My Weller TCP (bought in 1988 if I recall correctly) still has the original tip on it and it's seen a lot of use! 
I forgot to add that any soldering iron should be temperature controlled. The temperature doesn't have to be variable, but at least controlled. The Weller and METCAL irons allow you to control the temperature by swapping out the tip for a hotter/colder one.
Tom
I forgot to add that any soldering iron should be temperature controlled. The temperature doesn't have to be variable, but at least controlled. The Weller and METCAL irons allow you to control the temperature by swapping out the tip for a hotter/colder one.
Tom
I love My Maplin Solder station, bought while on offer. Same station goes under several brands, eg: Tenma 60W Digital Soldering Station - The MagPi MagazineThe MagPi Magazine
Also, solder tip cleaner: Brass Soldering Clean Solder Iron Tip Clean Foam Cleaner Copper Wire Sponge Tool | eBay
Also, use flux, the paste type works fine for me. Always clean pcbs & component leads before soldering - just a wipe with fine wet&dry abrasive paper is enough.
Also, solder tip cleaner: Brass Soldering Clean Solder Iron Tip Clean Foam Cleaner Copper Wire Sponge Tool | eBay
Also, use flux, the paste type works fine for me. Always clean pcbs & component leads before soldering - just a wipe with fine wet&dry abrasive paper is enough.
Thanks for all the replies.. Somehow I'd missed them, swamped by other notifications I guess.
The repair I was doing at the time was to solder a tab of an audio jack asembly back down onto the smd board's pad because it was lifting off the board. Got it done in the end ok.
So! After some more frustrating use of my Solderpro 50, I removed the tip and.... a whole cone of thin metal pulled off the end!
So essentially there was plating on the tip and this was seperating and cooling down like a thin piece of foil. Now it works as I would expect and tins ok, and melts the solder well.... A bad tip.
I suspect then this is also why I always have a similar frustrating experience with my electric, temp controlled, old Maplin iron. I'm guessing a bad tip. I could never find replacments that I could be sure fitted in Maplin and the staff didn't know either. (Maplin was a store similar to Radio Shack but better, recently gone bust!).
Personally, other than these tip problems, I've always had trouble with wired irons with the cable pulling on the iron, the iron being too large (hand too far from the tip for being accurate) and poor feel, balance in the hand. I've never felt at ease with them. That said, the Maplin one was the most expensive I've had which was £50 at full price about 12 years ago... Looking at photos on the internet, they are also sold under Eagle and Solomon brands also for £50.
Do ergonomics get better with more professional, more expensive irons, cable arrangements better (or lighter and more flexible) and irons smaller? Or is it something just to get used to?
That's why I like the butane Iroda SolderPro 50 (probably better ones out there, it was £20 in the Maplin close-down sale) - it's light, tiny and I can maneuver IT rather than have to rotate the work into the narrow working area the cable allows. And I also don't have to clear space on a desk with space to put the iron, nor make sure a mains socket is free and can reach. I just put down a marble tile and work on that anywhere stable and well lit. Living in a small appartment with a partner, making space for repairs adds a quite large barrier to getting things done. Now - at last - the SolderPro works properly too.
The repair I was doing at the time was to solder a tab of an audio jack asembly back down onto the smd board's pad because it was lifting off the board. Got it done in the end ok.
So! After some more frustrating use of my Solderpro 50, I removed the tip and.... a whole cone of thin metal pulled off the end!
So essentially there was plating on the tip and this was seperating and cooling down like a thin piece of foil. Now it works as I would expect and tins ok, and melts the solder well.... A bad tip.
I suspect then this is also why I always have a similar frustrating experience with my electric, temp controlled, old Maplin iron. I'm guessing a bad tip. I could never find replacments that I could be sure fitted in Maplin and the staff didn't know either. (Maplin was a store similar to Radio Shack but better, recently gone bust!).
Personally, other than these tip problems, I've always had trouble with wired irons with the cable pulling on the iron, the iron being too large (hand too far from the tip for being accurate) and poor feel, balance in the hand. I've never felt at ease with them. That said, the Maplin one was the most expensive I've had which was £50 at full price about 12 years ago... Looking at photos on the internet, they are also sold under Eagle and Solomon brands also for £50.
Do ergonomics get better with more professional, more expensive irons, cable arrangements better (or lighter and more flexible) and irons smaller? Or is it something just to get used to?
That's why I like the butane Iroda SolderPro 50 (probably better ones out there, it was £20 in the Maplin close-down sale) - it's light, tiny and I can maneuver IT rather than have to rotate the work into the narrow working area the cable allows. And I also don't have to clear space on a desk with space to put the iron, nor make sure a mains socket is free and can reach. I just put down a marble tile and work on that anywhere stable and well lit. Living in a small appartment with a partner, making space for repairs adds a quite large barrier to getting things done. Now - at last - the SolderPro works properly too.
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I use the Hakko FX-888 at home.
The handle is soft and ergonomic, the cord is very light and flexible and it goes from cold to ready in seconds. The temperature control is very stable and is digitally displayed / controlled.
It isn't as cheap as the Maplin etc but I just remember the adage 'buy once, cry once'.
I use a Weller WS51 at work but find it slow to heat, has a vague potentiometer control and we've lost a few in the 'industrial environment'.
The handle is soft and ergonomic, the cord is very light and flexible and it goes from cold to ready in seconds. The temperature control is very stable and is digitally displayed / controlled.
It isn't as cheap as the Maplin etc but I just remember the adage 'buy once, cry once'.
I use a Weller WS51 at work but find it slow to heat, has a vague potentiometer control and we've lost a few in the 'industrial environment'.
I bought a secondhand Weller WS81 adjustable-temperature 150-450C station from a classified ad. as I was getting fed up with the various cheap irons I'd had that I could never get the right tips for, nor could I get enough heat into bus bars to solder anything to them. I keep it at about 300C unless I have a heavy wire to do, with a sponge in the holder and a brass wool cleaner from RS.
It was far out of my budget to get one new, but in my experience the older Weller stuff is better and, while a bit beaten up, this has been great. I have had it for several years now and haven't changed the tip it came with. Tinning was always a bit hit and miss with my cheaper irons, one of which had a tip that eroded right through after a couple of weeks!
The iron is attached to the station by a long, very flexible cable (it feels like silicone insulation) which I have found not at all problematic to manoeuvre.
Having done all my soldering with cheap irons up until now, I would heartily recommend getting something rather higher-end, going second-hand if you find the price of a good one as eye-watering as I did, and out of range for a hobby!
It was far out of my budget to get one new, but in my experience the older Weller stuff is better and, while a bit beaten up, this has been great. I have had it for several years now and haven't changed the tip it came with. Tinning was always a bit hit and miss with my cheaper irons, one of which had a tip that eroded right through after a couple of weeks!
The iron is attached to the station by a long, very flexible cable (it feels like silicone insulation) which I have found not at all problematic to manoeuvre.
Having done all my soldering with cheap irons up until now, I would heartily recommend getting something rather higher-end, going second-hand if you find the price of a good one as eye-watering as I did, and out of range for a hobby!
I found the opposite, the expensive stuff wasnt lasting very long.
In the end i dumped the soldering stations and bought a £10 Antex 30 watt iron from Maplin and have had it for many years. Tips last about 6 months so no complaints.
Union Brothers BP53 is my "Maplin" one. Holding the iron, you can feel the cable twisting it around in your hand due to gravity and it annoys me over time. Personally, I think I'm just not used to actually using a soldering iron
I shall check out some of those with a nicer looking, thinner irons which look more ergonomic. Thanks for the suggestions!
Regarding tip cleaners, I've been using Henkol Multicore Tip Tinner/Cleaner. Mostly turns black, I wipe it off and immediately the tip oxidises again. Having said that, that was before I pulled the plating off this butane iron's tip. That happened tonight, I resoldered a pot with dry joints and for once I've actually been able to tin the end for storage!
I shall check out some of those with a nicer looking, thinner irons which look more ergonomic. Thanks for the suggestions!
Regarding tip cleaners, I've been using Henkol Multicore Tip Tinner/Cleaner. Mostly turns black, I wipe it off and immediately the tip oxidises again. Having said that, that was before I pulled the plating off this butane iron's tip. That happened tonight, I resoldered a pot with dry joints and for once I've actually been able to tin the end for storage!
Clean it with a tip cleaning paste: Hakko FS100-01 Tip Cleaning Paste 10 g for FT-700: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
I have the Hakko 888 and I noticed if I turn the temp too high or leave the iron on for too long, it spoils the tip and it won't tin solder anymore. I was going to get new tip until I tried the tip cleaning paste. Works like a charm and now it is like new again.
I have the Hakko 888 and I noticed if I turn the temp too high or leave the iron on for too long, it spoils the tip and it won't tin solder anymore. I was going to get new tip until I tried the tip cleaning paste. Works like a charm and now it is like new again.
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