Electronics > Beginners
Trying to solder correctly
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vk6zgo:

--- Quote from: fixit7 on June 12, 2019, 12:24:01 am ---I saw some used Wellers in the $40 range.

--- End quote ---

That's pretty good--- the last time I bought one was $A40, that was a few years back when the Oz & greenback were pretty much at parity.

Funny, though, back in the 1980s I bought a new one for about $80!
Brumby:

--- Quote from: vk6zgo on June 12, 2019, 12:43:23 am ---Funny, though, back in the 1980s I bought a new one for about $80!

--- End quote ---

... which was about a quarter of the average weekly wage back then.
james_s:
Another vote for the wet sponge, although either can be made to work. I've used those brass wool things before and was not very impressed, they worked well for getting larger bits of crud off but not so much for wiping off the excess solder to leave a nice clean tip.
cur8xgo:
In regards to the wet sponge:

Professionally I have seen many expert assemblers use a wet sponge and doing fantastic work and rework on tiny pitch high density parts, so yes, it is definitely a real thing that works.

However, personally I don't like it. I don't like things that cool the tip down and require me to rotate the tip in a circle to clean (awkward motion), and I dont like that it needs to be replaced so often. I also don't like wet things around where I'm working on electronics. Sponges collect that solder just as much as anything else so I dont see that as a benefit versus foil. Wet things also grow stuff..

Also having to keep a water bottle with a nozzle on it is just one more thing on a packed workstation and one more thing that can spill or be a problem.

Then you have to buy sponges too.

I bought my Hakko 599B foil cleaner literally 20 years ago and only replaced the foil after maybe 15 years. The container it sits in catches everything so much cleaner than a sponge. Pop the bottom off and dump it every few weeks (months?).  Cleaning the tip means a quick stab or two, you can do it without looking, making keeping a clean tip for every joint much more convenient.

Its a preference thing. Wet sponges work too.

EDIT: And bonus..the hakko fits perfectly snugly right into the space for the sponge, tucked under the iron holder spring, on a weller tc


cur8xgo:
Oh yeah one more thing....

If you want to make soldering FUN, buy a stereo zoom microscope and a fiber optic light source. Its like disappearing into a teeny city and what seemed very difficult can become very easy.....

Also: A high quality low viscosity liquid flux in a needle dispenser can be like a superpower for super fine pitch parts..solder just pops into place perfectly on multiple pins at once with just a tap
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