Good place to buy a soldering iron?

rgjmce

wanna re-solder my SX to see if I can do a better job then is on atm, anyway wondering where is the best place to buy one, i just want something simple and cheap, nice starter really, any ideas?

Dord

Maplins. If you're in Dublin they have a store on Jervis St. (beside Smyths Toys).

http://www.maplin.co.uk

rgjmce

cool thanks dord

Thephantomsmask

Maplin can be extremely expensive, I got this kit to start out with in electronics and it's done me well. I only upgraded my iron to an antex after accidentally burning the power cord! http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=30001&catalogId=1500001801&langId=-1&searchTerms=Electrician+kit&Submit=GO+%3E

rgjmce

Thephantomsmask wrote: »

Maplin can be extremely expensive, I got this kit to start out with in electronics and it's done me well. I only upgraded my iron to an antex after accidentally burning the power cord! http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=30001&catalogId=1500001801&langId=-1&searchTerms=Electrician+kit&Submit=GO+%3E

well i just need a soldering iron, not a full kit

Eoin Madsen

You can get an Antex in Maplin, and also direct from the Antex website. Just be careful to get a normal mains (230VAC) powered one with a UK plug, and not one of the low voltage ones with odd power leads. 25-watt is great for most things aside from soldering to the back of a pot or onto a chassis. I wouldn't go any lower than that, wattage-wise.

I had that very Argos kit myself many moons ago. Everything in it bar the iron itself was junk. And the iron was only passable at that. Maplin do a cheap 30-watt for about 10 euros, I think, which would be similarly cheap and marginally more cheerful.

Paolo_M

This served me well for a long time.
The stand is essential IMO. Unless you're really careful you'll end up with countless burn marks on your work-top/kitchen table, and all over your hands.
Can't think that you'd get much better value anywhere else.
Sure you'd get a cheaper pile of junk, but what good is that?


Hey Eoin, we'd always make sure to use ground lug, nut, bolt and lock washer rather than soldering to the chassis surely!?!

I've never had trouble using this iron to solder wires to the back of pots. Just make sure the surface has been scrapped to a shiny finish with an abrassive and tinned first, otherwise it could take hours.

Eoin Madsen

+1 on that kit. I still use the stand out of it even having retired the 25W iron. Stand is actually pretty damn important.

Also check out this cool kit: http://www.antex.co.uk/product.asp?strParents=180&CAT_ID=191&P_ID=827

Eoin Madsen

Paolo_M wrote: »

Hey Eoin, we'd always make sure to use ground lug, nut, bolt and lock washer rather than soldering to the chassis surely!?!

:pac: I know... the only time I had to solder right to chassis was for a fix-up job. It was a fixed power chord which was flimsy as hell so I was replacing it, and I first tried soldering the ground back to the chassis where it originally went. I can't remember what I did in the end, probably found a nut somewhere that had room for a solder lug. I think that was the incident that prompted me to get the Antex 50 watt iron with the variable temperature. That and the fact that I accidentally cooked a couple of pots trying to solder to them around the same time. It's ironically much easier to get in and out fast with a hotter iron.