Soldering Iron station recommendations

Music&Chaos

Music&Chaos

Well-known member
Hello RT,

Talked with my local shop owner and they said they would give me all of their guitar wiring work if so desired.

What a blessing! From thought to reality in a short amount of time. Like the shortest, as in, I am not quite ready with the tools I want.

I went ahead with nice Kester 44 63/37 solder.

Looking for a professional as I can but I mean, I am doing guitar wiring, I don't need a TIG welder lol

So please, if you have experience with anything $200 and under, let me know!
 
I use an old cheap 50 series weller soldering station with a knob to set temps on the fly. Newer weller models just don’t seem to have the same quality though.
 
The Weller WES50 is top quality, solidly built and has served me well for 25-30 years now and still going strong. The large variety of temperature settings works well for different projects. Don't remember what it costed, but it was very reasonable. The new version is called the WES51.

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Welp,

I saw the Weller post a bit late.

Just went with a Hakko ordered direct from HakkoUsa to ensure I don't get a fake.

Went with the silver. Should come with a decent iron and chisel tip.

Excited to step up from my $20 Amazon iron, which overall has far served its purpose.

Went with the FX888DX-010SV.

Hyped!

Thanks for all of the recommendations.
 
That Hakko model is awesome .... I just bought one a few months ago ..... it's got balls ..... I had the same model I bought 7 or 8 years ago ..... it was great but I struggled to do ground connections on top of pots with it ... but this new version is great .... much better than the older one I have
 
Hakko 888D or FX-100 if you want the Ferrari version. The 888D is a great mid-level digital, regulated iron. You have temp settings and buttons and dials to deal with. The FX-100 is an RF induction iron. No temp settings. Nothing to mess with. You pick the pencil up out of the holder and it automatically heats up to temp in about 5 seconds. The tip type you use dictates the temp. So there's nothing to fool around with. I've been using it for years and it's perfect.
 
FourT6and2 said:
The FX-100 is an RF induction iron. No temp settings. Nothing to mess with. You pick the pencil up out of the holder and it automatically heats up to temp in about 5 seconds. The tip type you use dictates the temp. So there's nothing to fool around with. I've been using it for years and it's perfect.
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Those RF induction type irons are superb, a big step up from the ceramic heater based irons like the FX888D in my opinion. Quite happy that I managed to score a metcal version super cheap.
 
Maguchi said:
The Weller WES50 is top quality, solidly built and has served me well for 25-30 years now and still going strong. The large variety of temperature settings works well for different projects. Don't remember what it costed, but it was very reasonable. The new version is called tge WES51.

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Same one I use. Built like a tank. It’s fallen off a desk and still works.

I hate the different tip requirement for others mentioned. I use various different temperatures on the fly for different reasons.
 
glpg80 said:
Same one I use. Built like a tank. It’s fallen off a desk and still works.

I hate the different tip requirement for others mentioned. I use various different temperatures on the fly for different reasons.
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I don't mind it. I use the same tip for like 99% of the work I do. The FX-100 also has a boost function if you need more heat and don't want to swap tips.
 
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