Harbor Freight Soldering Iron

[YEOJ]

Will the cheapy 30 watt soldering iron from HF be okay for building a few unregulated/regulated box mods?

 

[gandymarsh]

That's all I have. I bought it from Menard's for $3. For soldering wires, it works fine. Well, I also have a soldering gun that I used before I got the $3 one.

I plan to invest in a quality soldering station at some point. It's better to be able to control the temperature when soldering on boards with chips that are sensitive to heat.

 

[Visus]

Those soldering irons are hella hot but work fine for quick work. If you hold it on a regulator too long it will destroy it.

Practice with it before you do the deed.. Tin the tip, solder..

 

[JohnnyDill]

+1 regarding the HF soldering iron. I have built 4 mods with it, with no issues. I replaced the tip with a "quality" chisel tip and now it works even better.

 

[YEOJ]

+1 regarding the HF soldering iron. I have built 4 mods with it, with no issues. I replaced the tip with a "quality" chisel tip and now it works even better.

Good to hear.... what tip did you use? Was it from HF or HD or Lowes etc.

I saw that one of the reviewers used a piece of solid copper wire for a tip lol

 

[gandymarsh]

I saw that one of the reviewers used a piece of solid copper wire for a tip lol

Hmmmm That's a good idea.

 

[JohnnyDill]

Good to hear.... what tip did you use? Was it from HF or HD or Lowes etc.

I saw that one of the reviewers used a piece of solid copper wire for a tip lol

I picked up a chisel tip from Radio Shack when I needed some lead free solder.

 

[gandymarsh]

I bought a 3/16" brass rod from Fleet Farm for $1.99+tax. Cut it the same length as the other tip. Beveled the end with my Dremel. Works fine. The rod is 12" long so it's enough to make several tips.