Basic Soldering Tools

Soldering Iron

A soldering iron will heat up two adjoining metal parts so that solder will melt and flow between them. A good basic soldering station is recommended.

Soldering Iron Tips

Using the right size soldering iron tip can greatly improve the quality of your work. For example, thin wires and circuit boards require a very fine tip. Using a tip larger than what is ideal for your work can either damage the components or form solder bridges which will require desoldering.

Helping Hands

Clamps of some sort are strongly recommended. Trying to hold your soldering iron, the solder, and the wire is tricky enough, but when you have to hold the connector as well it is almost impossible. The are however, adjustable clamps that can be manipulated to hold both the connector and the wire in place so you still have two free hands to apply the heat and the solder. These are cheap items, and I know mine have paid for themselves many times over. You can pick up some helping hands online or at your local hobby shop.

Magnifying glass

If you are doing work on PCBs (printed circuit boards) you may need to get a magnifying glass. This will help you see the tracks on the PCB, and unless you have exceptional sight, small chip resistors are pretty difficult to solder on well without a magnifying glass. Ideally you want to use one attached to a stand or one that's designed to be mounted to the clamp stand. Magnifying glasses are readily available and are relatively inexpensive. We highly recommend that you pick up a helping hand with a magnifying glass attachment.

Solder Wick

Solder wick is a mesh the you lie on a joint and heat. When it heats up it also melts the solder which is drawn out of the joint. It is usually used for cleaning up solder from tracks on a circuit board, but you will need a solder sucker to clean out the holes in the circuit board. Place the wick on the solder you want to remove then put your soldering iron on top of the wick. The wick will heat up, then the solder will melt and flow away from the joint and into wick.

Desoldering Pump / Solder Sucker

If you don't have a solder station with built-in de-solderer, and you mostly work on circuit boards, you are going to need one of these before too long. They are spring loaded and pull the melted solder out of the joint. Solder suckers can be a bit tricky to use for the newbie, as you have to melt the solder with your iron, then quickly position the solder sucker over the melted solder and release the spring to suck up the solder. Solder wick is generally easier, but these are handy to have around.