Soldering irons

[Pea Turgh]

Somehow I’ve turned in to the bloke who fixes stuff amongst my circle of musicians friends.  I have an old soldering iron that doesn’t seem to get hot enough for modern lead free stuff, so I need a new iron.

 

Please let me know your cost-effective hobby-level bit alright soldering irons!

 

Thank you in advance,

Pete.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

In October I bought this one -> https://amzn.to/423AdgY . For £15 it was a massive upgrade from my previous crappy one from Maplins. When making up a loom, I can now use lead-free solder for back of the pot connections without needing to worry so much about effing up the pot.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 20:56 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[Pea Turgh]

22 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

In October I bought this one -> https://amzn.to/423AdgY . For £15 it was a massive upgrade from my previous crappy one from Maplins. When making up a loom, I can now use lead-free solder for back of the pot connections without needing to worry so much about effing up the pot.

 

 

Ooh!  It’s got a temperature display!!!

[lemmywinks]

Can get some excellent USB Type C powered pencil irons now:

 

https://sequremall.com/products/sequer-s99-soldering-iron-support-pd-qc-dc-pps-power-supply-compatible-with-c245-tip-for-drone-rc-model-welding-repair-tool-anti-static-welding-pen?variant=42863253389500

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32904980528.html?src=google&pdp_npi=4@dis!GBP!58.20!37.19!!!!!@!12000017994797562!ppc!!!&gQT=2

https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-soldering-iron/

 

 

I have an older TS100 which is DC power only, it's been fantastic.

[Rosie C]

1 hour ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

In October I bought this one -> https://amzn.to/423AdgY . For £15 it was a massive upgrade from my previous crappy one from Maplins. When making up a loom, I can now use lead-free solder for back of the pot connections without needing to worry so much about effing up the pot.

 

I have the same one! Excellent value for what they cost.

 

[MichaelDean]

I've got a USB one. I've powered it from a power bank before when I couldn't find an extension lead to go to the dining table.

 

Mine is like this but blue. Seems to do the trick!

https://cpc.farnell.com/multicomp-pro/mp740142/soldering-iron-usb/dp/SD02809?srsltid=AfmBOoq9o8ynuXfV4z9IUCargA8PSY6Sv-sku_AZahPyE8P4bsEaapzoCvk&gQT=1

[bremen]

On 08/01/2025 at 08:45, MichaelDean said:

I've got a USB one. I've powered it from a power bank before when I couldn't find an extension lead to go to the dining table.

 

Mine is like this but blue. Seems to do the trick!

https://cpc.farnell.com/multicomp-pro/mp740142/soldering-iron-usb/dp/SD02809?srsltid=AfmBOoq9o8ynuXfV4z9IUCargA8PSY6Sv-sku_AZahPyE8P4bsEaapzoCvk&gQT=1

Does this have enough heat capacity for heavier jobs like soldering to pot bodies and chunky jack plugs? 10W doesn't seem very much.

[Bone Idol]

On 07/01/2025 at 20:55, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

In October I bought this one -> https://amzn.to/423AdgY . For £15 it was a massive upgrade from my previous crappy one from Maplins. When making up a loom, I can now use lead-free solder for back of the pot connections without needing to worry so much about effing up the pot.

 

 

I was going to suggest a Weller iron, as I've always used Weller soldering irons but after viewing your link, I've just ordered your one from Amazon... It's cheaper than a set of tips for my Weller!

[bremen]

[chrisba]

On 07/01/2025 at 20:45, Pea Turgh said:

Somehow I’ve turned in to the bloke who fixes stuff amongst my circle of musicians friends.  I have an old soldering iron that doesn’t seem to get hot enough for modern lead free stuff, so I need a new iron.

I've got the opposite problem. I lent my ( very ) old soldering iron to my boss, who, rather inconveniently, died before returning it. I didn't feel it was appropriate to approach his widow for it's return, so I bought a new one.

This is obviously designed for modern, lead free solders, but I've got a massive reel of the old stuff. The new iron seems to practically incinerate it rather than gently melt it. I guess I need to get some new solder to match.

[Pea Turgh]

6 minutes ago, chrisba said:

I've got the opposite problem. I lent my ( very ) old soldering iron to my boss, who, rather inconveniently, died before returning it. I didn't feel it was appropriate to approach his widow for it's return, so I bought a new one.

This is obviously designed for modern, lead free solders, but I've got a massive reel of the old stuff. The new iron seems to practically incinerate it rather than gently melt it. I guess I need to get some new solder to match.

I’ll post you my old one if you like!  My new one arrives from Amazon this afternoon 🤞🏻

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, bremen said:

 Shades of Boris playing guitar behind the capo.