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I can say that I absolutely detest the Kester 951 noclean flux, but that is just my opinion.  I FAR prefer the Kester 186 RMA flux.

Hey, an opinion just as valid (perhaps even more so) than any other! Having never used flux pen, 951 was my best guess.
Having no access to flux cleaners over here (IPA is still debatable, I'm having an argument with the local pharmacy that I'm not likely to win), why would I choose 186 over 951 that's supposedly maintenance-free? Take me to school, Pick! 

I'm sorry folks, I need to keep this going... 

Two points I came across in my web preparation that I'm now unsure of.
- apparently it's recommended not to mix fluxes - would I have problems with using Kester 951 noclean pen and what little rosin (resin? never sure which) core there is in 1mm solder?
- noclean fluxes and potential for corrosion later on? Supposedly it's noclean but I'm sure it leaves something on the board and I can't really tell how conductive or corrosive it may be long(ish) term.

I'm sure these questions will seem quite silly a year down the road but right now they are a big deal. 

Oh I will... i have f(x) board coming in and also my own two smd layouts getting shipped from itead and seeed right about now. Kits bought off ebay, tweezers and flux pen ready to go. Now all I need is a smaller tip and the boards to get here and I'll get started losing parts all over the room.   

OK thanks guys... you just convinced me to go with a small conical tip (I don't have anything smaller than 1.8mm chisel right now). Would 1mm be enough? That's smack in the middle between 0603 and 0805 so I'm guessing I should be fine with that? Or should I go smaller, like 0.8mm (0603 width) or even 0.6?

Interesting. Having no smd experience and seeing how the end of a smd part is perpendicular to the pad, one would (well, I would) think that a chisel tip would fit perfectly at the contact point and certainly transfer heat better to both surfaces than a conical tip?

What sort of iron tip do you find you use most?

EDIT: hah! wrote at the same time... is there a way to delete a post? if there is, I can't find it...

Thanks Rully!

I'm gonna go with the soldering iron for now, as fun as barbecuing boards may be. 
I only build a few boards (at best) a month and time-saving is not a concern, especially if it necessitates another (rather large) piece of hardware.

I think I'm gonna go with 1/32 chisel to start things off with and change if I don't end up feeling it.

@Rully: yeah, I've seen that listing (isn't it Hong Kong?) and they are on my short 2buy list when I get my paycheck in two weeks. Getting the f(x) package kinda drained my hobby budget for this month.  Also, I didn't consider them for this build as the D package (as far as I understand it and admittedly it's not all that far) is double in both length and width the 1210 size?

@f(x) kru: Brian, that's great news. Not just because you are sparing a few of us the hassle of spending (comparatively) big bucks on three bits of sand but mostly because you give enough furry creature's bee-hind about your customers (who's money you already have) to discuss the matter amongst yourselves without any arm-twisting on the boards. The fact that you did all that of your own accord earns all y'all at f(x) HQ major propz from me and a big ole thank you.

Still, if there's any sort of a group buy happening, I'd still be in just to stock up on this sort of thing. Paul?

Would you happen to have a source for those that doesn't stick you with $50 in shipping cost? I'd love to upgrade my 3pdts but I don't know which ebay sellers can be trusted (or even banzai and musikding for that matter)...

I'm sorry, is there a link or an attachment I'm not seeing?

[not]

Really, caps too? Apart from the flimsy leads on the resistors, whatever I used (resistors and caps) was remarkably close to the the advertised component value.

My main problem is that higher quality stuff (Smallbear etc) is simply out of my reach. With shipping costs across the pond being what they are I just can't sustain this hobby on anything more expensive than your run-off-the-mill chinese "crap", for lack of a better word. 100 tl074s for $10? 10000 resistors for $10? How can they not be iffy? But in this day and age where job (however lousy the pay may be) security is pretty much nonexistent, even places like musikding and banzai are beyond my reach. And once in a while I like to be able to fund a small board or two from (again) cheapest fabhouses out there, itead and seeed. So I just roll the dice. So far, several dozen pedals into it, I've only had one or two 3pdts acting flakey. Would I like to be able to get the "good stuff"? Absolutely. But situation is what it is right now and I need to act accordingly. If that means dealing with material that even far east considers a reject, so be it. I don't play out. I don't sell my pedals. Occasionally I give them away with a strongly emphasized caveat that it's made from the cheapest materials I could get my hands on (knock wood, none ever came back) and even less frequently do I even play my pedals (as I'm a hack player at best). I solder as a form of work therapy  , it's something I do to relax at the end of a crappy day. Even if they end up nonfunctional in the box of shame, they've served their purpose. And so has Tayda. I know the risks and I still choose to give them some of my money. I'd rather give it all to Paul (chromesphere) if I could (and I do whenever he has something that's even remotely interesting to me). But the width of Tayda offerings just make it impossible for me to ignore them, questionable quality notwithstanding.

Boy, this has turned into an unexpected rant... Sorry about that...

All I'm saying is that Tayda has it's place. If I had to pay local prices back when I was starting out, I never would have made more than one pedal.
Soon enough does one realize Tayda's pluses and minuses and adjusts accordingly.

i'd never ever buy 1n34a's from them again but i love their 16mm alpha pots with the plastic cap (not to use that other word). now if they would only stock 25k ones...

And what's the original six-eyed thing about? Very curious, never seen anything like it...

By the way: there is gold and silver missing for tolerance ;.)

If he tolerated the pain involved in this, what's 10% deviation from value...