$100 Amazon Gift Card. What should I buy?

[Feral Feline]

Never heard of the Lead Wipes before, thanks @Dan M !

The goggles look good, too.

 

[Joben Magooch]

They are a bit spendy for snips, but they're Knipex, so you know it's good...

Wire-catching snips.

They have a little spring-loaded bar that catches the leads as you snip away. Don't have to worry about bits going flying or whatnot. Kind of a luxury thing but I love them.

 

[BuddytheReow]

What hookup wire on Amazon is recommended? I ordered some from Tayda but they left it off my order and haven't gotten back with me about it so no telling how long it will be before I get some. Might as well order from Amazon.

Honestly, I've had no problems with some of the cheaper solid core stuff. Not sure if you like solid or stranded wire. Both have their pros and cons. A box of this will get you dozens of builds.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KQFHV7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon.com

 

[MichaelW]

Man, I don't have a fume extractor, that might explain the strange growths coming out the side of my head with all the soldering I do.
I do have a ceiling fan over my bench though.....

 

[giovanni]

What hookup wire on Amazon is recommended? I ordered some from Tayda but they left it off my order and haven't gotten back with me about it so no telling how long it will be before I get some. Might as well order from Amazon.

It depends. If you like stranded, I usually go for 24-26 AWG or higher, there are plenty of options on Amazon!

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Amazon.com

You could get a few!

 

[Harry Klippton]

Man, I don't have a fume extractor, that might explain the strange growths coming out the side of my head with all the soldering I do.
I do have a ceiling fan over my bench though.....

Blowing those fumes right back at you

 

[Fizz]

Amazon.com

You could get a few!

Did I miss something here?

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

Perhaps you missed my inability to take anything seriously. That's all though. Fume extractor is a good call though if you don't already have one.

 

[sticky1138]

If you think you'll be in it for the long run (who am I kidding, you will be), then it's worth it to invest in a good iron if you don't already have one.

I started out with a cheap $20 Weller and ended up spending $10/month replacing the crappy tips because they rounded off quickly. I switched to a Hakko FX-600 and I'm going strong on the same tip at least eight months later, so it paid for itself.

 

[Feral Feline]

Man, I don't have a fume extractor, that might explain the strange growths coming out the side of my head with all the soldering I do.
I do have a ceiling fan over my bench though.....

I'm currently just using a large table-fan to suck it away from where I'm working, but it blows it towards the furnace which then redistributes the lead throughout the house;
also, the room itself still fills up with lead fumes, it's just not as noticeable 'cause the PPM goes way down when you're not huffing it right off the solder iron.

I did buy some ducting and a duct-fan and was going to blow the fumes out the basement window, which I still plan on doing. Should create some interesting flowers and tomatoes next season. Just need to figure out how to cut a hole in the window and have it still close so the pending snows don't come in, hang the ducting tube over the work-bench without it being in the way, rig up a switch and power for the duct-fan, then fab a place to put the filters in line with the fan/duct-work...

Oh sod it. I'm just going to spend more money and get a pre-fabbed standalone fan with cartridge filters. My Solder-Sifu always says, don't waste time building the tools you need to work with when you could be working on the things you need to build (loosely translated). That one DAN M linked to looked good and I bet is far cheaper than a Gen-U-Whine Hakko extractor-fan.

Did I miss something here?

You just use the bear's stuffing in the filter section of your fume-extractor. Cheaper than the custom-fit charcoal filters made for your extractor. If you're doing a particularly heavy job, you just stuff the whole bear in the hole and guaranteed no fumes shall pass.

 

[Laundryroom David]

Honestly, I've had no problems with some of the cheaper solid core stuff. Not sure if you like solid or stranded wire. Both have their pros and cons. A box of this will get you dozens of builds.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088KQFHV7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon.com

Same here. Fwiw and ymmv and whatever other acronyms there may be … I prefer solid core, but I’ve had no issues with either that I’ve gotten. No magic to it I’ve found.

 

[Harry Klippton]

I'm currently just using a large table-fan to suck it away from where I'm working, but it blows it towards the furnace which then redistributes the lead throughout the house;
also, the room itself still fills up with lead fumes, it's just not as noticeable 'cause the PPM goes way down when you're not huffing it right off the solder iron.

I did buy some ducting and a duct-fan and was going to blow the fumes out the basement window, which I still plan on doing. Should create some interesting flowers and tomatoes next season. Just need to figure out how to cut a hole in the window and have it still close so the pending snows don't come in, hang the ducting tube over the work-bench without it being in the way, rig up a switch and power for the duct-fan, then fab a place to put the filters in line with the fan/duct-work...

Oh sod it. I'm just going to spend more money and get a pre-fabbed standalone fan with cartridge filters. My Solder-Sifu always says, don't waste time building the tools you need to work with when you could be working on the things you need to build (loosely translated). That one DAN M linked to looked good and I bet is far cheaper than a Gen-U-Whine Hakko extractor-fan.




You just use the bear's stuffing in the filter section of your fume-extractor. Cheaper than the custom-fit charcoal filters made for your extractor. If you're doing a particularly heavy job, you just stuff the whole bear in the hole and guaranteed no fumes shall pass.

The lead doesn't make it into the fumes but the rosin fumes aren't good either

 

[fig]

A large room, and a good DMM

 

[steviejr92]

A large room, and a good DMM

Doubling down on the large room part…..

 

[Feral Feline]

The lead doesn't make it into the fumes but the rosin fumes aren't good either

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

A large room, and a good DMM

Please send me the Amazon link for a large room that’s under $100! I could certainly use a few

 

[steviejr92]

Please send me the Amazon link for a large room that’s under $100! I could certainly use a few

Yeah I’d buy a couple myself..

 

[fig]

Please send me the Amazon link for a large room that’s under $100! I could certainly use a few

Oops, that was AliExpress.

 

[DAJE]

I only solder next to an open window with a fan blowing across my workspace towards the window. That's my version of a fume extractor, the only problem being that during the colder months I don't have much time to get things finished before it's too cold and dark for open windows.