this is true the cord matters. the iron itself is very light
20 grams without tip and cord
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I’m confused now should I ask for this thing instead of the TS80 or SQ100 for Christmas?
Would prefer to not send my poor grandparents to AliExpress.
Portability not required. Just want to solder big connectors and wire.
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just get the ts100 from USA amazon or ebay. I got mine from ebay UK 
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That’s my favorite iron. Never failed to solder the biggest wire.
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Yeah I remember that one. It’s the one that makes me consider the power trade-off of the TS iron for some level of modesty. Honestly I could see it working well for me in conjunction with a TS80…
The TS100 is so good because it is so efficient at putting down the power, 65~100W irons more regularly than not will perform signifigantly worse.
The TS80 is only like 16 watts and outperforms my old 100W iron even on 12awg wires, I think for most applications its my favourite. USB C is a great plus for me too, no power brick or lipo needed just a regular outlet and a light thin usb cable going into it.
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All the DIY I’ve done have been with my TS100, and no errors or problems to date.
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So much this. 400 degree C sustained on 10AWG for longer than needed.
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you need to update the firmware on the ts 100, mine still reads like 20 C lower than it should. also 24-26 volt is what you want to output (6s lipo for mobile stuff and Mean Well LRS-100-24 for stationary use). anything else is just lackluster. keep the temperature lower to save on the lifespan of the tip. so only wack it up on larger stuff. and keep the tip tinned. brass sponge works way better. good solder: 63/37 with RA flux. I got 2 lbs of 16 awg and 20 awg both MG chemicals, got it from arrow.com. bunch of other brands are good to but for European folks I think that is a good mix between price/performance. I use a mix of pasty, syringe and pen style flux for different applications.
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If you want to solder small stuff with the ts100 print an extension grip. This makes the tip length even shorter than jbc stations.
Or just overdo it like me and make an even longer grip xD (heat is a problem tho… I’ll put some ventilation holes in next time I think)
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The first pic, does that area heat up a lot?
I’d imagine it’ll be a goopy PLA mess when in use haha
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that is real smart. been thinking about doing something similar. do you mind charing the stl file or link to where you got it?
my only concern is that the iron get’s back heavy if you do that. and especially if you have a thick coord connected at the back.
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Exactly what I was talking about. The handle for the linked unit looks chunky though. Maybe worth it to get a genuine Hakko wand?
The nicer stations have skinny wands with the grip close to the tip, and very slinky flexible silicone wire.
Most of the good stations are like 30w, with some newer ones being 65w. Really don’t need much power as long as it’s delivered effectively.
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Finally uploaded it for you guys. It’s a pretty basic design but it feels very nice when soldering smd. The whole grip is just wedged between the tip and case and is solid enugh when tightening the screw for the tip.
As far as @Linny’s concern like the print heating up that’s not the case for the small grip. The long one got a bit soft after about an hour or so of smd soldering.
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The diameter is 14mm. The limiting part is the thick part at the back of the tip that has to fit through the grip.
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For eliminating the softness in the long version, it’s under $20 US to get it in steel from shapeways.
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sweet thanks!
however normally I dont use the little screw at all so that I can change tips quicker.
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Or I could just add ventilation holes 
steel is too heavy and would balance weird I guess
I normally don’t use it either but for a smd session with a short tip I do and it’s worth it
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Nah this section on the iron is still easy to touch after I duno 20 min of soldering, so maybe not PLA but PETG, ABS/ASA or nylon should be fine.
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