This is the ONE time I'm blaming my tools.
I reviewed a few of the other brands and models linked in this thread and they all seemed functional and had good reviews. I ended up picking the orange hue as it looks good on my workbench, arrived the next day, and at $35 came in under budget.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RZV2DW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have a cheap Weller I got a Radio Shack a couple decades ago for quick self-repairs. Any tech that opened my basses or guitars up over the years would inevitably comment afterwards on my hack job and we'd have a good laugh. I tried the Vastar the other day on replacing the midrange pot on my bass and it took 1/4th the time, looks legit, and gave me confidence to take on some larger projects I was going to outsource.
This is the ONE time I'm blaming my tools.
I reviewed a few of the other brands and models linked in this thread and they all seemed functional and had good reviews. I ended up picking the orange hue as it looks good on my workbench, arrived the next day, and at $35 came in under budget.
Not cheap - but I have been really happy with one of these.
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-23BY-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B00ANZRT4M?ref_=ast_sto_dp
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D-23BY-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B00ANZRT4M?ref_=ast_sto_dp
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Link doesnt work
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
I got spoiled using a high-end Weller at school and this was recommended to me as almost as good for much cheaper.
Here's a great starter pack similar to the one I started with. Its $11 and has a pretty good mix of goodies.
Are there better irons? Yes. Most definitely.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076P5KPMG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EqErFbQZZXC4B
Are there better irons? Yes. Most definitely.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076P5KPMG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EqErFbQZZXC4B
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
My "good and cheap" station is a Weller WES51. Its older but the current model (different part number) is $114 on Amazon. Its good, the tips are fairly cheap, and the wands are replaceable.
My 'nice' station is a Weller WD2M. 40W digital temp controlled dual station. I have it set up with a regular wand and SMT tweezers. It heats up in about 5 seconds (not kidding) and the tips are easily interchangeable. They arent cheap, tips are about $25 and the entire station costs about $1K when new (I bought it used on ebay for a lot less then that) You guys want a good solder station, this is what it looks like. Too bad it doesnt do hot air.... oh well.
It's way overkill for jacks and pots, but I have to do very high quality soldering at work and on side work at home.
SMT practice board for my IPC ceritification. Yes, that's hand soldered.
Lash splice on RG316 coax cable
My 'nice' station is a Weller WD2M. 40W digital temp controlled dual station. I have it set up with a regular wand and SMT tweezers. It heats up in about 5 seconds (not kidding) and the tips are easily interchangeable. They arent cheap, tips are about $25 and the entire station costs about $1K when new (I bought it used on ebay for a lot less then that) You guys want a good solder station, this is what it looks like. Too bad it doesnt do hot air.... oh well.
It's way overkill for jacks and pots, but I have to do very high quality soldering at work and on side work at home.
SMT practice board for my IPC ceritification. Yes, that's hand soldered.
Lash splice on RG316 coax cable
The Weller WES51 is very popular. Good value and a nice selection of tips. Looks like it's discontinued now, but I'd highly recommend it if you can get a used one.
Soldering with a temperature controlled iron and good solder is much less frustrating, and the results show it, IME!
Soldering with a temperature controlled iron and good solder is much less frustrating, and the results show it, IME!
