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Soldering iron suggestions?

@338_MtRushmore
nice score on the triple8.I have it's older sibling 936. They use the same tips.
Use the brass ball as much as you can instead of the wet sponge,especially if your water is hard or a lot of minerals, eats up the plating.Distilled water better but still not
as easy on tips as the brass wipe.
 
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oldtymer said:
@338_MtRushmore
nice score on the triple8.I have it's older sibling 936. They use the same tips.
Use the brass ball as much as you can instead of the wet sponge,especially if your water is hard or a lot of minerals, eats up the plating.Distilled water better but still not
as easy on tips as the brass wipe.
Click to expand...
The brass ball is the best, no doubt. In my youth I used my fingers when nothing else was handy. You just had to be quick about it. Mother would holler downstairs at me,” I smell something funny, I hope you’re not soldering in your good clothes again”. :rolleyes:
 
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It turns out the solder I've been using is in fact 60/40. 90% of my soldering is on crimped terminals, and it works very well for that.

I still haven't ordered any tips yet, as I really don't know what I need. I am assuming the iron will come with a sharp conical, but I was thinking a 1.6mm screwdriver would be good for through hole? I'll probably get the biggest t18 tip they have for medium sized stuff.

As far as tip cleaning goes, there is no way that the thermal shock of a wet sponge could prolong the life of a tip.
 
sunbulls said:
The brass ball is the best, no doubt. In my youth I used my fingers when nothing else was handy. You just had to be quick about it. Mother would holler downstairs at me,” I smell something funny, I hope you’re not soldering in your good clothes again”. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I used to wipe the iron tip on the leg of my jeans. Then one day I was wearing my short pants and forgot about it. :eek: That cured me rather quickly from wiping the iron on my leg.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
I used to wipe the iron tip on the leg of my jeans. Then one day I was wearing my short pants and forgot about it. :eek: That cured me rather quickly from wiping the iron on my leg.
Click to expand...
got a brand you can show?
When i soldered battery cells in that battery factory i developed a hard thumb from putting solder on a hot grid.darn cells were so small i had a magnifying glass mounted where i could get a better view of my work. Quarter inch thick 1 x 1 inch square ,cells were quarter inch wide so you see why i had mag glass?aerospace technology.
Was looking in the magnum delta force radio i had.i swear 1 of those dam little batterys were in its memory.we made huge amount of em n im sure uncle sam never took all of em n probably were used in electronics like cb radios
 
338_MtRushmore said:
It turns out the solder I've been using is in fact 60/40. 90% of my soldering is on crimped terminals, and it works very well for that.

I still haven't ordered any tips yet, as I really don't know what I need. I am assuming the iron will come with a sharp conical, but I was thinking a 1.6mm screwdriver would be good for through hole? I'll probably get the biggest t18 tip they have for medium sized stuff.

As far as tip cleaning goes, there is no way that the thermal shock of a wet sponge could prolong the life of a tip.
Click to expand...
If bought new it will be 1.6mm screwdriver tip,good for through hole resistors, caps,
diodes. Something like a transformer tab or installing if filters with large grounding tabs
you will need something like a 3 or 4mm width.
I like Hakko equipment,also have the old 808 desoldering gun,very handy.
73, George
 
I grabbed a Weller WE1010NA this summer. ESD safe and temp controlled tip, heats up to 715 degree in 15 seconds. Many adjustable parameters like idle down time that drops the temp when not used for an adjustable amount of time= save tip life.

However it only came with 1 chisel tip and the pencil handle does get a pretty warm after a while of on time. By that I mean 40-60 min of on time at full preset temp. Not to the point of uncomfortable to hold, but bit close to that edge. I did find a vendor on Amazon and eBay that carries different and replacement tips that are cheap.
 
@338_MtRushmore - I am pretty sure you will like it.
I have had my 936 for about 7years and it still works well.
The 88 is an upgrade, a little more wattage & a modern look.
I like building kits. Now with Winter coming it gives me something to keep from
getting cabin fever.
 
338_MtRushmore said:
I got te Hakko today, and I am happy to find it is actually brand new and not fake. It is definitely in a different league than what I've been using.
Click to expand...

Yup, you’ll never go back to anything else now. Not knocking the Wellers or any other brand but I’m a Hakko fanboy for sure. I had no idea how crappy everything else I owned was until I got my Hakko. Plus those little china men at Hakko keep sending me stuff. Note pads, mostly. They sent me something that looks like an ink pen, put it is telescopic. Has a funny looking end on it, I figured it was a rake for a zen garden. Nope. It’s a back scratcher. Freaking awesome, I needed that. And it says Hakko on it... little things make me happy.

Check and see if you can access the presets in yours, I can’t on mine but it’s not a big deal. I can change the temp, that’s all that matters. I sent them an email and cried, they sent more pads. I can officially post-it note my entire house with Hakko notes now.
 
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My career in electronics spoiled me with Metcal & JBC soldering irons. I have never tried a Hakko. After decades of using consumer-grade garbage soldering irons at home, I finally broke down and got a sweet deal on a nearly-new Metcal MX500 on eBay. Should have done that a long time ago!
 
BBI said:
My career in electronics spoiled me with Metcal & JBC soldering irons. I have never tried a Hakko. After decades of using consumer-grade garbage soldering irons at home, I finally broke down and got a sweet deal on a nearly-new Metcal MX500 on eBay. Should have done that a long time ago!
Click to expand...

I could smell green when you said that, of course some of the Hakko stuff isn't that cheap either.
 
I got around $1200 worth of stuff if it was new. Most of the included tip selection was unopened from the package. Everything else had barely been used at all. $350, an uncommon eBay gamble that I actually won!
 

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