Best soldering tips according to redditors

I'm still pretty new to this myself, but like you I have some electronics experience in the past. I just got this Weller 40w iron station with a desolder braid/sucker and a solder tip cleaner. Oh and a more precise tip for the solder iron

I'm really happy with it all so far, and couln't imagine needing more for a while. A heat gun would be nice for de-soldering and reflowing premade boards (like modding Boss pedals), but that can also be done with a regular solder iron as far as I know. You can get the above for about $60 total, so it's a nice way to get your feet wet without a huge investment. Then you gotta add on components/enclosures/pots/switches etc. Maybe get a helping hands and/or circuit holder if you need

Oh and get a good multimeter. I went a step up from the $20 ones and got this one which I'm also really happy with.

You asked for tech items under $10. Here's a few I can think of.

• Ext HDD Casing. - Will help you convert your laptop HDD to an ext drive and check it for errors whenever you run into some HDD issues.
  
  
• Multimeter - really helpful when testing power issues - be it a computer or any other electrical/electronic device.
  
  
• Screwdriver Set You can open almost any screw with this small kit.
  
  
• Soldering Gun/Iron - Very handy when you want to fix broken cables/components on your own.
  
  

These work wonders.

https://www.amazon.com/Oatey-31400-Bagged-12-Inch-Protector/dp/B0002YU2SY

Technique is everything, though. Keep the flame pointed where you intend the heat to go.

Clippers

Iron

Tip for iron

Don’t forget, you need one with a tip the size of a pen. Any bigger and you will burn your pcb. This is a decent one that I use

Weller WLC100 40-Watt Soldering Station https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AS28UC?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Weller ST7 ST Series Conical Solder Tip Hobbyist for WP25, WP30 and WP35 Irons, 0.31" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002BSP4K?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

OMorc Desoldering Wick, Solder Sucker & Solder Braid (2.5mm Width, 1.5m Length) – Desoldering Vacuum Pump Solder Removal Tool https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I14V4X8?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

Sometimes for the smaller welds, like on LEDs, try adding solder before sucking.

I'd suggest:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000AS28UC

Plus a smaller tip:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002BSP4K

Weller is a highly trusted brand and buying a variable one means you'll likely never need another soldering iron for any job.

Other items:

Solder itself

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00068IJPO

In case you mess up:

Either a solder sucker

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005GIPKOW

or solder wick


Nice but not needed(since that iron comes with a sponge):


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FZPGDLA

Here’s what I’ve been using. Nice and pointy.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002BSP4K

That is a really good idea, I actually have a soldering iron but I need a better head for more precise work. think this will work in a v3 gearbox and this tip good enough for gearbox work? Thanks for your help man

Is there anything wrong with a conical tip like this? I soldered and desoldered plenty of switches with this just fine.

A felt plumbers pad is perfect for this.