Soldering iron for beginner ?

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Fivetide

Fivetide

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Joined 2011
sonicspirits.com
A basic question, I like the idea of changing the parts on my old Amp and pre amp, and I’m fascinated by how different parts will affect the sound. I already have replacements as a gift off my brother for my birthday so this is simply experimental. (for now J )
So a Simple question, what type of soldering iron do I need that will be able to de solder and then easily re solder the new parts. Any recommendations, I’m from the UK , And flux, solder and other tools you think I will need for my first venture into electronics?
 
sofaspud

sofaspud

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Joined 2005
That's looks like a decent set of small tools. And the Antex is a good soldering iron. For solder, I would suggest 0.036" 60/40 rosin core solder if you can get it. Desoldering braid will help in removing parts from boards.
You'll also need a good pair of diagonal cutters. CPC has these also. And a multimeter if you don't have one already. Even a cheapie is better than none at all.
 
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sofaspud

sofaspud

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Joined 2005
Yeah, that one looks good, too. That looks kinda like Weller blue on the soldering iron. And this one includes side cutters (similar to diagonal cutters) and a DMM.
but I might buy seperate tools , I dont know yet ..
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My own rule is that when buying a set of tools, I may sacrifice a little quality for the discount price. When buying separate tools, I like to stick with better quality stuff like Xcelite or Klein. Those may be US brands, but I just wanted to pass that along for consideration.
 
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Mark.Clappers

Mark.Clappers

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Joined 2010
This stuff works for me, both professionally and at home, I have to solder on a daily basis anything from tiny 0102 resistors to big components with lots of thermal mass like can tuners.

Solder: Multicore Sn62 Tin/Silver/Lead, diameter: 0.46mm
Desolder brais: Loctite no-clean wick, 1.5mm x 1.5m NC-AA
Soldering Iron: JBC advanced AD2200 with various cartridges
Flux remover: Cramolin Flux-Frei (be carefull with this stuff, it will eat away most plastics!)

If you want to use desoldering braid I would suggest at least 80watts @ 420C. This is what I use at work to desolder SMD devices. Especially ground planes can be a bitch to desolder..

Also try to get some solder which contains lead (yeah I know ROHS prohibits it), this will make it far easier to solder anything, especially if you are a beginner.

The set looks nice, but only a 25W soldering iron can be very limiting, it all depends on what types of components you want to solder!
 
Fivetide

Fivetide

Member
Joined 2011
sonicspirits.com
sofaspud said:
Yeah, that one looks good, too. That looks kinda like Weller blue on the soldering iron. And this one includes side cutters (similar to diagonal cutters) and a DMM.

My own rule is that when buying a set of tools, I may sacrifice a little quality for the discount price. When buying separate tools, I like to stick with better quality stuff like Xcelite or Klein. Those may be US brands, but I just wanted to pass that along for consideration.
Click to expand...

I think I 'm the same, I do build computers when required for a friends shop, but I have never needed to do any soldering etc, but my screwdrivers etc are Stanley and over 20 years old and still in perfect condition. But they were not cheap when I bought them. I may go for a bit more expensive soldering iron because as reading through threads I have come to the conclustion that a cheaper one could cause frustration to a beginner and of course I can always put it on ebay.

Mark.Clappers said:
This stuff works for me, both professionally and at home, I have to solder on a daily basis anything from tiny 0102 resistors to big components with lots of thermal mass like can tuners.

Solder: Multicore Sn62 Tin/Silver/Lead, diameter: 0.46mm!
Desolder brais: Loctite no-clean wick, 1.5mm x 1.5m NC-AA
Soldering Iron: JBC advanced AD2200 with various cartridges
Flux remover: Cramolin Flux-Frei (be carefull with this stuff, it will eat away most plastics!)

If you want to use desoldering braid I would suggest at least 80watts @ 420C. This is what I use at work to desolder SMD devices. Especially ground planes can be a bitch to desolder..

Also try to get some solder which contains lead (yeah I know ROHS prohibits it), this will make it far easier to solder anything, especially if you are a beginner.

The set looks nice, but only a 25W soldering iron can be very limiting, it all depends on what types of components you want to solder!
Click to expand...

I have found some low melt solder MULTICORE (SOLDER)|QLMP22|SOLDER, LMP 22SWG 250G | CPC

"Solder: Multicore Sn62 Tin/Silver/Lead, diameter: 0.46mm!"

But I cant work out its thickness, I assume its got something todo with
22SWG 250G ? As
As in the article it recommends thin solder for the beginner?
 
sofaspud

sofaspud

Member
Joined 2005
The iron in that 2nd tool set is described: 20W/130W Soldering iron. That ought to handle just about anything an audio diyer will encounter, SMD to speaker lugs. I've never seen such a thing. 130W is usually a gun, not a pencil.
I may go for a bit more expensive soldering iron because as reading through threads I have come to the conclustion that a cheaper one could cause frustration to a beginner and of course I can always put it on ebay.
Click to expand...
I can't really argue with that. But there's a saying about a poor carpenter that blames his hammer. The iron I'm using most now is a custom diy tip, but the iron itself is a $6 unit from WalMart.
 
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Fivetide

Fivetide

Member
Joined 2011
sonicspirits.com
sofaspud said:
The iron in that 2nd tool set is described: 20W/130W Soldering iron. That ought to handle just about anything an audio diyer will encounter, SMD to speaker lugs. I've never seen such a thing. 130W is usually a gun, not a pencil.

I can't really argue with that. But there's a saying about a poor carpenter that blames his hammer. The iron I'm using most now is a custom diy tip, but the iron itself is a $6 unit from WalMart.
Click to expand...

excellent advice.. I will go with the 2nd tool kit , I dont think theres anything in that that I wont use at some point .. and it seems to be a good starting point.. Ill grab a

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


I'll grad a stand

DURATOOL|ZD-10A/87-0101|SOLDERING IRON STAND | CPC&

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


And some solder

MULTICORE (SOLDER)|QLMP22|SOLDER, LMP 22SWG 250G | CPC

And Ill let you know how I got on with my test board.
 
Mark.Clappers

Mark.Clappers

Member
Joined 2010
About 0.5mm diameter solder is - to my opinion - ideal because it is thin enough to solder most SMD components but also thick enough if you want to solder speaker wire and such without using meters of the solder wire.

I don't use any tools to hold my PCB's, just my hands and an ESD safe grounding mat (also chemically resistant, handy when you use stuff like flux remover)

Anyway, good luck with your project.
 
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