Will be using it for mainly guitar work.
I'm on a budget as well.
Thanks
Will be using it for mainly guitar work.
I'm on a budget as well.
Thanks
if you go to orchard supply and hardware they sell 25 watt wellers for about 20 bones. they work just fine and will do what you need. just be sure to sand the residue off the back of the pots and pre tin before hooking up your ground wires.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
You'll find this unit adequate for most guitar and amp repairs......
HTH
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Thanks for the input.
I've been using my current Radio Shack $9 kit for about three years now. The end is bent like a hockey stick. I've gotten used to it... :-)
i just bought that one roger. have yet to try it cause my free hako has been doing such a good job.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
Weller irons are great. I use a WP35 for amp and guitar work, with a big 80 or 120W chisel for chassis grounds.
It's too big for effects work. It's like wearing mittens. I should get a smaller iron for that.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Ayup. You need you a "big arn" for chassis grounds an' such, Kap'n. Also when doon trem claw grounds. But them leetle pencils are the schnizz for tight detail work on tube socket pins, IC cups, etc......the guy who invented it shoulda got the Nobel Prize.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
My soldering station is overkill! I use a Weller WES51. It was under $90. It is 55 watts with temperature control which I use. I have .031", .062" and .125 chisel tips. I like that it doesn't get hotter the long that it's on.
I use it for everything, from surface mount PCBs to amp chassis grounds.
I have this soldering station because I enjoy soldering and this makes it even more fun.
I'm a $9 Radio Shark Iron user as well. 40W version to be exact. I need to get me a 100W for chassis ground stuff, too.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
I've been a great fan of the Weller WTCPT as it's what nearly every manufacturer has supplied for me to use in 25+ yrs as a bench wireman and technician - there are - however less expensive import import irons with adjustable temp controls these days and when my last WTCPT started giving me hassle (the pen itself tends to become intermittent just before it finally craps out on you - this one's served me well for the last - geez - 7-8 yrs? That's a long time if you consider I solder nearly everyday for my living...) I bought one for about a third of the price and it does everything except the plumbing...
If I could find a road to get away it wouldn't be too soon....... Shipwreck Moon.......
Got one too. Works great.Originally Posted by NTBluesGuitar
I like the Weller WLC100:
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-.../dp/B000AS28UC
With the variable wattage control, its great for fine circuit board work. And with the larger tip and higher wattage it will also do some heavy duty soldering, like the backs of those volume pots.
"Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so" -- Douglas Adams
"If something has a 1 in a million chance of occurring, 9 times out of 10 it will happen" -- Terry Pratchett
That's the iron I use as well. I picked it up at Sears for around $45 when my $9 Radio Shack iron died.
Those of you useing the El Cheapo RS and other cheap Lower powered pencil irons, I would like to say that I just dont get it. Especially Gris, whos got an old bent tip. First of all, no cheap pencil iron has ever caused me anything but bad grief, and on top of that, a cheap tip bent and worn tip just has never conducted enuf heat to melt anything but my patience.
Must just be me, cause I definitely do not get the cheap iron reccomendation.
Haveing said that, there does appear to be a couple of recccomended irons in the economy class ( one is reccomended and sold by Guitar Fetish and costs 19.99 plus shipping) and another is by 'Wall' I think and costs about double that and is 40 watts.
Forget Black and Decker- Those have been an awefull waste of money for me! I'm also suspicious of 'Weller' brand pencil iron types , cause I had one of their 20 dollar units that blew goats nads.
( Edited for spelling, grammer and punctuation. Thanks Cygnus X1)
Last edited by jerryjg; 02-25-2009 at 08:15 PM.
Last edited by Cygnus X1; 02-25-2009 at 04:37 PM.
That would be the first complaint I've heard about a Weller iron, ever.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Well, there's things you ought to be doing to keep the tip clean while working. Dirty tips don't transfer heat. I used to just use the wet sponge, but I recently got one of these:
Just jab the iron in that a few times after each joint and a wipe of the sponge, and the tip stays clean.
All the jobs I've posted pics of were done with the Radio Shark iron. I still need a good 100W one for chassis grounds, though. I suppose I'll graduate to a nicer Weller set sometime too.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
I've never seen a cleaner like that. Pretty interesting.
I've got a two-setting Radio Shack "soldering station." 20 and 40 watts, I think. It's been good enough for swapping pups and building a BYOC Overdrive kit. I could probably use something with a finer tip if I do any more complex stompboxes than that, though.
Where did you get that tip cleaner NTBG? What is the stuff in there that cleans the tip? Do you need to keep it wet like a sponge? How often do you have to change it?Well, there's things you ought to be doing to keep the tip clean while working. Dirty tips don't transfer heat. I used to just use the wet sponge, but I recently got one of these:
Just jab the iron in that a few times after each joint and a wipe of the sponge, and the tip stays clean.
All the jobs I've posted pics of were done with the Radio Shark iron. I still need a good 100W one for chassis grounds, though. I suppose I'll graduate to a nicer Weller set sometime too.
It's basically a ball of steel-wool type stuff that has some flux on it. When the hot tip with the leftover solder gets pressed in, that metal mesh absorbs the used solder off the tip like de-solder braid does in a way.
I got it at Fry's in Dallas, of all places, after a trip to Microsoft's Irving offices one day. I think it was $9.
I still use the sponge, too, but that stuff just sits in there dry.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Yeah, it's all about dipping the tip into flux. Ahem.
Seriously, it makes a big difference.
Yep. I need to follow that advise. Flux ansd sponge. Previously Ive never used them. I also think you are supposed to "tin" the iron? I am going to be getting an Iron thiscomeing week to recap my Bassman '66. I think it may be a 'Wall', or maybe a "Weller" . hako is supposed to be one of the best.The one that Guitar Fetish sells looks good since you guys mentioned that kind. I seem to recall some bad luck with a Weller, but maybe Im mistaken. Ive used my big Weller pistol style gun for most standard jobs for these past tow years and its great, but now I need something for more critical work. I think it mught also be good if I don't leave the iron burning away unattended for several hours.
Wellers are really great. Get a good stand too.
i've killed soooooo many irons like that. the solder station i built for myself has a switch to turn on an overhead light AND my iron. so when i'm done and leave, turning off the light will also save my iron. took me 10 years of doing this crap to finally figure that one out. what a!
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
Thanks for the input.
I ended up purchasing a RS $10 job, so far so good?
you'll be fine. just be sure to follow proper soldering techniques.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
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