Greatest Question Ever: What soldering gun??

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 9:51 am

Hey DIY'ers, sorry to bother you, but could someone tell me what the BADASS, ONE-TO-HAVE soldering gun for wiring things like guitar electronics is? Also, what do you call the things that's used to suck up extra solder while you're working.

A buddy of mine spend most of yesterday wiring up my new guitar (which ended up being a huge PITA because of weird wiring diagrams not matching up with the parts we had), then on top of that he leveled and dressed all the frets and setup the guitar very nicely. At the end of the day, he refused all money from me, stating that the bottle of scotch that I had brought (half of which we drank) was enough.

I did notice that he was complaining about his shitty soldering gun, though, so I thought a nice thing to do would be to get him a nice one.

So, what's the good shit?

I am completely ignorant in this area, so your advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Nate Dort · Post by **Nate Dort** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:49 am

First of all, you don't want a soldering gun. You want a nice temperature controlled soldering iron. A gun is overkill in almost every situation.

That being said, most of the time one of these threads comes up, the Hakko 936 station gets recommended the most. I use one 40+ hours a week and it's never let me down.

There are literally dozens of threads on the TOMB about soldering irons. Do a quick search and you'll see what I mean.

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:21 am

That looks like just what I'm looking for. Thanks!

Would I be looking at the "small" size iron for guitar wiring (pots, switches, caps, etc)?

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:29 am

the hakko 936 is amazing

I got the regular one. The big iron is useful for when you need to reach in somewhere, but most of the time that's bad laziness and I should take the thing apart so I can be close in on it anyway. I say go for the regular one.

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:13 pm

rwc wrote: I got the regular one. I say go for the regular one.

by "regular" do you mean the medium size, which would be 936-12?

T-rex · Post by **T-rex** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:23 pm

This is the one I have (and the place I bought it from)

http://www.kiesub.com/prostores/servlet/Detail?no=3

It's the 936-12 and it rules. I bought a couple different size tips for it, but I swear I built an A12 module from SCA and never ever had to change tips.

The best $70 I ever spent, hands down. Highly recommended.

rwc · Post by **rwc** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:35 pm

DrummerMan wrote:
rwc wrote: I got the regular one. I say go for the regular one.
by "regular" do you mean the medium size, which would be 936-12?

yes

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:36 pm

cool.

Chris_Avakian · Post by **Chris_Avakian** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:11 pm

i thought it was a great question. think i might pick one of those up, myself. its gotta be better than the weller i have now.

DrummerMan · Post by **DrummerMan** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:29 pm

FRIZEYED wrote:i thought it was a great question. think i might pick one of those up, myself. its gotta be better than the weller i have now.

Y'know what? you're right.

I have, thus, changed the title of the thread.

pixeltarian · Post by **pixeltarian** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:38 pm

boom:

http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-Profesional ... 029&sr=8-2

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:32 pm

boom:

http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-Profesional ... 029&sr=8-2

Could you explain your choice here?

Have you used the tool you're recommending?

If it's any good, that's indeed a bargain on a hot air rework station...and would be great for working on modern SMD packed PCBs. But it's not the tool I'd want to use for working on a guitar while sipping scotch.

To the OP: I'd agree with the others - the Hakko is a fine tool, as is the equivalent Weller.

pixeltarian · Post by **pixeltarian** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:31 pm

The Scum wrote:
boom:

http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-Profesional ... 029&sr=8-2
Could you explain your choice here?

Have you used the tool you're recommending?

If it's any good, that's indeed a bargain on a hot air rework station...and would be great for working on modern SMD packed PCBs. But it's not the tool I'd want to use for working on a guitar while sipping scotch.

To the OP: I'd agree with the others - the Hakko is a fine tool, as is the equivalent Weller.

No, I haven't - he just said "bad ass" so I wanted to recommend the product I wish I would have purchased.

but I do I have an aoyue soldering iron and I love it. Also there desoldering guns and rework stations get pretty high praise from people who use them.

ArmagideonTime · Post by **ArmagideonTime** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:30 am

I've had a Weller WTCPT for 5 or 6 years now and use it almost 7 days a week currently, and i've never had a problem with it. it might be overpriced, but it's iconic looking and works flawlessly. Parts are very easy to find should it break. I bought it because of previous good experience with Cooper Hand Tools companies (Xcelite and Nicholson) and it's a pretty "standard" choice.

on the moon · Post by **on the moon** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:06 pm

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307

mine is 5 or 6 years old and still kicking

but weller tips are more easily found locally

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Greatest Question Ever: What soldering gun??

Greatest Question Ever: What soldering gun??

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