- Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:06 pm
#102590
Hello, Folks,
I'd appreciate any help you'd care to provide in selecting a soldering station for occasional use, primarily on through-hole components with Pb-free solder.
I have no current plans to do serious SMD work. However, my experience indicates that this is just as likely due to my lack of foresight as it is to anything else.
Question 1:
Can anyone compare and contrast (ideally based on experience) what appear to be the two leading contenders for my $:
1) An Aoyue Int2900
2) A Hakko 937
or their analog analogs. The Aoyue I would buy new from SparkFun, the Hakko I would probably buy used.
Question 2:
What else, if anything should I be considering?
Background:
A couple of days ago, I was attempting to coach a new (~5 joints in her lifetime, AFAIK) solderer in assembling a Terror-Min. To say "it did not go well" would be to engage in gross understatement. There did not appear to be a setting on the 60 W, power-adjustable iron that would enable either of us to make a decent-looking joint. Part of the problem appears to be with wetting, and I hope to solve that with a bit of extra flux. (None was at hand on Saturday, but I expect to fetch some locally tomorrow.) At least part, however, appears to be the iron's inability to both maintain the plating and component lead temperatures while melting the solder, unless one pre-heats the component leads far longer than I'm comfortable doing.
{I'll even admit that, out of frustration, I tried to scare up an old spool of Pb-based solder, but I came up empty.}
Even though I'm in the States and expect to have access to Pb-based solder for several more years, I'd rather convert to Pb-free solder and not teach her my longstanding (I learned to solder ~1970.) bad habits.
TIA,
Eric
I'd appreciate any help you'd care to provide in selecting a soldering station for occasional use, primarily on through-hole components with Pb-free solder.
I have no current plans to do serious SMD work. However, my experience indicates that this is just as likely due to my lack of foresight as it is to anything else.
Question 1:
Can anyone compare and contrast (ideally based on experience) what appear to be the two leading contenders for my $:
1) An Aoyue Int2900
2) A Hakko 937
or their analog analogs. The Aoyue I would buy new from SparkFun, the Hakko I would probably buy used.
Question 2:
What else, if anything should I be considering?
Background:
A couple of days ago, I was attempting to coach a new (~5 joints in her lifetime, AFAIK) solderer in assembling a Terror-Min. To say "it did not go well" would be to engage in gross understatement. There did not appear to be a setting on the 60 W, power-adjustable iron that would enable either of us to make a decent-looking joint. Part of the problem appears to be with wetting, and I hope to solve that with a bit of extra flux. (None was at hand on Saturday, but I expect to fetch some locally tomorrow.) At least part, however, appears to be the iron's inability to both maintain the plating and component lead temperatures while melting the solder, unless one pre-heats the component leads far longer than I'm comfortable doing.
{I'll even admit that, out of frustration, I tried to scare up an old spool of Pb-based solder, but I came up empty.}
Even though I'm in the States and expect to have access to Pb-based solder for several more years, I'd rather convert to Pb-free solder and not teach her my longstanding (I learned to solder ~1970.) bad habits.
TIA,
Eric