My new toy: Evolution of the soldering iron..

[ripley802]

Well I have come quite a ways with soldering from when I first started out. I first bought a little $6 unit at Harbor Freight. I repaired my very first engine (motor swap) with it which sealed the deal for me and my love for repairing these trains. I then went through probably 7 of these units and finally stepped it up with the Weller unit which was around $28. This was hands down the best I had used and I loved this one. I have had it for some time now and while it has been great I wanted to upgrade. Enter in the Hakko FX-888D unit. While I have not used it yet, I cannot wait. I have watched several reviews and researched this one quite a bit. The variable temp, quick heating, and modular base are some of the benefits. The sponge and the wire cleaning spots are cool too.

Left to right, cheap-o unit - not so cheap-o unit..