Ever have your Weller Soldering Gun tip burn out just before you finished a job?
Neil at Radio8Z has a How To Do It tip to keep that gun humming.
Check it out at The ALPB How To Do It page.
http://thealpb.com/how-to-do-it.html
This trick shared by Neil can really be helpful in a pinch.
The Weller Soldering Gun was the first soldering tool I ever owned and was a key piece of equipment for our recording service, and sure enough, under the pressure of time when something needed to be repaired right away, the tips often broke.
A few times I limped along by trying to get the broken copper tips to hold together by pressure, but this was fumbling clumsy.
Radio8Z knows a way.
I have one. Haven't used it in maybe 20 or 30 years.
A temperature controlled soldering station such as my Weller WESD51 is all I need and it does a much better job of soldering, particularly on modern electronics. It will solder anything from delicate integrated circuits to heavy wires. It's rated at 60 watts, but the high power only kicks to keep the tip at the selected temperature, such as when the tip is contacting a major heat absorber like heavy wires. The adjustable constant temperature is the key. 550 degrees for semiconductors, 650 degrees for other components, and max out at 800 degrees for the big wire jobs.
Even if my solder gun wasn't broken, I wouldn't even consider using it. My advice to newcomers who expect to do some good soldering is to buy an adjustable temperature soldering station. The brand isn't all that important, its all about the "adjustable temperature". Google: "adjustable temperature soldering station".
Since we are diverging a bit I'll add that in the old days the soldering gun was good for use on tube equipment where things were bigger and less heat sensitive than with today's electronics. Once you use a temperature controlled iron there is no going back. There is a difference in brands though and I have been pleased with my Haako unit, not so with some others I have tried.
The Weller gun is still useful for large jobs such as making antennas from #12 copper wire, making ground radial ring connections, attaching PL259 connectors, and sheet metal work. Since I don't have to choose one over the other I use both.
Neil
Also, with solid state devices that are static sensitive, soldering guns are a bad idea. Not to mention electric/magnetic fields induced by the gun can damage componets as well.