Soldering iron (temperature controlled el cheapo)

This soldering iron delivers 40 watts. I found that less powerful irons do not heat brass sheet well enough. Normal soldering irons are not suited for white metal. White metal has a low melting point and if you try to solder it with a normal iron you end up with a very expensive puddle of metal.

I bought a dimmer. Simply throttle the current down, the iron will develop less heat, and have fun! It is a much cheaper solution than a soldering station, a dimmer costs €5, a soldering station starts from the tenfold of that amount. You see pen marks on the dial, they indicate melting points of various solder types.

The soldering stand costs a nice €5, the sponge to clean the point a few cents.

The white square us a ceramic solder pad. It is heat resistant. A plywood underground will scorch and a metal underground will disperse the heat. This ceramic pad is ideal but not cheap ($17.75 at Micro-Mark)