koalohapaul
Well-known member
Gotta new toy coming in soon. We've burnt out a bunch of soldering equipment. From pencil irons to guns, we'll kill it. I was just about to get a new gun, when one of my former employees came to visit. He moved to Japan, to work for his father in law's business. They make a lot of the circuit board components that you'll find in calculators, copy machines, etc. Anyway, the owner of the company has two daughters - Neither wants to take over the business. So, he moved to Japan to work there, and possibly inherit the company. The deal was, he had to start at the bottom and work his way up. Which brings me to the point of relevance.
Mark does a lot of soldering. He's currently working in the quality/testing department. Basically, they abuse stuff, take it apart, and try to fix them. In the process, they determine what works and what doesn't. On my way out, I asked him what they use and he referred me to a Japanese brand called Hakko. The price of $700 initially scared me off, but Brian looked them up online and lo and behold! They're actually much cheaper in America. Hakko has an American division, selling the same equipment, just cheaper. I can't figure it out, and I'm curious as to why, but I'm not complaining.
So, Brian's going to order one of these.
http://hakkousa.com/detail.asp?CID=49,113&PID=1258&Page=1
Digital readout and temperature control. What I like most is the component design. If a part goes bad, I can replace the part, rather than buy a whole new tool.
Mark does a lot of soldering. He's currently working in the quality/testing department. Basically, they abuse stuff, take it apart, and try to fix them. In the process, they determine what works and what doesn't. On my way out, I asked him what they use and he referred me to a Japanese brand called Hakko. The price of $700 initially scared me off, but Brian looked them up online and lo and behold! They're actually much cheaper in America. Hakko has an American division, selling the same equipment, just cheaper. I can't figure it out, and I'm curious as to why, but I'm not complaining.
So, Brian's going to order one of these.
http://hakkousa.com/detail.asp?CID=49,113&PID=1258&Page=1
Digital readout and temperature control. What I like most is the component design. If a part goes bad, I can replace the part, rather than buy a whole new tool.
