My dad's 1980s soldering iron vs a modern $40 station from Amazon

Pulled my dad's old Weller iron out of the basement last week to fix a radio, and that thing still heats up in 30 seconds flat. Tried replacing it with one of those newer adjustable stations I got on sale, but the tip oxidized after three uses and the temp readout was off by 50 degrees. The old iron just works, no frills, no digital display to lie to you. Has anyone else found that the simpler vintage gear actually outlasts the new stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthew_owens927d ago

Right? My grandpa's old Weller outlasted two modern irons already.

price.alice27d ago

Wait are you serious? TWO modern ones died already while the grandpa one is still kicking? That's wild honestly. My dad's got this old Craftsman from like the 80s and it still heats up faster than my new Hakko.