steve00 Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 I'm going to be changing the pickups in my strat for the first time and I don't know what wattage of soldering iron to buy. I have limited soldering experience but feel comfortable enough to do this. Can anyone tell me what soldering iron to buy? I am buying one specifically for this job, but I would like to get something quality that I will be able to use for future projects. Thanks for your help, -Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey69962000 Posted May 28, 2006 Report Share Posted May 28, 2006 if you want to be on the safe side, go with a variable one. Radio Shack i think hase one for a good price. weller is the best quality, but thats if you are willing to put down over 100 bucks for one, but yet again, its the best and will last the longest and give the most precise performance. Being a beginner, between 15-30 watt soldering iron would be good. Thats my suggestion, but maybe another person could reply. I think a mod should relocate this in Tools and Shop Talk as its a tool and this is where you go for tutorials. Next time, try to post a topic in the correct thread, it will help you out faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldbeer Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 One thing to know about is that if you buy just a cheap soldiering iron pencil that isn't thermal regulated it will keep getting hotter and hotter until its really too hot to soldier with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 if you want to be on the safe side, go with a variable one. Radio Shack i think hase one for a good price. weller is the best quality, but thats if you are willing to put down over 100 bucks for one, but yet again, its the best and will last the longest and give the most precise performance. Being a beginner, between 15-30 watt soldering iron would be good. Thats my suggestion, but maybe another person could reply. I think a mod should relocate this in Tools and Shop Talk as its a tool and this is where you go for tutorials. Next time, try to post a topic in the correct thread, it will help you out faster. You can purchase a Weller soldering iron at Sears for less than $15 for a basic one. I bought a station with the iron, thermostat, and stand for $50. The Craftsman rosin-core solder is good stuff, too. The RadioShack irons aren't worth a crap--their tips are shaped totally wrong, thermal regulation is non-existent, and they last about five minutes. And don't get me started on Ratshack solder... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDrugFreeJonnyx Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Radioshack has 15-30 watts for 7 bucks right now, i picked one up the other day and it comes with a decent amount of solder and a few tools. Although not very good quality will work for what you're trying to do. I have a weller 100 watt that somehow broke on me the other day so i had to go and grab a cheapo to repair my amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 I have a 20 watt weller (one of the really nice ones) that I have been using for over 6 years. Still in perfect condition and works great. I've never even had to change the tip. For your first project any 10-15 watt will do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 One point to take note of though, at least with my Epiphone, the solder used on the factory electronics takes a LOT of heat to melt. I had to use a high wattage soldering gun over my soldering iron, and I still had a LOT of trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 One point to take note of though, at least with my Epiphone, the solder used on the factory electronics takes a LOT of heat to melt. I had to use a high wattage soldering gun over my soldering iron, and I still had a LOT of trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted August 5, 2006 Report Share Posted August 5, 2006 One point to take note of though, at least with my Epiphone, the solder used on the factory electronics takes a LOT of heat to melt. I had to use a high wattage soldering gun over my soldering iron, and I still had a LOT of trouble. Yeah I noticed the same thing when I redid my godin. Here's a tip: Apply some solder directly to the existing solder that doesn't want to melt. Let it sit for about 10 seconds, then try desoldering it again. The whole glob of solder should melt almost instantly. Cool, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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