Soldering

[pickdropper]

I'm a firm believer in buying the best tool you you can afford, the right and decent quality tool for the job can make a world of difference in how easy the job becomes and how well the job is completed. Weller and Haiko make very good workstations/irons for reasonable amounts of money and Weller, at least for me, easy to source tips for when they do wear out or need a different tip better suited to the next job.

Kester is a good brand of solder, lots of types and sizes tailored to different jobs, have seen lots of people happy with Radio Shack solder.

(Walmart... I wouldn't even buy socks there.)
dave

Yes, yes, yes.

Certainly one can learn to solder with a low quality iron, but I am not sure I see the benefit.  I too learned on a junk Radio Shack iron and I always felt like I fought it.  The handle got hot, it consumed tips, there was nothing really redeeming about it.  When I bought a cheap weller temperature controlled station, it was so much better.  I then upgraded to a much nicer Weller that I have now and that has been even more of an improvement.  Having a good station with adjustable temperature and the ablity to easy change out different geometry tips makes soldering so much more enjoyable.  Plus, the tips often last much longer with the better irons, so that can reduce the cost delta a bit.  If you think you are going to stick with DIY hobbies, I'd recommend getting something nice now.  You can always sell it down the road if you don't need it anymore.

I also recommend Kester Solder.  I prefer 63/37 blend myself, but there are many options.

[upthepunxxx]

Practice. I always made my own cables but that didn't have to happen to often. until I started really getting into soldering electronics I started to understand the concept of soldering. I still remember the first time I made a good looking shinny glob free joint. It was awesome!! The weller wes51 (the analog one) and Kester solder really did help take my soldering to the next level.
http://youtu.be/eGDBR2L5kzI

[RobA]

I went from a moderately decent solder station to the Hakko because I got tired of the tips wearing out too fast on the old station and I didn't want to pay to replace them again. Since I got the Hakko, I haven't had a tip wear out. The unforeseen benefit is that I haven't had a single bad solder joint since I moved to the Hakko -- none, not one.

The amount of time I've saved by not having to debug builds has way more than made up the $50 or so difference between a really good solder station and the just OK thing I had before.