Surface mount soldering. I don't like it.

[CodeMonk]

How does that type R tip work - does the solder paste hold the component in place?  I'd be worried that I'd miss and squash the chip or something. 

The link: https://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/type_r.html
Has a picture on its use.
You can size it by several dimensions.
Keep your hand steady and there should be few issues, the paste should provide enough hold. Use a light touch.

See the image on that page?
The SMD IC?
The tip I used was only a bit larger than the leads on that chip.
And I mainly did those chips. But would swap tips for caps, resistors, etc.

Its really not that difficult to make your own though.
An exacto blade or a dremel and your options are damn near unlimited.

Edit:
This one is similar, but seems to be a bit large: https://www.amazon.com/American-Hakko-Products-Inc-3-2Mm/dp/B001HPGJ02/ref=sr_1_221?dchild=1&keywords=soldering+iron+tips+type+R&qid=1602570568&sr=8-221

Edit2: I've browsed Amazon a bit and I can't find anything like what I used. I'm bit surprised at that. It proved to be a very useful mod. And this was back around 87 - 89

[rockola]

I've found I actually quite enjoy the challenge of hand-soldering SMD parts. Will have to give that chisel tip a go for sure. Here's one I prepared earlier, with a SOT-23 JFET. I have a handful of through-hole JFETs saved for a rainy day but all my own designs/layouts will use SMD JFETs from now on. This one's the Echoplex preamp - see https://github.com/rockola/pimentero - getting 3 PCBs flown in all the way from California for $1.80 is quite nice.