Solder Irons (Best for What we do)

[taybrynn]

re: lead free solder

Everything I have heard .. is that its terrible and hard to use.  Requires a very hot iron as well.

May want to consider an absorber fan.

[tbone321]

Has anyone tryed the BlackJack SolderWerks Soldering Station (BK2000) ?
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also does anyone use lead free solder?

I have that one and it is a nice unit.  The only problem that I have with it is that you can't change the default heat setting which is too low so I have to keep cranking it up when I turn it on but I think that I will live.  It also comes with a needle tip so be sure to order a chisel tip along with a few extras.  As others have said, lead free solder requires more heat so you will have to crank the temp up a bit to use it.  It also doesn't seem to flow as well for me but that could be caused by me not heating it up enough.

[LondoB5]

You never know what's going to happen in the future, and this station was about the same price as some of the others, so I ordered it today. I will be here in 4 - 14 days, so I'll let you know what I think.

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[TheBanker]

You never know what's going to happen in the future, and this station was about the same price as some of the others, so I ordered it today. I will be here in 4 - 14 days, so I'll let you know what I think.

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I just got this one too....I haven't really used it to much but it seems to be well built.  I am happy with it so far.

[taybrynn]

This does seem like quite a good deal. 

Could the hot air gun also be used for heat shrink tubing as well?

[TheBanker]

This does seem like quite a good deal. 

Could the hot air gun also be used for heat shrink tubing as well?

Yes, that is one of the reasons I got this one was for multiple uses.  It doesn't blow as hard as a gun though.

[foodseller]

I bought just a cheapo unit from Radio Shack with a 15/40 watt setting and it works fine.  However, I would like to upgrade to a digital model like some shown on this thread. 
To answer your question on a practice board--I had never soldered in my life, ordered some Express boards and watched RJ's videos and had absolutely no problems!!  Don't be afraid to get the part hot and you can just watch the solder "automagically" flow into the board!  It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
Good luck.
foody

[tbone321]

It is not supposed to.  Remember, it is a REWORK station.  It is designed to remove and or install individual components and or work on small sections of a board.  You don't want it to blow parts off of the board or melt the solder on parts that you are not working on.  I would also bet that it does use a smaller blower than some others to keep the cost down.  The real question is; does it get the job done?

[taybrynn]

I am finding the selection of soldering stations so vast ... that making a selection is difficult.

Like many, I just have a cheap RS iron and probably never swapped the tip since buying it.

I find that You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login and You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login alone present a lot of solder stations to choose from.  There are also a couple of popular ($50 and $100) Weller irons (avail. at amazon.com) that also seem popular and have a longer track record than most of the newer brands on the market.  I've also read how many of these units are perhaps re-badged and/or sold under similar model numbers to look just like a better known name brand model.  The result is ... confusion!

There are a lot of "lead free" stations showing up with are usually 70w and have more expensive tips (because they have built in heating elements)., but may be easier to swap out the tips.  Again, most people report lead free as being a pain, but if this become the norm in the future ... is a lead free station a wise investment now?

Also, I've had some confusion in the tips on the lead free stations, as they use slightly different terms and measurements so wading through the Bevel, Chisel, Conical, Tunnel, Blade, Sharp Bent, flow type, etc. is confusing.

I know, like anything, over thinking this decision is probably easy to do.

[mcangeli]

I picked this one up: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login off ebay and its great...

[taybrynn]

Thanks, that looks like this popular Hakko 937 (digital) clone (Aoyue) ... same as sold here: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ... I like that it uses cheaper and more widely available tips.  Can you recommend your favorite tips that you use?

[abrianbaker]

I just got my Aoyeu 937+ in the mail in it is perfect!  Definatly would recommend it!

[mcangeli]

I'm using the stock tip that came on the Aoyeu and it works great (of course, all I've done so far are a couple of those cheap kits from Ratshack for my kids) but it heats up quickly and it fairly easy to work with.

[LondoB5]

The xtronic rework station just came in today. My pickit and the parts for my dongles also came in. Now I just need some pcbs and I am ready to go.

[taybrynn]

Alright, so after convincing myself I'd order the CSI 1A ... I ended up ordering the Blackjack BK3000LF combo instead. 

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