Well, there goes another $600

[madbean]

I've got both the Hakko FR300 and FX951 on the way. My trusty Aouye solder/desolder station has been a workhorse for the last three years but is just not keeping up. The desolder part constantly needs fiddling with to work well. The soldering iron part occasionally decides not to heat. I've already replaced both guns once. I guess there's no beating spending money on really good tools, though. At least it is a write off! Kinda peeved that the FX951 does not include a single tip, though.

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR300-05-FR300-De-soldering-carrying/dp/B00KWM69C4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414152058&sr=8-1&keywords=hakko+fr300

http://www.amazon.com/AMERICAN-HAKKO-PRODUCTS-INC-FX-951/dp/B0012B8NW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414152087&sr=8-1&keywords=hakko+fx951

[rullywowr]

Great choices!  I'm sure they will both treat you well.

[muddyfox]

i'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the fr300, its ridiculously expensive over here, i'd like a desoldering gadget but i wouldnt care much about spending money on something that's not worth the price of asking.

[madbean]

I'll definitely post my thoughts on both. I'm hoping these will last me at least 5-6 years...probably longer if I take good care of them.

[Leevibe]

Man, those both look sweet. I'd be interested to know how the desolder gun works too.

[playpunk]

If that ayoue lasted you three years, how long would it last a mere mortal?


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[sturgeo]

Desoldering gun?!? christ i thought i was being fancy with my ss-02 opposed to the traditional blue pumps!

Not sure i do anywhere near the amount of desoldering to justify a gadget like that though 

[gtr2]

Very nice!

Josh

[Govmnt_Lacky]

No considerations for SMD work Brian?

[pickdropper]

I've come close to pulling the trigger on the FR300.  At some point, I think I will.  That could be a useful thing to have around.

[jighead81]

I've used both of these when I worked for Hitachi...better than anything I've used since.

[jjanssen1]

I'm hoping these will last me at least 5-6 years...probably longer if I take good care of them.

The Weller soldering iron I was using before I (recently) got my Hakko FX-888D was over 20 years old with regular use from my Dad (when he was still an electronics engineer)
You can easily do SMD on the Hakko FX-888D but could never do it on the Weller
Cheers
Joshua

[madbean]

I've done SMD stuff even with the Aoyue. A pin tip and small core solder plus a flux pen was enough to get going. But, desoldering would be a different animal. For that I would use some tweezers or something else.

[madbean]

So, they are both pretty awesome. I've put in a fair amount of time with the solder pen. It works so well, and the unit heats up in less than 10 seconds! The desolder gun is larger than I thought and sounds like a dying yak when you pull the trigger, but it really does miles better than my previous one. It actually pulls all the solder out of the pads in one go most of the time.

So, I guess I can say it was probably worth the money. 

[pickdropper]

At least you have a good audio reference for that dying yak pedal you've been talking about designing.  ;-P