Soldering Stations & The Right Accessories - Where to start?

I do all my soldering with the same size tip - it is not practical to swap hot tips all the time. But extra tips of the same type are always useful. The tip should be fairly short and fairly fine to get the maximum heat to the smallest area.

I use a wet sponge for tip cleaning - I don't know if it extends life better, but it cleans better, providing better performance. So a tip cleaner tray for the sponge is essential. A couple of extra sponges would be useful. I also keep a bottle of (preferably DI) water nearby to keep the sponge wet. Like a sports water bottle - so the water can't evaporate between sessions.

Other useful accessories are:

• a solder dispenser (stand with an axle for the solder reel)
• a magnifier (ideally a stereo microscope) (even jewelers glasses can work)
• some lights
• a PCB holder
• tweezers
• solder wick
• solder sucker
• flux syringe
• small nozzle hot air gun
• a fume extractor/filter
• a third hand
• extra solder (two different diameters are useful)

You can find low-cost starter versions of all of these except maybe the fume extractor.

Dreaming of a Weller...lol.

I have an Atten 5O watt that has been modified for use with a Hakko T18-S4 Fine SMD Soldering Tip and a no-name cheap soldering iron as a back up.

Well I like soldering rework stations myself but to be honest if I was going to buy another just soldering station Weller would be off the table I would probably check the TENMA  21-1011521-10115 But this is just my preference As far as tips go I think I use between.03.07 inch on a regular basis The only thing I would suggest that could be added would be a heating element if the part is there Just had mine go on my soldering iron but I had a spare waiting To me the WES51 and  WESD51WESD51 are great units but I think more information on who you are gearing these kits too would be ideal as well

But to be fair the best would be the cheapest kit possible and then go from there as far as the addons.  I only say that because realistically if I could buy a soldering iron, hot air station, fume extractor, solder, bulb, flux, tweezers, wire cutter, extra tips and elements, hot plate, and ultimately a deslodering iron in a kit just starting out that didn't suck it would be more worth my while.

But to me the  WR5000MWR5000M is my ultimate which isn't going to happen but would be killer to have

Everything comes back to who you are going to be gearing this towards tho.   So maybe a bit more info.

Hi Tom,

The recommendations that have been tendered so far are all great. I have always bought a variety of tips when I bought a system but as dougw  points out they almost never get used and the tip he described is also my preferred tip. I do disagree with using the wet sponge as it cleans the tip too well and one must put a lot of attention into retinning after cleaning. I have used a wire brush or better yet one of the containers with the coiled wire scrubbers. These remove the debris but leave a layer of solder on the tip.

http://www.newark.com/weller/wdc2-system/attachable-soldering-tip-dry-cleaner/dp/55M4510

As far as the iron itself is concerned I recently got a Tenma  21-1011521-10115 as a gift and I am really impressed with it

http://www.newark.com/tenma/21-10115/soldering-station-esd-safe-60w/dp/56T2208

John

I find myself using a 1.2 mm chisel tip most of the time, since it works great on both SMD and through-hole. The next tip I use is a bevel tip, for drag soldering.

The dream pack for me would also include a pair of hot tweezers or a second soldering station. I have a second station, and when I'm not picking up SMD parts, I can have it equipped with a different tip.

Edit: I also use a 100 W soldering gun for wires and other things with a higher thermal mass. I'd go for a higher power gun if I were to buy it again.

Razvan

I'm sure there are plenty of the Element14 community that would Roadtest any bundle you come up with

I like to have a large soldering gun at the bench for the times I need to solder some 10AWG to a ground lug and I don't have a propane tank handy.

You can make your own tips from 12AWG solid copper in various shapes and sizes also.  They don't last as long as the Weller tips, but they will do in a pinch.

and a heat gun for shrinking heat-shrink tubing.

Scott

Ditch the sponge and go for that pad of brass, the water in the sponge causes the iron to loose loads of heat and you then have or should wait a few seconds for it to warm again, if you cant ditch it, add the curly wire as an accessory.

A large (Heat mass) tip for those PCB's with that overly large capacitor on a ground plane that never wants to leave

Regarding iron tips, a lot depends on what you are soldering. I mostly use 3 tips: ~1mm chisel (I use this the most), a fatter chisel 3mm (for bigger things), and a very fine "needle" point (it is almost as sharp as a needle) for getting into very fine pins if needed. I have a few others that I rarely (or never) use.

On my Hakko 888D changing tips is very fast and easy, even if they are hot (if you are careful).

The most important thing is to get an iron with good, stable temperature control. It makes a significant difference to quality and efficiency of your soldering.

And, I would use brass wire, not a sponge - I find it works so much better with no risk of thermal shock to the tip.

This conversation sounds like a good reason for an experiment to determine which is ideal for proper soldering tip matainance, sponge or brass wool as method of cleaning solder tip.

I currently use a cheap wet sponge pad but have found the brass wool to be very effective when used in the past.

A wet sponge works great but the sudden temp changes do not seem like it would be beneficial to the lifespan of the tip, heating element, and any temp sensor the soldering iron might have.

The concern with a brass tip cleaner might be some damage to the surface of the soldering tip with extended use.

michaelkellett

I've been looking for some alternatives as well, and so far your version is looking very promising.

Do you have the link.?

Sadly the HUD type vision systems don't have a good enough camera, otherwise this might have been an alternative.

Mark

I don't know if you are still looking for recommendations for tips for the weller soldering iron, but for SMT parts my go to tip is the ETR.