Soldering Iron Recommendations

[Duff]

Yeah. I want to get a decent 40 watt iron with a reasonably small pointed tip to get into pots, etc., without melting the surrounding wire shielding.

An inexpensive but good quality station would be great. What about those ones on the GFS page? They have a welding station I think. Any experience by anyone with of these?

[Commodore 64***]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/psho...number=374-100

I've used that one to build a pedal and replace the innards on 2 guitars. So far, it's been great. Can't beat the price either at 15 bucks.

[Bloozcat]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/psho...number=374-100

I've used that one to build a pedal and replace the innards on 2 guitars. So far, it's been great. Can't beat the price either at 15 bucks.

I've got the same soldering station. When I saw it on sale for $12.00 before Christmas, I asked "Mrs. Santa" to get me one.

It's surprisingly well made for the money, and the tips look to be very good as well (I got an extra set with it). The unit does take longer than either of my two irons (25W & 40W) to heat up, and so far I've only used it for a couple of quick jobs. When I sit down to build my reverb pedal, I'll have some more time to play with the heat settings. If in the end it works only as well as my irons, it'll still be worth more than the cost for that alone...not to mention the nice station that goes along with it.

[Commodore 64***]

I've got the same soldering station. When I saw it on sale for $12.00 before Christmas, I asked "Mrs. Santa" to get me one.

It's surprisingly well made for the money, and the tips look to be very good as well (I got an extra set with it). The unit does take longer than either of my two irons (25W & 40W) to heat up, and so far I've only used it for a couple of quick jobs. When I sit down to build my reverb pedal, I'll have some more time to play with the heat settings. If in the end it works only as well as my irons, it'll still be worth more than the cost for that alone...not to mention the nice station that goes along with it.

Having used my Stahl for a while, I was getting frustrated with how long it took to heat up. Literally 10 minutes. And when you use the wet sponge to clean the tip, it takes too long to get back up to temperature. I grabbed a 25 watt Weller that I found while cleaning my garage and tried it one day, when I put new pots and tone cap in my tele. What a huge difference! I use the Weller exclusively now. I cut the cords off of the Stahl docking station and I use it for the Weller now.

DVM mentions this Weller here: http://www.thefret.net/showpost.php?...6&postcount=15

[Ch0jin]

Rather than cross posting, also see Hakko FX888
replacement to the Hakko 936 recommended in this thread.

[Commodore 64***]

Mine takes a while to heat up too. I also got an extra tip kit, but so far so good.

BTW, the solder sucker they have there...http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=370-030 for 4 bucks works great too.

[Duff]

Do these soldering stations, 40 watts max, melt the new lead free solder being used internationally?

[tunghaichuan***]

Do these soldering stations, 40 watts max, melt the new lead free solder being used internationally?

They should, the temperature dial goes high enough. But the issue is that the solder melts at such a high temperature that the components can cook due to the high heat. Also, the joints using the new lead-free solder aren't shiny like leaded solder joints so it is hard to tell if the joint is cold-soldered joint or not.

[Duff]

Tunghaichuan, so what is the best approach?

New lead free solder requires more heat. Heat can destroy components.

Wouldn't a 200 watt soldering gun or more powerful than 40 watt iron heat up the joint faster at the local site and penetrate less net heat into the component; thereby heating the joint site to required temp fast, do the soldering, and get out of there?

Use leaded solder over the old new solder joint, clip old wires, and use low power 20 - 40 watt pencil iron?

[tunghaichuan***]

IMHO, the best approach is to stock up on leaded solder. That new stuff flat out sucks. I have pretty much a lifetime supply. I believe leaded solder is still sold in the USA, so I'd get some while I still could.

For soldering, it really isn't how much wattage the iron has, it is more the mass of the tip. I think a a 40-60 watt station is the best. But get a tip that is suitable for soldering guitar stuff.

The nice thing about the soldering stations is that several different sizes and types of tips are available. The tips also tend to be better quality. The two replacements I got for my Hakko station are still going strong after 15 years of use.

You don't want an iron that is too powerful, a 200 watt iron with a massive tip would fry your components in a hurry unless you were very quick with the iron.

Also you'd want to remove the old solder with a solder sucker or desoldering wick, even if it is the new lead free stuff. You want to get a nice clean joint, don't solder over existing lead free joints. So basically, you have to learn how to de-solder the new stuff effectively so you can replace it with leaded.

Tunghaichuan, so what is the best approach?

New lead free solder requires more heat. Heat can destroy components.

Wouldn't a 200 watt soldering gun or more powerful than 40 watt iron heat up the joint faster at the local site and penetrate less net heat into the component; thereby heating the joint site to required temp fast, do the soldering, and get out of there?

Use leaded solder over the old new solder joint, clip old wires, and use low power 20 - 40 watt pencil iron?

[EARNEST]

finally i am going to order hakko fx-888 with t18-d24 tips

[otaypanky***]

Yes, it sure does. I see the Weller is up to $57 on Parts Express now, $52 at Radio Shack (online only)
I just used it assembling 2 amps and it was great. The only problem was me not knowing that leaving it on would burn up the tip. I left it on for countless hours while I was busy trying to figure out what the heck I was doing ~LOL
I went through one tip pretty fast. On the second amp I did better as I read a few posts and learned of my mistake

[Telefinken]

Here's my iron

[BobbySwift]

The best way to make sure components don't fry when installing them is to get a heatsink. You can buy heatsink devices that clip on to the leg of the component you are soldering and take the brunt of the heat so the part itself won't take up too much heat. they are a lot more effective than they sound or look like. I used to do lots of soldering in my job and found most of the time ii could get away without it (if you're quick enough) but mostly the heatsink idea is best for things like IC chips and sensitive electronics.
Here's a link to see what they look like (one type at least): http://www.robotshop.com/Images/big/...g-heatsink.jpg

They are available through really any electronics supplier. Good luck with your projects

[Bloozcat]

The best way to make sure components don't fry when installing them is to get a heatsink. You can buy heatsink devices that clip on to the leg of the component you are soldering and take the brunt of the heat so the part itself won't take up too much heat. they are a lot more effective than they sound or look like. I used to do lots of soldering in my job and found most of the time ii could get away without it (if you're quick enough) but mostly the heatsink idea is best for things like IC chips and sensitive electronics.
Here's a link to see what they look like (one type at least): http://www.robotshop.com/Images/big/...g-heatsink.jpg

They are available through really any electronics supplier. Good luck with your projects

I've been using hemostats for years. Not only do they make a great heat sink, but they're also useful for holding components in place while soldering.

[Bloozcat]

You guys should move to Canada. We have a $1, and $2 coins.
It doesn't take many of them in a bucket to make a Grand. They replaced the paper bills. Now it is nothing to have 10 bucks in coins in your poket, with 5 coins.
A lot of us carry small coin pouches to save wear and tear on the pockets.

They've tried $1.00 coins here, nobody likes them. Personally, I find them annoying too. Whenever I travel to Canada or especially Europe, I end up with extra pounds of weight in my pocket from all of the one dollar/one euro coins. Since the coins have no intrinsic (precious metal) value, give me the paper instead...much easier to carry. I still have about 15 Euro in coins in the safe from our last trip to Europe (along with some paper as well). At least it's gone up in value with the US dollar on the slide.

And, for anyone who has not bought a 'helping hands' here's you chance, cheap, if there's a Harbor Freight Tools near you.



http://www.harborfreight.com/helping...campaign=0911b