Question re motherboard soldering

[Nick]

I got the MX-5051. Two port base station, soldering iron and de-soldering gun. Unfortunately mine came without any cartridges - had to order them separately. I got a 2mm chisel point for general work, a fine point round for pcb work, and a de-soldering cartridge for the gun.

So far I've just done a little with the iron and I'm very impressed. I'm hoping the de-soldering gun will run off my small airbrush compressor - will try it out at the weekend.

They generally don't come with cartridges - those can also be expensive - I bought mine in job-lots of eBay when a bunch of labs closed in the crash - eBay is often a good place to look for them.

I find them lovely to use - very light and precise. The DS1 de-soldering gun uses a venturi effect to generate its vacuum - I use the shop compressor - you may find an airbrush compressor a bit underpowered - they are typically 40 to 60psi - the DS1 manual states: "The tool works best when the air supply is set at 80 psi."

Also remember to periodically change the internal fume filter and chamber liner... - all the spares are readily available. IME the chamber lines can be reused a number of times by simply tapping out the blobs of hardened solder in there. The bits them selves need to be kept clear using the AC-TC-P tool...