Considerations for Solder Station Upgrades -- Workbench Wednesdays 03

I would like to see how you clean you tip and desoldering tools, what chemicals do you use when soldering, like rosin, do you use it?

What about tip cleaner, can you show different tips, how fine a tip can get to solder SMD, at what point do you have to give up doing

by hand and goto reflow ovens.  Do you use a microscope to help when soldering?  How do you determine what temperature to use

when soldering, how many sizes of solder are there?  I would like to know from professionals like yourself about these things, like with

videos you make, I really enjoy them and the really help me.  Thank you for your work.

Sorry to put my oar in, but I have an expensive Weller station (hot air pencil, iron, tweezers, desolder gun etc £1,600+), and 2 x Metcal stations (around £800 each), which are less pricey, but in my book, unbeatable. Since I purchased the Metcal units, I've never gone back to the Weller one except when I need hot air. The Metcals come with desoldering gun too, which plugs into a compressor, so it sucks the solder brilliantly. If you're thinking of spending well over a grand (£1600+ for Weller) spend £800 or so on Metcal PSU/iron/desolder gun instead - or 2 for around the same price as the Weller! Apologies, but that's my view. And it largely solves the solder wick problem!

Used one back in the late 80's for over 3 years. The back of the  tips are made of a material which changes its magnetic properties with temperature, allowing for thermostatic control. The tips were available for purchase pre-set at different temperatures, so by swapping the type you could change the soldering temperature. I recall that there was a number stamped onto the back of each tip for identification of its temperature setting.  

Interesting, I wasn't aware of the Magnastat. I'll need to check out that type at some point.

A couple of other soldering iron styles at the lower end of the budget which may be worth mentioning, would be the likes of the Weller W61 with Magnastat temperature controlled tip:

https://www.weller-tools.com/professional/EUR/en/Professional/Soldering+technology/Soldering+irons/Mains-powered+solderi…

or the likes of the Antex TCS50 with variable temperature control:

https://www.antex.co.uk/products/precision-range-soldering-irons/tcs50w/

Lol. Stay tuned...

For what it is worth, I did pronounce Aluminium in a capacitor video (that hasn't been released yet.)

Could you do a version where you pronounce "solder" the right way?

What tools do you like to use for holding the work in place?

Hi Brian,

You'll see in an upcoming video that I use PCB holders from Panavise. I'm a big fan of their tools. Plus they support both the professional and maker community, so I try to support them when I can. (I always check them out at the Bay Area Maker Faire, to see if they have anything new I need!)

Panavise 324 PCB Holder324 PCB Holder

Panavise 201 Bench Vise Mini201 Bench Vise Mini

If you don't have a place to bolt them down on your workbench, try a piece of cast iron or even thick wood. It is relatively stable and easily portable.

Hi Daniel,

As a said in the video, any iron is better than no iron! However, for getting started, you don’t need to jump to the WXR3. I do think you should push your budget for something like the WE1010 instead of the cheap stick.

Even if you are only focused on salvaging parts, controlling the temperature and having some other tip options available will be a big help. For now, I think learning to use solder wick, and a manual pump is a good idea.

If you find yourself needing to speed up that process, or there is a financial benefit to getting more done faster, then I would start looking at an electronic de-soldering tool. Thing is, no matter how useful the tool is, you’ll still occasionally need to use the manual pump, and you’ll always be using wick for something. So you’ll be happy to have mastered those basic skills.

James,

First of all, GREAT timing!  I was just thinking about investing in a soldering station as an upgrade to my dual wattage pencil iron.  One challenge I always have is about holding the work, iron, and solder.  I wish I had 4 hands at times.  What tools do you like to use for holding the work in place?  What about lighted magnifiers for intricate work?  Another topic is tip selection.  Which tips for which jobs?

This is going to be an enjoyable series.  Thank you for putting this together!

Brian