Whatnot Widgets 10 Piece Electronic Soldering Iron Station Kit with On/Off Switch, Adjustable Temperature 110V Electric 48 Watt Iron, 3 Tips, Helping Hands, Stand, Solder, Sucker, Wick, Tip Cleaner

When I look for any kind of product, I spend quite a bit of time to find the item with the features I need at the lowest price. The biggest drawback to this habit, is that it often means you're on your own if anything goes wrong. When my kit arrived, I thought I had gotten an incredible deal, because all the items that come with the soldering iron were well-made, and extremely useful. Then, I tried to turn the iron on, and got nothing from it. I sighed, envisioning a major hassle to return it, then wait for a replacement, but I had already started using the magnifying glass item, and didn't want to part with it and delay the projects I'd begun, using it. I figured I'd gotten my money's worth anyway, so I just abstained from writing a review, since I couldn't honestly say anything positive about the iron, even though I love the kit. A few days ago, I found an old message from the seller, asking me if I liked my purchase.I decided to respond, and detailed the broken iron, and my reasons for keeping it anyway. I didn't ask for any money back, and I didn't request a new one. I just wanted to let them know why I had refused to write a review, when I try to do so for most things from Amazon. I rely heavily on the reviews written by other people, so I see it as my way to thank other shoppers to chime in when I can.A few days ago, the seller made it right. It had been over a year since my purchase, but the seller cared enough to fix thing anyway. Now, I can honestly say the iron works as well as the soldering iron works as well as, if not better than, the soldering stations I had used as an electronics technician, that were well over $100 more than a decade ago. It heats rapidly, and it's very easy to set the temperature exactly to your preferences and keep it there. It's impossible to ensure that every iron will arrive in perfect condition, but I truly believe that for this company, it's a very rare occurrence. I would absolutely recommend this kit for experts, hobbyists and even students just beginning to learn how to use it. In fact, I plan to buy another one, for my son when he goes to college. You can't really go wrong, buying a soldering iron this useful, inexpensive, and backed by amazing customer care.

1. The soldering iron as many people have said, doesn't heat up enough, the shaft gets hot, and It takes a while @ higher than required temperatures to melt the solder. I had to switch to a thinner solder instead of the one that was provided to get it to melt. It also comes with extra tips and I did have some difficulty replacing the tips simply because the tip itself needs to be screwed in, along with 2 screws on the side that must also be removed, and replaced. Well, screwing in the tip causes the screw holes on the side to move out of position, making it difficult and cumbersome to replace the screws.2. The solder sucker: Couldn't get it to work, I think the tip is to big for the small electronics project I had going, or that it just wasn't sucking strongly enough.3. The soldering iron holder: The holder is of decent weight and doesn't tip over, and the brass does the job.4. The solder wick: Couldn't get it to wick away solder, I think the iron just wasn't getting hot enough to penetrate through the wick and melt the solder at the same time.5. The helping hands: Decent, no major issues. It does still maintain a swivel at the joints even when tightened down, but it wasn't a major issue when holding boards.6. The solder: 60/40. It's a little thick, which made it hard to melt with the soldering iron.I am beginner hobbyist so this kit was OK to test whether I not I'll remain in the hobby. Since I have decided that I Will, I'll definitely be purchasing a better quality iron.

Buying this kit can be one of the most ergonomic decisions you can make in soldering repairs. However, a few of the included items stand out from the rest:Soldering Iron: Unlike many other irons, this one has a dial function that allows you to approximately control the right temperature. This may be useful if you want to find the lowest temperature that can still melt your solder. Though one word of caution is to avoid using high temperatures, for prolonged periods, on any circuit board. Some of the board components can lose function after exposure to too much heat, or an average amount of heat for too long.Helping Hands: This is a handy, ubiquitous tool. You may use it to hold wires together, or find a use for it in eye glasses repair. One tip I learned was to either put heat shrink or electrical tape around the alligator teeth to avoid cutting your wires. You can easily manipulate the ball and socket joints of the hands to get your right angle. But sometimes there seems to be an issue with torque, where holding the magnifying glass in one way will tip the entire helping hands over. One recommendation is to tilt the magnifying glass in the opposite direction of the alligator teeth. Or place a heavy item at the base of the helping hand stand. Although the stand was mostly not an issue and holds the wires in place.The Stand: There is not much to say. The stand has a good weight (it's made from metal). I had no problems with it when placing the soldering iron in its hole. I particularly like the quality of the metal since it doesn't look cheap.Brass sponge: It's pretty nice to scrape off extra solder when a wet sponge can't do it right. You can remove it from the stand to clean the receptacle it sits in.One thing this kit could improve on is adding flux paste (which perhaps would raise the price too). Overall I am wholly satisfied with my purchase. Every tool in the box makes soldering easier. But if you had to buy the kit, I recommend looking at the noteworthy items I mentioned above to see if they suit your interest.

Proper Tining & knowledge for first time users. You MUST: PROPERLY, WARM AND GIVE TIME FOR YOUR INITIAL HEATING OF THE TOOL AND THEN TIN YOUR POINT ON THE BIT WELL BEFORE YOU BEGIN SOLDERING,..I INCLUDED PICTURES AND IM HOPING FEEDBACK ON PROPER TINNING, FOR MYSELF AS WELL. BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A TINNED POINT, I ASK IF ANY FEEDBACK DOES IT LOOK TINNED PROPERLY?