Soldering is a skill just like driving a car, flying a 'plane or building a model boat.

It is something you need to learn. There are dozens of good tutorials on YouTube - I would start there.

I have seen people do an abysmal job using the most expensive equipment available and I have also seen perfect soldering with a $5 iron.

Whatever you buy it is not going to solder for you - YOU need to practice. Get hold of some junk electronics being thrown out like old stereos or cassette players and practice your soldering on that before moving up to anything else.

With all of that said, soldering a few wires to an EOS switch isn't exactly brain surgery BUT learning to solder might help you in many other ways.

FWIW, that Hakko with that tip would be perfect for the job you are suggesting as well as most pinball board work.

Richard

There are a while host of videos that can can watch on proper solder technique on You Yube. Remember you can buy the best gear but if you don’t have the expertise it will not help.

I had a Hakko wiki list to what you are looking at and hated it. I actually threw it away. Many will swear by them and that’s fine. I love their desoldering gun. Love it.

For me when it comes to soldering I really like to use my Weller butane powered tool. Fits nicely in your hand. No cords. Butane powered. Plenty of power if you will.

As for solder each has their own “best”. I like 60/40.

Hopefully this points you in the right direction. By the way, the Weller is way less expensive than the Hakko your considering.

G

This is my bench top unit and i’m a big fan of it. I use it for primarily for board work. I use a small screwdriver tip for most work and have no issues soldering wires onto coil lugs if i’ve taken the flipper mech to the bench. I generally take the mech out and do it on the bench now that i think about it.

That said i still prefer to use a pencil type iron for under playfield work. I use a 35 watt weller plugged into the service outlet in the game. I just can’t be bother to move everything over to the game to just to solder a couple wires.

A clean joint is an easier joint to solder. Oxidation is not your friend. Also, clean up the flux afterwards with some flux cleaner or isopropyl. Its a pet peeve of mine (not cleaning it off as its so simple). If you don’t we can’t be friends haha.

As for solder, here is a link that has lots if info for you to peruse.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/preferred-solder

On that game a flipper rebuild is usually new coil stop, new coil sleeve, and new plunger assembly.

I seriously doubt your EOS needs to be replaced.

This gives you time to check out videos on Youtube. Lots of good short how to videos. How to solder, heat a joint, flow the solder. Practice at a table with your tools and scraps of wire. Practice. In a short time you'll be good. Then move onto the machine if you want to.

LTG : )

a pair of surgical type forceps is good to have.

I do enjoy my Hakko fx888d but hadn't tried other equipment other that cheap $5 pencil irons it's good to have both.

electrical solder and electrical flux (plumbing flux from what I heard is extremely corrosive and bad)

I got a little plastic battery powered fan, the fumes leave a funny taste in your mouth. wash your hands after soldering and before eating especially if there is a bowl of popcorn around.

Understatement of the young year. Soldering is more times than not a three handed job and forceps may have saved my marriage lol.

This is overkill for in pin work; its the opposite of portable

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Weller-Electric-Lead-Free-Soldering-Kit/50419242

So, get a third hand. Mine has three clamps and no magnifier though.

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This is good for starters,and if you stick with it he shows how to solder a flipper coil

i like having a quality bench iron with temperature control even if it's not all that portable. i've had my Weller WESD51 for quite a few years now and it's helped to fix everything from ICs on PCBs to flybacks in arcade monitors. and yeah, replaced plenty of EOS switches with it too. the Hakko is probably ok (their recent products have a somewhat checkered reputation for reliability,) but for the same price you can get the newer version of the WESD51 which is the WE1010NA. i had a cheap plug-in pencil iron from Radio Shack before the Weller and it was kinda painful to use. the Weller heats up fast and i know when it's at temp, and i can dial it back if i'm working on delicate parts or turn it up a bit for 40-year-old coil lugs.

if you plan on doing a bunch of your own repairs, you can't really go wrong picking up a 1lb roll of Kester 60/40 solder. it'll last you probably until the end of time (or you fill your gameroom with more than 20 machines,) and is the Gold- i mean, Lead-Free Standard. i operate so my games get a lot of use, and i'm still going through the roll i bought at my local parts shop before they went out of business like six or seven years ago. RIP C&G Electronics.

i'd also recommend a cheap Soldapullt-style solder sucker. i have a knock-off that came as a freebie from Bob Roberts (legendary arcade parts supplier) and it's great for getting rid of old solder when you're doing work under a playfield. i have a trusty (and at this point ancient) Hakko 808 to do board-level repairs with but it's not worth pulling out for a switch or two. do you need it for one switch? probably not, but at under $10 it's a nice tool to have available.

Hah! I do have one of those as well, with magnifier. They’re great.

Why buy? Here is best method for doing delicate stuff such as surface mount PC boards. Use bigger pencils for coils.

I just watched this video. It's kinda long,and I was gonna watch it in a couple of sittings,but I ended up watching the whole thing. Just fast forward until the actual video starts.

Yes. When done check if it moves freely by hand. And a tiny bit of up and down play on the flipper bat. ( up and down not back and forth )

LTG : )

pins4u makes some excellent points. If you're lousy at soldering, you'll be lousy with a $200 iron as well as the $5 garage sale iron. I've been soldering for +40 years and I have no qualms using a $5 iron in a pinch and the joint will be just as good and clean as the $100 iron. Granted, a good temperature controlled iron with a good tip is definitely preferred for PWB work. I personally use some temperature controlled Weller's, but I bet those are +30 years old. When I eventually buy a new iron, it'll just be something that uses a temperature controlled tip that is common (i.e. not proprietary).

So this is what I would do: Get some decent 60/40 or 63/37 rosin core solder (i.e. has lead), flux (i.e. NOT plumber flux, it's acidic), some solderwick w/flux (all that stuff should be 'electronics safe') and grab some old stranded wire and go to town making slices and soldering/desoldering. Lead free solder will work, but it has a higher melting temperature, making it a harder to work with. Got a broken electronic gizmo setting on a shelf? Tear it apart and start to practice unsoldering and resoldering parts.

You'll be a pro in no time! When you're ready to move to SMD (surface mount), Amazon has some nice practice SMD boards for about $8ish.

Good luck and don't overthink it, it's not that hard.

Soldering takes practice. But that being said, it is not overly difficult to learns the basics. I have the Hakko FX888 as my benchtop unit and I really like it (although that is comparing it to the ancient Radio Shack one I had prior). I did just pick up one of these units on Amazon for my pinball "bag" and so far it has worked great and takes up no space whatsoever.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08R3515SF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

Looks interesting. I do like the bench version better because of the stand (I'd hate for the iron to roll off the cheaper stand and damage something).

Do you know if the tips are more generic or specific to this iron? Regardless, not bad to just toss in the pinball tool bag.

Without digging into my to go bag, I think they are fairly generic.

For as much I worry about not being able to get replacement tips, I bet my Weller's haven't been replaced in a decade! Of course, I don't use them everyday, plus I keep them clean (damp sponge). Wonder if it's ESD safe?

The left one seems to be what pinball life sells which is translucent now. The right is just made out of opaque tan plastic. The tiny little bit of dirt on the right sleeve will wash off. That sleeve looks almost brand new.

Seems like you're doing a flipper rebuild just to do one. Hopefully you're not throwing away good parts.

Chip on the edge. Worn on the opposite end. Scored inside. Toss it.

LTG : )

That was my mindset on my first flipper rebuild. As I was building them with the new parts I was like “they’re just cleaner parts, this is a placebo pill of a job”
Then I hit the orbit on my Mata Hari and the ball ripped all the way around for the first time I’ve ever seen it do that and I was sold. Rebuilds are a must!