Ryobi, a brand owned by Techtronic Industries (which also manufactures Milwaukee) prides itself on making top-quality tools that can be used by everyone, from new homeowners to professional ...

A soldering iron should have a feel and a grip that makes it easy to hold in your hand, as if it were a large pen. For electronics, you want a slim, needle-like tip to aid in getting the heat (and ...

If there is one tool every hardware hacker needs, it’s a good soldering setup. Soldering irons, heat guns, reflow ovens and the like make up the tools of the trade for building electronic circuits.

The $10 “fire-starter” is the most common beginner soldering iron. These are simple irons with a hot end, a handle, and little else. There’s no temperature control or indication. Despite their ...

If you enjoy hands-on work or detailed DIY projects, a dependable soldering tool can be exactly what you need to get the job done right. No matter if you’re repairing electronics, assembling ...

Not being able to solder puts a hard cap on the kinds of devices you can fix at home. As more modern devices add in circuit boards and discrete electronics (needed or otherwise), soldering is often ...

In the 1800s and early 1900s soldering irons were still heated by flame. The large copper tips on the irons were slow to heat and would at best store heat for only a few minutes. It was not uncommon ...

Electrical work on a car is not my favorite way to spend time in the garage. But having the right tools for the job can take most of the pain out of the process. I’ve found a wide variety of deals on ...

Every true tech geek worth his or her weight in solder and flux has been foaming at the mouth over a new infomercial on TV. It’s for a device called Cold Heat: a soldering iron that reportedly stays ...

If you need to make some simple electronics repairs, but don't have a soldering iron, you aren't completely doomed. You can use plenty of other tools, along with almost any heat source, to solder ...