How long should a soldering iron tip last?
- rocklander
- Old Solderhand
Information
- Posts: 2726
- Joined: 18 Apr 2008, 11:33
- my favorite amplifier: my jansen bassman 50
- Completed builds: rebote 2.5; supreaux; odie; heartthrob tremolo; ross phaser; dr. boogey; thor; baja black toast; slow gear attack, rebote, tri-vibe, small clone, little angel, magnus modulus, echo base, hex fuzz, big muff, 22/7.
- Location: Rotorua, New Zealand
- Has thanked: 1406 times
- Been thanked: 231 times
- Contact:
I did.. and I'm tight as hell. it's not something one is likely to regretRook wrote:maybe i should have spent more than $6 on a soldering iron.
world's greatest tautologist ...in the world
Ronsonic wrote:...the lower the stakes the more vicious the combat.
atreidesheir wrote:He should be punched in the vagina.
i just ordered a "helping hands" thing. its got one of those holders and a lighted magnifying glass too. for the last few days i have just been desoldering some old electronics to collect up some parts, but pretty soon that helping hands device will come in very handy. ive used one before and there is no substitute.
- Greenmachine
- Cap Cooler
Information
- Posts: 616
- Joined: 31 Aug 2008, 17:59
- my favorite amplifier: Fender Blackface Deluxe Reverb
- Completed builds: Electra Distortion
Roger Mayer Octavia
Klon Centaur (Bajaman/Soulsonic)
DOD 440 Envelope Filter
MXR Phase 90
DOD FET Preamp
Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
Soulsonic Hunny Bunny Overdrive
BYOC Analog Delay
Craig Anderton Headphone Amp
Anderton Mini Amp
Bajaman Real Tube Overdrive
Fender Deluxe 5E3 with Tone Stack Mod.
Fender Princeton 5F2-a
Keen Neovibe
Aquapuss Delay
Anderton AMS-100 Guitar Synth (abandoned)
DOD 280 Compressor
Weird Sound Generator
Beavis Audio Noisy Cricket
80's Rat
ROG Thor
Big Muff
Green Ringer
Shin-Ei Fuzz
MXR Dynacomp
COT50
Really Cheap Compressor - Location: Jersey City, NJ
- Has thanked: 87 times
- Been thanked: 17 times
- Contact:
2 cents:ckyvick wrote:the closest upgrade is a 25 watt weller, mine was around 20$ at sears and has a safety light that tells you when its on. This one:
And get a holder if you dont already:
That's the iron I started with; however, if you have any intention of keeping this hobby up, spend the money and get the Weller WP35. The reason is, those SP23LK's use tips that are sold in packs of 2 for $10 bucks and they wear out lightning fast. I'm sure I've purchased at least 5 packs of these in a year and a half and that would have easily paid for the WP35 - whose tips last exponentially longer! I've been using the same tip now for hours and hours, project after project without deterioration.
"[Y]ou want sketchy, dude? I breadboard on a door." -- RnFR, 2011
"This amp is freakin loud, like crazy, I'm going to kill pets loud." -- mich, 2011
"This amp is freakin loud, like crazy, I'm going to kill pets loud." -- mich, 2011
- RnFR
- Old Solderhand
Information
I absolutely love my xytronics 379. got it for a great price, too. it heats up in seconds, and I'm only on my second tip in 3 years. they are discontinued, but you can get the new model with a digital readout for around fifty bucks. also, circuit specialists make one called blackjack solderworks, that looks nice, for forty. I can't comment on their quality, but they look decent. I'll double the comment by rocklander. if you are going to do this for any length of time, get a decent iron. it's worth every penny.
as far as the helping hands goes, there definitely is a substitute. anything by panavise is going to blow away the hands. I can't stand them. they fall apart, shit slips out of them, and since I bought a panavise jr for around twenty bucks, I'll never use them again.
as far as the helping hands goes, there definitely is a substitute. anything by panavise is going to blow away the hands. I can't stand them. they fall apart, shit slips out of them, and since I bought a panavise jr for around twenty bucks, I'll never use them again.
"You've converted me to Cubic thinking. Where do I sign up for the newsletter? I need to learn more about how I can break free from ONEism Death Math." - Soulsonic
Blog-APOCALYPSE AUDIO
Blog-APOCALYPSE AUDIO
- DrNomis
- Old Solderhand
Information
- Posts: 6807
- Joined: 16 Jul 2009, 04:56
- my favorite amplifier: Self-Built Valve Amp Head :)
- Completed builds: Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face,Tone Bender Professional Mk 3,Tone Bender 3-Knob,Baja BK Butler Tube Driver,Baja Real Tube Overdrive,Roger Mayer Octavia,EH Soul Preacher,Tech 21 XXL Distortion,MFOS Weird Sound Generator.
- Location: Darwin,Northern Territory Australia
- Has thanked: 98 times
- Been thanked: 278 times
RnFR wrote:I absolutely love my xytronics 379. got it for a great price, too. it heats up in seconds, and I'm only on my second tip in 3 years. they are discontinued, but you can get the new model with a digital readout for around fifty bucks. also, circuit specialists make one called blackjack solderworks, that looks nice, for forty. I can't comment on their quality, but they look decent. I'll double the comment by rocklander. if you are going to do this for any length of time, get a decent iron. it's worth every penny.
as far as the helping hands goes, there definitely is a substitute. anything by panavise is going to blow away the hands. I can't stand them. they fall apart, shit slips out of them, and since I bought a panavise jr for around twenty bucks, I'll never use them again.
I bought myself a T-2260 100Watt Temperature Controlled Soldering Station,from Dick Smith Electronics,about a year or so ago,to replace my old 48 Watt soldering station,to this day,my T-2260 is by far the very best soldering tool I have ever owned in my whole life,I remember my first soldering iron,it was a 25 Watt type that I got with a Dick Smith Funway Into Electronics gift pack,but,when I plugged it in to start building a kit wireless mic,the soldering iron did not work at all......
If anyone is contemplating buying themselves a soldering iron,or some kind of soldering tool,may I say this...do not skimp and buy a cheapie,save your money and buy a decent temperature controlled station,yes I know they cost a bit,but once you start soldering with one,you will never want to go back to using a cheap soldering iron,you will produce very few dry solder joints with a temperature controlled soldering station,and your tips will last a long time,also,never use the type of solder as used by plumbers,it is not designed for electronic work,buy yourself a good roll of 60/40 Resin Cored Solder of at least 1mm,or .8mm diameter,the one with a copper additive is good too since it will prolong the life of the tip...
Once again,do not skimp on your soldering tools,you want to maximise your ability to produce electrically,and mechanically good solder joints,barring mistakes,good solder joints guarantee that your pedal builds have a very good chance of working first go....
Genius is not all about 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration - sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face.-Frequencycentral.
- minnow
- Breadboard Brother
I'm using a Hakko. Anyone came across this brand before?
It works great for me though, no complaints so far!
Edit: And I totally agree with Simon on the Temp Controlled soldering stations!
It works great for me though, no complaints so far!
Edit: And I totally agree with Simon on the Temp Controlled soldering stations!
- minnow
- Breadboard Brother
Whoah. Lucky me I guess, cos I got it for a bloody reasonable price!ckyvick wrote:They are one of the more popular better quality brands along with xytronicminnow wrote:I'm using a Hakko. Anyone came across this brand before?
- dai h.
- Solder Soldier
I have a temp. controlled Hakko which is pretty good, but IME the cheap kind can work okay. You just need to adjust the temp. by (usually) lowering the voltage. I use a variac, but I've seen people using a low value (8ohms-ish or whatever does the job) power resistor (be careful if you do this since it's AC wiring). I don't I've had a tip last for such a short time, so I wonder what is going on there (overheated? used correctly? or just a crappy product?).
- ckyvick
- Resistor Ronker
Either way, before that iron all i had was a terrible soldering GUN from radio shack that was old and a piece of crap. The one i use now was a MASSIVE improvement over that, but im going to obviously upgrade once i can afford to get a nice station
- timbo_93631
- Solder Soldier
Information
- Posts: 243
- Joined: 04 Mar 2010, 17:36
- my favorite amplifier: Low wattage SE amps
- Completed builds: Many many many true bypass and voicing mods on wahs.
A few BYOC kits and DS-1 mods and eventual murder then rebirth into an actually useful pedal, Bad Stone clone, various Rangemasters/SilconMasterBlaster, The worlds greatest gutted GCB-95 volume pedal conversion with various switching options for controlling amps. Repaired many tube amps, scratchbuilt Marshall 18 watt clone and Supro 1616t rebuild. Delays, fuzz, dirt, every Madbean project I could afford. I even manage to find time to make babies with my wife too! - Location: Fresno, Ca
- Has thanked: 14 times
- Been thanked: 33 times
+1 on both comments!RnFR wrote:I absolutely love my xytronics 379. got it for a great price, too. it heats up in seconds, and I'm only on my second tip in 3 years. they are discontinued, but you can get the new model with a digital readout for around fifty bucks. also, circuit specialists make one called blackjack solderworks, that looks nice, for forty. I can't comment on their quality, but they look decent. I'll double the comment by rocklander. if you are going to do this for any length of time, get a decent iron. it's worth every penny.
as far as the helping hands goes, there definitely is a substitute. anything by panavise is going to blow away the hands. I can't stand them. they fall apart, shit slips out of them, and since I bought a panavise jr for around twenty bucks, I'll never use them again.
My Xytronics 379 is a workhorse and only set me back $45 from RSR Elctronics:
http://www.elexp.com/sdr_y379.htm
If you are going to be doing alot of modding and/or component harvesting from junk boards a solder/desolder station is the way to go. This Xytronics package looks great, about 1/3 to 1/4 the price of a comparable Weller:
http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/988d.html
"Helping hands" are glorifed roach clips. And even then, I think if you put more than one doobie on one it would fall apart. Panavises aren't super cheap, but for how much trouble they save you it is well worth it.
"I wish to be in the situation of non killing my balls bills, and life surprises." -Sinner
"Everyone gets their shorts in a twist over who polished the fenders. No one cares about who designed the engine..." -DougH
"Everyone gets their shorts in a twist over who polished the fenders. No one cares about who designed the engine..." -DougH
- CRBMoA
- Resistor Ronker
Another vote for the xytronics 379. Bought mine used from a fellow FSBer. I could not be happier!
atreidesheir wrote: Let's build some damned pedals!
- RnFR
- Old Solderhand
Information
yes, the 379 was an awesome bang for the buck deal. now that hey are discontinued, you might even find them for cheaper. I did a bit of searching on the blackjack, and someone said that hakkos and blackjacks are the same rebranded products. there is a great deal on them that gets you an exhaust fan and a dmm for free. I believe it wascircuit specialists. that might be worth a try.
edit-
now I see electronix express still has them! anyone know what's up with the fume extractor attachment?
edit-
now I see electronix express still has them! anyone know what's up with the fume extractor attachment?
"You've converted me to Cubic thinking. Where do I sign up for the newsletter? I need to learn more about how I can break free from ONEism Death Math." - Soulsonic
Blog-APOCALYPSE AUDIO
Blog-APOCALYPSE AUDIO
- DrNomis
- Old Solderhand
Information
- Posts: 6807
- Joined: 16 Jul 2009, 04:56
- my favorite amplifier: Self-Built Valve Amp Head :)
- Completed builds: Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face,Tone Bender Professional Mk 3,Tone Bender 3-Knob,Baja BK Butler Tube Driver,Baja Real Tube Overdrive,Roger Mayer Octavia,EH Soul Preacher,Tech 21 XXL Distortion,MFOS Weird Sound Generator.
- Location: Darwin,Northern Territory Australia
- Has thanked: 98 times
- Been thanked: 278 times
minnow wrote:I'm using a Hakko. Anyone came across this brand before?
It works great for me though, no complaints so far!
Edit: And I totally agree with Simon on the Temp Controlled soldering stations!
Hakko is a very well known brand amongst service technicians,we used Hakkos when I was enrolled in a Basic Electronics Certificate course at uni....
You're really lucky to score one...
Genius is not all about 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration - sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face.-Frequencycentral.