Weller WLC200 80 Watt Hobby and Stained Glass Soldering Station

If you are looking for the right soldering iron for your stained glass project, perhaps you are on the fence now, wondering whether you ought to by that 100-watt iron with the better review, or one of the cheap ones that are 1/3 the price. I struggled with that decision and went with this product. Whew! The other would have been a mistake. This thing is actually two pieces, the stand/control, and the 80-watt iron. Plug the stand into the wall and the iron into the stand. Not only is it really nice to have a place to put the hot iron, other than on the table, but the variable control is essential. The first time I used it, I cranked it way up to 11. My first joint, I instantly melted, not on the solder, but the lead came. Oops. I dialed it back then to about mid-point so that I could easily melt the solder without melting the parts I was trying to join. Just stop agonizing on what to buy and order this one already.

This is another item I researched and read about before buying this one in particular. Weller is a good brand for these type of products.This comes as a complete unit, in other words, the holder, the regulator and the iron. I can also plug my other irons into this one and change them out, based on the size tip I need to use for soldering, which is very convenient. The heat control is in the base of the unit, rather than in the iron, so the iron plugs into the base and maintains the heat of the iron at a constant temperature, which is exactly what I wanted/needed. The spiral holder is so much more convenient to use than the previous holder I had, which was just a poorly designed 2 piece black soldering iron holder/stand (not a heat regulator), which came apart after a brief time, and my irons kept getting hung up in it. I can highly recommend this. Weller WLC200 80-Watt Stained Glass Soldering Station

Not my favorite. Bought for stained glass projects. It’s a lot bigger than my last one and kind of heavy which makes my hand cramp up and the bit it came with was far too big so I had to immediately buy smaller ones to even use it. It gets very hot at 5 and I have to use it around 3.5 and then after time that’s too low so I have to wiggle the temp here and there depending on how long I’m soldering for. Overall makes good solid smooth connecting lines which is what matters most at the end of the day.

I purchased this soldering iron for removing components from pcb that requires more heat than normal. The iron itself produces the steady high heat necessary for what I bought it for and is perfectly complimented by it's stand. The rheostat is responsive, the cleaning pad is very handy and the wire holder is placed just where you need it. The $60 price is excellent for a tool of this quality and when needed, additional tips are readily available. Great equipment.

My husband has been a Ham Radio Operator for over 50 years. He builds and repairs equipment and needs a good soldering station to do so. He is very pleased with this purchase.

Most people are right handed and will place this station on their right hand side. So there are then 2 cords coming off this base, one on the left side with the cord going to the iron, interfering with your work and one on the back that is your base power and needs to be plugged into the wall. Well this cord is so short it barely makes it to the floor. So not much wiggle room unless you put it on an extension cord.The dial on the base is 1-5, what is that? How hot? no idea, it is a guessing game. I use it to make stained glass and had been using a Hakko FX601 which holds its heat really well. This Weller is horrible to hold the heat. The instruction manual says to turn it to 5 and after 3 minutes to turn it down, my beads look awful no matter what setting I use. I bought this one b/c I thought it would be handy to have it on a station with an on/off switch and that is the only thing I like about it now! The two panels I made with this iron have not turned out they way I am used to and I even had 2 pieces break (on both projects!) because of the uneven heat. Other people might like this one but I don't have the time to 'relearn' how to solder with this one. Seriously I am regretting spending all this money on an iron I will probably never use again and now I have to buy another Hakko!

Worked great for Stainglass and leaded glass. The first one I bought was not very good at this one I was very pleased with. It’s a keeper

Quality made soldering iron. Gave my other one to my father-in-law, so I bought another one. Works with all types of stained glass work that I've done so far. Heats well and I'm giving it a 5 out of 5. Worth the money.