I'm in the market for a soldering iron (I have a $15 RadioShack iron right now, and it works, but its not good for small electronics projects and it's hard to find new tips for)
Is the Weller iron "just a cheap iron" or is it still good? I'm a teen so I can't really afford to go drop $150 on a "real" soldering station, so I need something relatively affordable that will still get the job done. I'm not trying to start the next Adafruit here, just need to be able to do stuff for little Arduino projects, work with model trains and RC planes, etc etc.
I was more asking "Can I get by with the Weller one, or do I absolutely need to buy a proper temperature regulated one?" because the Hakko one is absolutely the top of my budget. I guess the 5-6 people I've talked to on and off the internet who've said WELLER! answers my question XD
Actually, if you re-tin the soldering tip after you file it a little it works just fine with no damage. I've done this myself a few times with good results.
I'd advise against the Weller. Haven't heard many good reviews about them...
Instead, have a look at the Aoyue 469. It's a great workstation with terrific value. I have one myself and seem to be 'borrowing' my dad's more professional soldering irons a lot less frequently. Replaceable tips too! So you won't have to file anything down.
There is nothing wrong with s good Weller Station. Have the WESD51 and love mine it to death, though I know that's way out of your budget. The first Weller you posted should do you just fine, though I have to admit that Aoyue 936 station looks awesome for the money, and would get my vote over the $45 Weller for having temperature control.
I would highly recommend a stand to hold wires together, a vacuum solder sucker, some good wire strippers, tweezers also come in handy when dealing with smaller electronics
I'm actually debating whether or not I should splurge and get a $100 one like the Hakko FX-888D or whatever their famous one is. Do I need that or is it way more soldering iron than I'll need?
If you need an expensive soldering iron, you will know you do. I was soldering stuff nearly everyday and kept on breaking cheaper irons, or getting frustrated with incorrect temps/long warm up times, so I could justify the price. A decent $50 iron will likely last you a long time, and give you a chance to spend more money on other stuff.
Now if this is something that is going to be used all the time, then sure, spoil yourself a little, but only if you can really afford to do so
Okay, the only thing I'd heard about the $40 Weller is that the temperature will jump up and down a lot. Is this likely a lie? I know its not temperature controlled but it should stay ABOUT the same right?
I can imagine the temperature changing a lot, but just staying hot enough to get the job done for basic solder needs. It clearly is not designed for precise temperature control, having no ability to control it at all.
Does the Aoyue station take the same tips as the Hakko 936 (since it appears to be a 936 clone)? My concern with the Aoyue is that since it's not a "big" brand like Weller or Hakko, I won't be able to find parts or a tip anywhere when I need it. At that price, I'm not TOO concerned with a replaceable heating element, but a good selection of tips is very important to me. I do everything from soldering speaker wire for a model train layout control system, to soldering tiny through-hole things for kits and RC planes, to soldering less-than-22ga wires together for DCC decoders for model trains, and more, so I need quite the selection of tip sizes.
I ordered some Hakko tips from ebay and they're perfect fit. And the heating element is replaceable as well. Mine came with a spare and you can buy more from their website.
If you're in the US you can consider a Weller WES51. They're solid soldering stations, very similar to the older WECP-20 and EC1002 models from the 80's. Still, if you're looking for Chinese soldering stations you can check out Ningbo-Zhongdi and Sorny Roong Industrial (Solomon).