I can already tell your not going to save much out of your pay check this week.
You better hang on to your wallet, its about to take a rough ride. :bigsmile:
Yeah, my wallet and CC is still smoking, my wife is going to kill me when she sees all the stuff I have been buying...even on "budget" ;)
You have to try your best to beat her to the mailbox and hope she doesn’t see the charges from her bank account.
Notice I said her bank account, its really mine and she refers to it as ours. 
What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine.
I don’t have a bank account, I have a wind tunnel
I still need a reflow station, and to build the Walmart arduino reflow oven
FastTech sell some useful things. Hakko 0.5mm tip. The ‘mechanic’ solder paste is good for reflow. I have been using the 1.5mm solder braid. This Goot flux is good for soldering onto things that don’t really want to be soldered to. Some magnifier glasses like these can help.
ESD tweezers:
http://www.fasttech.com/product/1568808
Do you have a multimeter (ideally one that can measure up to 10A current, and continuity beep/diode test)? They’re pretty useful too for diagnosing any problems. Other than that, some isopropyl alcohol to clean up. A good desolder pump is useful too.
@chloe I didn’t have any luck using the goot flux. Is there something I might have did wrong. I purchased it to solder to aluminum pills which is about impossible anyways.
I haven’t tried soldering to aluminium with it yet (only brass, battery connectors, neodymium magnets; it spits quite a bit so I wear safety glasses). Have you tried it on bare aluminium? I think you need to remove the oxide layer first with a wire/glass fibre brush.
The only thing I can say is that the FT wire is no good at all. When I was first starting out I tried that particular wire along with a few others from FT and they were no good. Get some Kester or MG Chemicals wire and you'll be much happier.
Looks like everyone else has got most of the bases covered!
do you know if that tip will fit an 888D? thanks..
The 900 series tips supposedly will fit, but the new T-18 tips are specified for that model. They are fairly pricey @ $5-$10 each. There are some posts over at EEV that have users saying a 900 will fit on the 888, but it is not “snug” and perhaps could result in a looser fit and thus, a cooler temp. There are also some product catalogs which describe the T-18 as an “updated” 900 series tip. Going totally off brand with generic tips can be really hit or miss.
As cheap as generics are, I would sure try some to find a few that would fit.
I would also consider getting a square of cement rock or other robust inflammable substrate for a firm base for high temp work. I have also seen a high temp silicone baking mat used. Some people also utilize a jig to hold components securely.
My .02 worth? Allis Tissue Forceps for clamping onto small objects, like holding extra 7135 chips to a driver, for soldering, or for holding any small parts, even for soldering while clamping. Ebay search link here.
I use 60/40 rosin core solder. It's because it melts at a fairly low temp and because it flows well. I also use a container of rosin flux and a tiny paint brush, like the ones for paint by number kits. I flux everything I solder. Flux makes the solder flow so easily. If you don't like the flux residue, you can clean it up with alcohol.
I did scrapped the aluminum pill with a knife and didn’t seem to help. But I have never had that good of a bond with anything else when soldering to aluminum either. I thought the goot flux might help, aluminum is just a stubborn alloy to solder to.
Just got some of this a couple days ago. Works great for re-flowing LEDs.
OL. Do you have a link to the rosin flux you use?
Thanks for this thread. I’ve been wondering the same thing but have been too busy to do the research…
Strange I have used the FT solder myself with no real problem. Did have a batch which were a bit light on flux though. When I started most solders weren’t multi-core so I tend to use separate flux a lot, could be the reason.
But I agree named good quality solder makes life easier and better.
I Puddle the flux then scrape the alu’ under the puddle so the air does not get at the alu’, then puddle the solder and scrape under the molten solder, a sharp chisel tip helps. As Chloe says spits and nasty fumes.
Thanks for this thread.