[GUIDE] [UPDATE! Part 2] Soldering School - AKA Don't wreck your new AIO board!

[Billy Blaze]

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Thanks for the guide!

I'm trying to choose a decent temperature controlled soldering iron station for around £50 or less. Can anyone recommend a particular model? What about this one?

Professional Solder Station 48W LCD Display Iron Soldering Kit Set Variable Adjustable Temperature https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003DH5N2M/ ... azbP4WZYJE

What about this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311755305321? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Looks as good as any I've seen for the price.

I bought this one and have been really impressed with it:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Electric-Dis ... 1c394a1f72

Unless you spend top dollar (you don't need to) All you can really go on is any reviews (if there are any) and take a punt.

The fact it's temp controlled is already a massive plus point. So long as you have some decent solder you should be ready to roll. Just practice before going live!

Solder I use is:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/252118780932 ... EBIDX%3AIT

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice! I think I found the same one as the one you linked above:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251888850347

Now I have to choose between this one and the ones I linked in my previous post....

I also use the W.E.P 937D+ soldering station. For the price range this is a very reliable and satisfying tool. I can't say anything about the other links you've posted, but I can definitely recommend this very soldering station.

[abrugsch]

I think that's the little brother of the hot air station I use at my hackerspace. it has a soldering iron attachment but I only use the hot air bit of that one though...

[Lphillimore]

@MiL0 no probs. I can only comment on what ive used but its been solid. Im on my 5th GBZ now too. You also get extra tips which might come in useful. 37 quid aint bad!

[abrugsch]

I suppose with the extra attention, I should get round to writing part 3...

[MiL0]

@MiL0 no probs. I can only comment on what ive used but its been solid. Im on my 5th GBZ now too. You also get extra tips which might come in useful. 37 quid aint bad!

Just ordered it - thanks for the recommendation

[inches]

A few more resources -

Video by SparkFun on soldering: https://youtu.be/f95i88OSWB4
Walk through by SparkFun: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ho ... -soldering
Collins Lab video on soldering: https://youtu.be/QKbJxytERvg
Adafruit walk through on soldering (where the images in this thread came from presumably): https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gui ... g?view=all

I find the videos to be especially helpful to be able to see the stages and transisions of the solder.

Also, searching on AliExpress for any kind of kit or diy soldering project is a great way to get experience on cheap stuff.

[abrugsch]

I love the colins lab video. It's practically soldering porn...

[dryja123]

What type of soldering tip do you recommend for this type of work? This is my first time soldering and I tried practicing with some prototyping board and failed miserably.

I'm using the Weller WES51 with the stock 1/16 screw driver tip.

Edit: Watched the Collins video and seeing soldering in slow-mo definitely helped. I was just able to complete a full row of perfect joints.

I think I'd benefit from using a tip that had a flat point.

[inches]

What type of soldering tip do you recommend for this type of work? This is my first time soldering and I tried practicing with some prototyping board and failed miserably.

I'm using the Weller WES51 with the stock 0 screw driver tip.

Edit: Watched the Collins video and seeing soldering in slow-mo definitely helped. I was just able to complete a full row of perfect joints.

I think I'd benefit from using a tip that had a flat point.

All the different points have different purposes. Is your tip conical or chisel? Use this product page to help determine that. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H8N7ZPY?psc=1

I use a conical one that is .6mm I think. If a tip is too small it wont heat up very much and will be hard to use.

If you did a full row well, maybe just keep practicing? Glad the videos helped - I needed them to start for sure.

[dryja123]

What type of soldering tip do you recommend for this type of work? This is my first time soldering and I tried practicing with some prototyping board and failed miserably.

I'm using the Weller WES51 with the stock 0 screw driver tip.

Edit: Watched the Collins video and seeing soldering in slow-mo definitely helped. I was just able to complete a full row of perfect joints.

I think I'd benefit from using a tip that had a flat point.

All the different points have different purposes. Is your tip conical or chisel? Use this product page to help determine that. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H8N7ZPY?psc=1

I use a conical one that is .6mm I think. If a tip is too small it wont heat up very much and will be hard to use.

If you did a full row well, maybe just keep practicing? Glad the videos helped - I needed them to start for sure.

Hey inches, thanks for the reply! It's a conical tip but I look forward to trying different tips, like a chisel. I noticed Collins used a chisel tip and he was able to rest the solder on the slope of the chisel which allowed him to easily manipulate the liquid solder.

I think a lot of my failure was due to nerves by not wanting to leave the tip applied for too long.