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Dec 5, 2008 | 02:15 PM

'00_Z

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From: holding down the couch

soldering

I want to get something to handle minor jobs like working on rc stuff. Would a soldering gun be overkill? And what are decent soldering irons if so? Thanks!

Dec 5, 2008 | 05:40 PM

Gordon0652

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What exactly are you trying to do?

Dec 5, 2008 | 05:56 PM

ZexGX

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon0652

What exactly are you trying to do?

x2. Got any pics of the things you're trying to solder? Scale?? Smaller jobs require smaller points... A soldering gun is going to make it difficult not to burn/melt any surrounding electronics if the point is small enough... That said, I use a pretty hefty soldering gun for most electrical wiring work (aftermarket driving lights, stereo wires, antenna wires). If you're doing PCB work I suggest getting a soldering iron with an appropriate sized tip. Keep in mind these things put out A TON of ambient heat, plus if you accidentally brush against something you're not supposed to - you're SOL. For PCB/electronics type stuff a small soldering iron is best. I had a handheld battery powered one and it was pretty lame. Maybe there are a few good ones out there but I don't know what they are...

Dec 5, 2008 | 07:32 PM

'00_Z

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Originally Posted by ZexGX

That answered my question actually. I am going to be doing some r/c car wiring and things of that nature. I kind of figured the guns would be too much but wanted to find out from people that use them. Thanks.

Dec 5, 2008 | 07:46 PM

ZexGX

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Quote:

Originally Posted by '00_Z

NP... I guess the most important thing to keep in mind is make sure you don't accidentally melt something you didn't want to.

soldering guns are quite large

Dec 5, 2008 | 08:13 PM

jimmyblue

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From: East Central Florida

The pistol type guns are high wattage and take time to heat up.
Neither is what you want for fine work. For electronics you want
a temperature-controlled tip. Old Weller (aqua body, coiled holder)
stations are easy to find tips for, in varying geometries (I have an
assortment of regular conical, needle, chisel tips in various temp
ranges) and pretty rugged. Metcal is good, I think maybe more
expensive. Look on eBay for used industrial ones. Stay away from
straight wattage, non-controlled irons, there is nothing between
you and burnt work. Stick with a brand you know you can get
tips and stuff for.

Stuff like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/A91-Weller-Solde...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/WELLER-WTCPT-SOL...QQcmdZViewItem

Dec 5, 2008 | 09:00 PM

Camaroholic

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I'm a huge Hakko fan. However, these folks at Madell have the exact same irons as Hakko at half the price.

http://www.madelltech.com/m3-8.html

I have 5 Hakko 936 soldering stations, and a Hakko 928 (dual iron) station. I also have a Madell 850D hot air station for surface mount rework. On top of that, I have a Weller soldering gun and a Weller butane portable soldering iron.

What's nice about the Hakko 936 setup is the temperature control and tip choice. The 936 station can easily do 10 gauge wire connections when cranked up to 800 degrees or so. Scale it back to 650-700 and it'll do printed circuit board work. The larger the part, the hotter you need it. I use .8mm tips with my irons, I believe they come with 1.2mm tips (larger, which work very well on wire connections).

Lastly, these stations are ready to go in under 30 seconds. Flip the switch, 30 seconds later you're ready to solder. I use them just about every day. I found the 928 in a trash bin, and have been using it for almost 10 years now. lol.