[chrisguyw]

Over the years, more chassis have been built with the weller/ungar 45 watt iron , than all the rest combined.....unfortunately, the new wellers are not of the quality of the "vintage" versions. Today the iron of choice among most chassis builders (on the North American side of the pond) is the Hakko FX601.

As mentioned above, if you are just attaching lead wires, 15/20 watt irons are just fine, but, if you plan on doing any chassis work 45 watts + are required.

Whatever iron you choose, make sure it does not have a "pencil" tip..these are for circuit board use, and are marginal even for lead wires. A 3mm or 1/4 chisel tip will allow you to do most anything related to slots.

Proper Flux, and to a lesser degree solder are also important.

Cheers
Chris Walker

PS If you do choose the Hakko FX601,.....be aware that some Chinese repros are around,......the "official" FX601 is rated at 67 watts,...the Chinese unit considerably less.