my soldering iron is dog shit.
Should i just get one like this?
Whats a good brand anyways

>>2923682 (OP)
Your soldering iron is probably fine, it's that you can't solder.

>>2923682 (OP)
I got so frustrated with soldering irons that I now use a propane torch. Way better and faster.

>>2923682 (OP)
What are you soldering? Your picture is a soldering gun not a soldering iron. A pistol grip makes the fine movements needed for surface mount components difficult. All the movement is done with your wrist and arm. Pencil grip lets you do fine movement with your fingers.

Weller will forever be the gold standard brand.

>>2923713
i soldered this buck down converter but one side is badly soldered.
>weller
noted i might end getting that one of these days

>>2923682 (OP)
Just get a Hakko. They look like they were designed by Fisher-Price but they hold the temperature you set and last forever. I used one to remove all the RAM chips on a Commodore 64 and replace them with sockets. That was 128 pins desoldered and resoldered. I had zero issues.

>>2923682 (OP)
TS-100/101/pinecil are unbeatable for price performance.
>>2923713
>Weller

Was good in the 90's. Now trash.

>>2923867
Your trash

>>2923878
*You're

I like the sequre mss12. cheap, super light, good for everything from little drone pads to e-bike batteries. If you needed more you wouldn't be asking here.

You had better be using premium brand solder wire

>>2923867
Is also fine

>>2923682 (OP)
Get Goot
Goot good and still being made in Japan
Hakko is shit now since they stopped the production lines in Japan because of greed

>>2923682 (OP)
Anything but nu-Hakko, they are now being made in China or Malaysia while still expecting you to pay them for 'Made in Japan' tax

I got the alientek t80p from aliexpress for 24€. It uses C245 tips, is encased in a cnc machined aluminium case and uses 100w Usb C. Haven't used it a lot since its been a few days but it is very comfortable to hold as it is slightly thicker than a pen

Weller, JCB are good options, but pricey. You can do great with cheaper irons. If you cannot, it's a skill issue. Good prep work as in cleaning and application of flux is essential. A guy with a cheap-ish iron, tip cleaner, IPA, good flux, good solder, brushes etc will always come out on top of someone who blew their whole budget on the iron. And Im IPC-J-STD-001G certified so I know what the fuck im talking about. Whats your budget OP? Also do not get a solder gun they're retarded and only meant for soldering chink shit on an assembly line.

>>2923859
888D user interface is so ass this is like you're trying to get anon in to the same hell with you

>>2923921
Good thing that spawned billions of cheap good T12 clones, I have a weller WP65 at work because a local shop has all the spares but for home use a T12 clone with 5 tips is the best thing you can get

>>2924147
That's pretty sweet. I want one for my 40v ryobi now.

>>2924147
How long does that last on something like a 3ah battery?

>>2923682 (OP)
Get Goot PX-280 and Gootwick, some good 60/40 or 63/37 rosin core, solder sucker if needed
Enjoy soldering, those things will keep working for more than 10 years and more

>>2924267
This, I've been using my tq-77 for more than 30 years only changing tips every few years

Thoughts on hot air stations? I've wanted one a few times but I'm curious how often they're actually needed and where the best value lies.

>>2924147
>t12 tips
>best thing you can get
>real tips are 20$, fake tips are 50c.
can't decide which tip is worse.

i'll stick with a proper iron/tip setup thanks. and by that i mean the heater in the pencil.

>>2923719
Flux nigga. Smear that shit all over the pin/wire. You want the blob of solder to 'wick' onto the pin rather than just ball up like that.

>>2923859
what was the purpose of replacing those?

>Whats a good brand anyways
One that provably has a QA team that whips chinks into submission.
Everything is made in China, but some companies pride themselves in paying more and legally binding the chinks to work hard and honestly, resulting in higher quality products, despite being made in exact same factory as the slop they put out that breaks in few weeks. In fact, if anything, unbranded knockoffs might literally be same duds of that company that got rejected by QA but have to be sold somehow anyway.

I bought a we1010 from pawn. I would have been stoked had I paid full price.

>>2924586
It's pretty self-explanatory when you need a hot air gun.