NZGuitars.com

Anyone have a decent, mid-priced ($50-$100) soldering iron recommendation?

I have one of the Goot pencil-style ones from Surplustronics but I seem to have a terrible time with it (as opposed to the irons I've used at AUT Maker Lab)

A station set-up would be preferable, I've seen mentions of the Weller WC100 but can't seem to track them down for sale in NZ.

Thanks

There's pretty much nothing in that range

The closest I've found is the Duratech station at Jaycar but that's still $120ish

There's a thread on it here but I've not looked inside.

http://nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=29873

Not wanting to hijack your thread OP, but can anyone tell if it is OK to grind a new sharp point on my big mofo of a soldering iron (the one I use to do grounding for pots etc)? I intend to make it sharp, then immediately heat and coat with flux & solder. Should I not do this for any reason?

GrantB wrote:Not wanting to hijack your thread OP, but can anyone tell if it is OK to grind a new sharp point on my big mofo of a soldering iron (the one I use to do grounding for pots etc)? I intend to make it sharp, then immediately heat and coat with flux & solder. Should I not do this for any reason?

From what little I know (received wisdom, all of it) using anything abrasive on a tip will expose the copper core of the iron and that's no good no how.

Vince wrote:There's a thread on it here but I've not looked inside.

http://nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=29873

This was tread I started and I ended up going for a Jaycar Duratech one like this
http://www.jaycar.co.nz/Tools-%26-Solde ... n/p/TS1620
Seems ok so far but I only do occasional pickup swaps etc so it hasn't had much use.
But I think you need to spend $150+ to get anything proper!

Yeah there's always the big Weller option, buy once, buy for life etc... unless you're me and lose your $500 soldering station in a house move somehow. But unless you're regularly soldering, there's no point in that investment.

May I ask what solder you're using?

Danger Mouse wrote:Yeah there's always the big Weller option, buy once, buy for life etc... unless you're me and lose your $500 soldering station in a house move somehow. But unless you're regularly soldering, there's no point in that investment.

May I ask what solder you're using?

Something from Surplustronics, a little tube of lead-free solder from memory. Is that the issue you think?

And there is the issue exactly, you can vary the price of the iron according to the use it will get and purpose, but ALWAYS buy the best solder you can get. A good 60/40 tin/lead solder will make a world of difference.

1st rule of soldering, never use lead-free. Ever.

You don't need a new iron

Danger Mouse wrote:And there is the issue exactly, you can vary the price of the iron according to the use it will get and purpose, but ALWAYS buy the best solder you can get. A good 60/40 tin/lead solder will make a world of difference.

1st rule of soldering, never use lead-free. Ever.

You don't need a new iron

Thank you kindly.

I use a cheapo Dick Smith 40W pencil iron, I think it was less than twenty bucks.

It's soldered everything from damn-fiddly surface mount work to valve amps.

Technique and type of solder is massively important, more so IMO than how much your iron cost.

might struggle getting one the same though eh... as dse stopped doing electronics a few years back and I seem to recall seeing something in the news about them recently. Can't remember what though...

Mines a DSE, I bought a few spare tips for it when I got it just in case. All I have to do is find them.

I would have thought RS Components or Farnell stock Weller though? There was a shop down the road in ellerslie that used to do Weller, so they are obtainable locally. I just don't use an iron enough to buy a station.

I bought this: http://www.jaycar.co.nz/Tools-%26-Solde ... n/p/TS1540
And this: http://www.jaycar.co.nz/Tools-%26-Solde ... m/p/NS3005

So far, it has worked.

I have a Weller solder station, its about 20 yrs old now but is very good. RS Components stock them. I also have a huge roll of decent solder, again about 20yrs old but still going strong.

I also have a fancy temp controlled Weller solder station with two pencils too but I never use it, most of my work is on valve amps so its a bit on the small side.

A good iron will give you consistent results, the Weller is great at this as it uses a mechanical plunger to heat the tip. Iron coated copper tips are best too.

Weller. Cheaper to buy just the iron without the blue power box, the power supply is simply a 24vac (2 amp or higher) transformer which is easy to find cheap.
The iron itself houses the magnetic thermostat and the temperature range is governed by the tip selected.They are numbered)
CE Distribution sell a good range of tips for about USD $ 4.50 a piece.
I once set up a production workbench with six 24 volt ac jacks along it connected to a 10 Amp 24V transformer.
I used 1/4 inch jack plugs to connect the irons.