Soldering Iron

[Gail]

What soldering Iron do you use and is there a good way to hold or use the tip of the Iron? My soldering lines are pretty inconsistant and then I watch others and it seems so easy for them.

[Monkey's Uncle]

It looks easy because they've done it more than once. The reality is that there is not "secret" way to hold the iron for great results. It's like asking a photographer how to hold a camera for perfect pictures - it doesn't matter if one doesn't know the basics of photographic composition. The real answer is learning good technique such as the simple difference between of cold solder and a proper one. Classes are a perfect opportunity to see good and bad techniques as well as learning optimal basics for great results. A $100 iron won't matter if you never learned what is and makes a good solder joint. Too many people waste money on expensive tools never learning the basics of how to use them. My thought is if you can't definatively explain why a certain tool is better, you don't need it... yet. My approach is to find the specific flaws with what I'm using before looking for a new tool. First practice, watch others then, practice some more with lessoned learned before looking for a quick or simple fix.

[Ryan]

One of the Irons that we kid of steer people into is a Hakko.  I like the ceramic element inside, it seems to hold the heat real nice.  Irons are almost a personal issue like cars, they all work just how well do you want it to work.