Hakko FX601-02 - Soldering Iron with High Heat Capacity

Bought this because I was doing two panels with an old Weller on a temperature controller that was very fussy about keeping a consistent temperature. With stained glass it is plug in, wait to heat up, solder, wipe, wait, repeat. Except waiting for it to get back up to temperature took longer and longer, even when wiping it clean with a dry bronze wool pad rather than a moist sponge. Sometimes it would just take a break and not really announce itself, so I'd have to set it aside and admire my unfinished work for a bit before it decided it was ready to work again. Sure, it's probably 20-30 years old, but I was only asking for some consistency. Bought this at the tail end of the project and this is a dream soldering iron. Light, with a temperature controller on the handle, the Hakko fires up quickly and maintains it's temperature so that you can get work done faster and bead the solder better and easier. The ceramic core keeps the heat steady and even when wiping down with the moist sponge, this comes back to temperature so quickly you don't miss a step. I've known lots of people doing stained glass who bought iron after iron looking for the one that made their soldering look good. The problem was always trying to find an iron with a consistent temperature and ability to recover from the cleaning process. Some people never really got the knack of listening to the rhythms of the iron. And as their irons got older, itheygot a bit more touchy about heating up and staying heated up. This might just be the solution they were looking for. Certainly, the old Weller is going into my drawer in favor of this little beauty. Treat her gently, use the old temperature controller for a dimmer switch on some lamp and have at it with this one. This is an iron that is well worth the money and probably the only iron you'll need. Starting out, get one iron and make it this one.

Easily the best iron I have used for stained glass projects. The cord is very heavy duty, so any accidental burns won’t immediately slice through the cord. The cord is also a decent length to make plugging in easier. The temperature dial on the iron it’s self is great - you don’t need to buy a separate item to plug into to keep the temperature stable. It is also very handy if you work with different blends of solder so you can easily adjust up or down. There is a light on the handle that indicates when the iron is heated up and ready to use, and typically takes less than a minute to heat up. This was my first iron from when I started 6 years ago and it is still going strong. I purchased these for all of my classroom kits and expect them to last for years to come.

Excellent soldering iron for making copper foil stained glass. Easy to use, lightweight and nice temperature control

I highly recommend this iron for foiled stained glass. (I haven't worked with lead came at all, so cannot comment on how this iron works for that.) This iron heats up extremely fast, has high heat capacity for those long solder beads, has temperature control (no rheostat needed) and just works. This will be our main iron for stained glass. It's probably also good for electronics, at least with smaller tips.

I solder, alot. All of my solder beads are just that, beads. This is the first soldering iron I have used to where, I don't have a tiny bead, I can just solder with a perfect connection and it just looks like the wire is tinned. I am like a jeweler with this thing. I got a chisel and needle tip for precise soldering and I am surprised that I get as minimal of a solder with the chisel as I do the needle. I have an almost threadlike solder I use now and I can put that solder exactly where I want it to go without any blobbing, mess or just not getting it right. I can desolder cleanly. For soldering, it is the best tool I have found.

I've gone through three different soldering irons before I got this one - and now I will never need another. Most hobbyist soldering irons are really small, probably better suited to electronics or other small applications, and these do not work well for stained glass. I had been using a soldering iron for stained glass that was originally my grandfathers, and that was the best compared to tiny hobby soldering irons, but it was so old and the handle broke so I had to upgrade. I am so glad I found the Hakko soldering iron, it works so well when you need a bigger tip. This is a little expensive but worth the price and simply just works so well! Absolutely no complaints.

The seller sold me a defective product and I was unable to return it in the return window and now I'm stuck with a solder iron that doesn't heat up. The product comes from the US hence it is so expensive. It is half the price to get it from the official hakko branch called Sumitron in Delhi.

Excelente producto y muy rapida la entrega Es la primera vez que compro en amazon y me deja muy buena impresion

Good quality. Love the temperature adjustment.

Love having temp control on the iron. Nice and lightweight, easy to hold and change angles. Good quick heating and consistent temp. Well worth the price!

Perfect for stained glass projects.