Iâve only briefly had a look at the Ryobi iron. It seemed surprisingly good for what it is, but Iâd have said that itâs a little bit too much of a brute force blunt instrument for some electronics tasks. Iâm surprised that you found it significantly better than an old Weller, though⌠Iâd have thought theyâd be reasonably similar, performance wise at a worst case, or that the Weller would have the edge. Some of that might come down to old/ruined tips, perhaps?
The tricky part of all of this is that it comes down to what youâre trying to do. Joining a couple of wires together or doing through-hole stuff, honestly the One+ iron is fine. That and some solder and youâre away.
As the complexity of what youâre trying to do goes up, the size of things drops which means you need smaller and more precise tools, as well as a bit of extra dexterity thrown in.
If youâre asking for some suggestions:
That changes for what your goal is, whether itâs more focused on through-hole stuff, surface mount stuff, how complex the surface mount stuff is, mostly assembly, mostly repair/rework, etc.
As a starting point for a mix of assembly/rework (because letâs face it, most DIY/hobbyist stuff of any complexity level is going to be mostly repair/rework because it aint gonna work first time!) of moderate complexity surface mount stuff (0603-0805 components, SOIC/TQFP ICs), Iâd start with whatâs below. Iâve tried to add some links to show the specific products at one of the suppliers we use often but thatâs more just because itâs a good one-stop shop and shows details, not because I think theyâre a good place to buy from unless youâre in NZ:
Requirements:
A good temperature controlled soldering iron
An appropriately sized soldering iron tip
Wire-wool type tip cleaner
Solder
Solder wick
Tweezers
Strongly recommended:
Flux
Magnifier
Some kind of fine pointed hooks/picks
Extraction
Isopropyl Alcohol
Cotton buds
Nice to have:
Scalpel
Tip tinning compound
Swivel vice or 3rd hand
Good lighting
Anti-static mat/strap
Soldering Iron
The soldering iron topic is something where I could spend hours writing a thesis on it. Fundamentally, the job of the iron is to heat stuff up quickly and precisely so you can melt solder onto it. You want something where you can adjust the temperature and be confident that itâs correct, because too cold doesnât flow well and too hot will damage stuff. You want it to be well designed so that it has good thermal response, basically so it doesnât immediately crash in temperature when poked into a cold object. You want it to have a decent variety of tip styles because there are always trade-offs with different styles so you can get one that suits the task at hand.
When it comes to irons there are 2 common tip designs. The older/simpler/cheaper one is the type that has a separate heater element and then the tip slips on over the element. Thatâs how the Weller stations you had likely worked. These are great because the tips are cheap/plentiful and essentially disposable. The downside is that they tend to have less power, worse temperature accuracy and MUCH worse thermal response so theyâre slower and harder to use. The newer/better solution is to have an all-in-one tip that integrates the heater and tip together. These have a much better connection between heater, temperature measurement and tip so you get better accuracy, faster response and much more output power. Plenty of people get by with the cheap type but after using the all-in-one type, I really prefer the more modern approach.
Technically speaking there are also another type which are the RF irons where they use fancy tips that instantly change impedance vs temperature so you get the fastest response possible but I havenât seen any that are in a DIY $ range. They used to be insanely better than the separate heater/tip types so were worth the money but with better modern iron/tip designs I donât notice the difference as much anymore. I wouldnât bother with these, even if you can find a good 2nd hand deal simply because the tips are so much more expensive.
For power I typically just ignore that. For small stuff and being careful, any amount of power is fine. For big stuff or moving super fast I think itâs more important to have an appropriately sized tip and potentially even just an entirely different iron. We have a separate big station for large stuff and often youâre better off pre-heating a board anyway.
When it comes to brand, Iâm very fond of the Hakko irons. I use Hakko FX-950 and FX-951 stations both at home and at work. Theyâre not cheap (~NZ$600) but can sometimes be found 2nd hand. There are also some knock-offs around that may be good enough but Iâm not familiar with them.
Fundamentally anything thatâs designed similarly is likely to be decent enough. The requirements of the iron are actually pretty basic, as long as the design is good then the implementation itself isnât super important, I donât think.
Alternatively, there are a few interesting options like the USB powered irons such as the TS80, TS100, TS101, Pinecil, HS-02 etc. In general Iâm slightly suspicious of these, they all claim good power figures and relatively fast heat times. Theyâre all temperature controlled. They all seem to use the integrated heater/sensor/tip cartridges which is nice. Iâm less convinced by the ergonomics and user interface.
I picked up a TS101 to have a play with but Iâve only used it for heat-set inserts so far. It didnât like any of the USB power supplies I had and only works with an external power supply or the horrifyingly expensive USB battery bank that I bought for my Steam Deck, so Iâd factor that in. The tip is a long way away from the handle which isnât good ergonomics, itâs significantly bulkier than the pencil from the Hakko station and the UI is infuriating. Other than that it seems like the performance should be ok.
I honestly donât know that I can give a truly reliable set of recommendations here. At NZ$100 the TS-101 seems like itâs probably the best option. Cheaper than that is probably a TS80 or getting too sketchy for my tastes. At NZ$200-300 then a 2nd hand decent brand station and some new tips is getting possible. At NZ$600 Iâd get an FX-950, 3-4 tips and then have that as the only iron Iâd ever need.
Soldering iron tips
This is something where I disagree with Jeff a bit. I always try to use the largest tip I can get away with. I actually hate fine tips and think theyâre misleading. The problem with them is that theyâre too thin and have too little surface area, so they donât get good thermal transfer to the joint youâre creating. The tip that I use for 90% of my soldering is a Hakko T12-D12. This is a 1.2mm chisel tip. Itâs fine enough that you can solder individual pins on a TQFP if youâre careful but still large enough that it can be used on pins with direct connection to a copper plane or the tab of a power package like a D2PAK etc. I also use a T12-D4 tip which is a 4mm chisel tip. Those 2 tips are 99% of my soldering. I have a pretty huge range of others like the T12-I which is a super fine 0.2mm point, 9.5mm long tip. I essentially never use this unless I absolutely have to because the thermal performance is so compromised. I have a T12-B which is an intermediate 0.2mm 5mm long conical tip but I find that to be a poor compromise between both.
Regardless, make sure you purchase an iron where you can get a range of tips and easily source a replacement. If the tip is good quality and well cared for it will last thousands of hours of use. I think my one at home is still original and Iâve had it for 15 years, many hundreds of hours use and maybe 1-1.5kg of solder?
Itâs a good idea to have a âthrowawayâ tip or iron floating around so youâre not tempted to use the good tip for heat-set inserts, melting stuff, etc.
For keeping the tip in good condition I like using a tip cleaner paste if I notice itâs not wetting out evenly anymore. Theyâre pretty cheap and if they extend the life of a single tip by a little bit then theyâve paid for themselves.
To keep the tips in service for as long as possible, I like to give them a good few passes through the wire wool tip cleaner after use then apply some solder directly to them until itâs a bit of a blob, then turn off the iron. Keep them clean, any time they stop wetting out nicely or start looking cruddy, stop and clean them with the wire wool and re-tin them. Donât let them get bent or physically damaged and theyâll last ages. Donât ever file/sand them. The outside coating is critically important and if it gets broken/abraded off then the material underneath will dissolve into the solder and youâll have a tip lifetime measured in hours, not years.
Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner
DO NOT USE WET SPONGES. Just donât. Get yourself a wire wool type tip cleaner. These scrape excess solder/flux/whatever off the tip gently without abrading the plated surface. Use these often as you go, even after every joint if youâre struggling. It should be a quick motion of stabbing the tip in, pushing it down slightly, pulling it out, rotating the tip a bit and then doing it again. You should end up with a fresh looking tip without excess solder on it. If the tip isnât in good condition after doing this, stop and re-tin/clean the tip more carefully. If you end up with too much solder on the tip, swipe it off into the coiled wire and go again. You can get refill packs but honestly I think Iâve replaced mine at home maybe twice in the past decade. They last.
Solder
Iâd always recommend leaded solder for starting out. The alloy matters less than it being a leaded solder. It has a lower melting point and oxidizes slower so itâs much more forgiving. Itâs also pretty safe to work with in solid form. Ventilation is a good idea regardless of solder used because the flux fumes get pretty nasty. 60/40 is the âstandardâ, 63/37 is also common, some types advertise as having a couple of % of silver and are slightly better in theory but I donât know that itâs enough for me to notice it. I tend to notice the quality of the flux much more than the alloy, I believe.
For solder sizes, itâs kind of a personal preference thing but I would say to start on the finer side, something like 0.5-0.7mm. They tend to have more flux relative to the volume of solder which leaves more residue but makes for a cleaner/easier joint under non-ideal circumstances. Thereâs also just less of it per cm so it makes feeding the correct amount of solder into a joint much easier. The only real downside is that itâs a little bit slower, a little bit messier due to having more flux residue and can be annoying to manage. If youâve got the budget, getting 2 sizes is nice. The second size being ~0.9-1.2mm will mean less stuffing around with the solder when youâre doing through-hole or larger parts.
I would also say to stick to common brands of stuff and ideally from a reputable supplier. Iâve bought some soldering consumables via AliExpress and have also tried to use stuff that my Dad bought from there as well. Itâs noticeably crappier. Solder that isnât the alloy it claims to be, seems to have either no or expired flux, solder wick that may not actually even be copper, etc. Good consumables make all the difference. I can get by with crap consumables and figure out how to use them, but itâs SO much harder. I think all the stuff we have here is Multicore/Loctite, Stannol and maybe some Goot stuff. Looks like you can get 250gm rolls of Loctite 60/40 so thatâs a great starting option.
For quantity, the most common sizes are 500gm rolls which is enough for thousands of boards. I think Iâve gone through maybe 2-3 of those in my entire career? I wouldnât go for the tiny little coils you sometimes see but anything in the 50gm+ range is likely to be tons.
Solder Wick
This is my primary method to remove excess solder from a joint or clean a board of solder after removing a component. I like the Chemtronics branded stuff as it has good flux and wicks nicely. We have some Goot stuff thatâs ok. Cheap/crappy stuff wonât wick and will be a nightmare. Having a couple of sizes is a good idea, small stuff is frustrating for large pads, large stuff is unwieldy on small pads. Ideally Iâd have a small size like 1mm and then a larger size of 2-3mm, perhaps with a 1.5mm additionally. You can get these on smaller bobbins pretty cheaply which is what I would do and then just re-buy as needed. Donât spend up big on a 20m bobbin because itâs âvalue for moneyâ, chances are itâll be a size youâll never like using.
Tweezers
Thereâs no real hard-and-fast rules here, just something that lets you reliably hold a passive component without getting in the way but isnât so sharp that itâs dangerous or too flexible. Itâs not a bad idea to have a few different options. I donât like ones that come to a complete sharp point, I prefer a fine but flat tip. You can get them hooked or straight, I prefer the straight ones because theyâre usable through a wider range of motion/angle, but thatâs just down to personal ergonomics. I like the Wiha ESD safe range, specifically the 2 SA ESD (listed as reduced body medium point in the catalog) but you can get cheap stainless steel Goot knock-offs that are good. ESD safe is nice but not necessary. Obviously nothing plastic.
Flux
Itâs nice to have and is a great âgo toâ if youâre struggling to get something to wet out nicely. I would recommend a gel style flux in a syringe for ease of use. You may need to separately buy a needle for it. I think the MG Chemicals âno cleanâ flux gel is what I have at home. No clean just means that the residue it leaves is mostly inert and wonât corrode things long term. Itâs still a good idea to give things a bit of a clean if youâve used a bit of it.
Magnifier
Whatever works for you, really. It should be comfortable to work at for a long period of time, ideally with a wide field of view and long relief. 6-10x magnification is plenty. I have a binocular microscope at home that works well but itâs finnicky to work under because of the narrow field of view so I wouldnât recommend it unless youâve already got one. At work we use a Mantis viewer which is great but horrifically expensive. I think they do come up 2nd hand. Some people like using loupes, others like using the visor type magnifiers. In the past Iâve used the ones that are just a big magnifying glass lens on an arm but I wasnât really a huge fan of that.
Hooks/Picks/Scalpels
Again, whatever works. Old dental tools are great choices and you can sometimes just ask a dentist for them as they replace them super often before they wear out. We have some stainless steel picks that are meant for the purpose. Theyâre great for prying up pins, poking away solder balls etc. There are also cheap sets of PCB rework/repair tools that can be useful. Having the little knife/chisel point probes is the most useful for cutting traces or scraping solder mask off. I donât find the brushes useful at all. A scalpel can be a nice addition, too, although theyâre a bit less robust than Iâd like for cutting copper traces etc. so be careful.
Extraction
I use a free standing extractor at home because my office doesnât have much airflow and I need something with good performance. There are a TON of options, though, ranging from 3D printed DIY things with a fan and basic filter cloth through to hardcore fume hood/external vent setups. The commercial desktop filter+fan units are by far the most common in my experience and can be had at a range of prices. Anything here should be fine but itâs worth considering that cheaper units may not have the same level of filtration. Itâs not just particles, itâs gases that can be the concern. Or just keep a window open and some fresh air flowing in, honestly. Try not to hunch over the board and keep your face back, getting a plume of flux smoke in your eye sucks pretty bad.
Isopropyl Alcohol/Cotton Buds
Used for cleaning parts post soldering. After removing a component and wicking the excess solder off the pads, the board will be pretty manky. Itâs a good idea to give things a clean as you go while itâs still warm with an IPA soaked cotton bud. This can be just whatever but I quite like the âpump topâ bottles and the longer electronics technicians cotton buds with wood/bamboo sticks. I think ours are Chemtronics brand. You can break the cotton bud in half to use as a mildly abrasive scraper for removing really stubborn stuff, too. Whatever works, in this case. You can also use brass/nylon brushes but I find the brass scratches the board and both get sticky/manky after a while. Some lint-free wipes can be a good idea, too, but I typically cut them down into ~50mm squares. They can be wrapped around the tweezers and used as a more aggressive swab/wipe.
The rest is all just kinda âyou might find this usefulâ type stuff.
For the anti-static mat/band, I donât bother with the bands anymore but I do use a decent heat-resistant 3M anti-static mat that is connected back to the buildingâs main earth. Pretty much any cheap mat here will be fine but the more expensive ones wonât immediately melt if they get a blob of solder on them or a dropped soldering iron. Itâs worth double checking that they are actually static dissipative by using a multimeter to measure resistance between the metal case of an earthed appliance and a large coin sitting on top of the mat and pressed in hard by hand. It should read in the 10s of MOhm range to the top and in the 1-10 MOhm range to the back side. The wire that connects the mat back to earth should have a 1MOhm resistor in it already.
