Bench Hardware ~ Soldering Station
I started soldering as a kid. My dad and I went to SciPlus (American Science and Surplus) and bought an analog variable temp iron. It worked well for learning. One lesson a bit more painful than the others.
Every one of my old robots faced that iron:
That iron never came out to California with me. It is still in my parents’ basement with a very corroded tip (well, not just the tip, the whole hot side has been well loved at this point).
Through school I used whatever equipment was available. The iron, the rework station, and the air filter below all came into the shop in 2022.
Weller Soldering Iron
At work I used a Weller and really liked it. Once I graduated with my master’s and got my own place, I made a goal of eventually getting a nice iron. When I first got real adult money I had to spend it on a nice soldering iron. Bought the Weller WE1010 soldering iron plus a set of solder tips, brass brush, helping hand, etc. If there is ever a place to splurge in DIY electronics it’s on a good soldering iron.
I use the new iron in my restoration efforts. RoverBot and the BEAM bots already got their once-over after moving to California. Bubbles is on the bench right now. He’s my favorite, such a weird toy hack project. YAM will be updated soon enough. My home automation hacks were done on the new setup too, the grow light and the air filter.
Lead-free solder only. No extra flux, just the solder. Maybe once I do some SMD or more PCB stuff. I don’t have a favorite tip shape. I keep an assortment and generally use a finer tip.
Sparkfun 303D SMD Rework Station
I love this little reflow heatgun, perhaps because I became proficient with it at work. We have the same rework heat gun there, and I am always tinkering with those tiny passives and QFN ICs (thankfully I don’t subject myself to anything smaller at work or hobby).
At home it has mostly done desoldering and salvage so far. I want to do SMD, and I have some ideas in mind. I still need to find some good solder paste for the home shop.
Around the Bench
My bench is in the garage now, so I open the garage door for fresh air. An off-brand air filter fan from Amazon sucks away the fumes. The rest of the soldering kit is a brass tip cleaner, solder wick, a solder sucker pump, and a magnifying glass light.
I’m space constrained, so I do woodworking on the same bench. Just a shop saw, a Dremel, and a drill press that I can adapt the Dremel to. Plus other assorted tools for work around the house (drill, impact driver, jig saw, etc.).