Leave a comment below! Or click on an individual tool to see more or leave a comment about that tool.

• Electric soldering irons have been around a long time.

• Butane-powered soldering iron.

• Antique thermite-powered soldering iron.

• Fancy propane plumbing torch.

• Cordless hot melt glue gun.

• This small gas furnace heats sad iron soldering irons.

• A fancy “rework” soldering station includes both a soldering iron, and a mini heat gun capable of blowing a thin stream of air hot enough to melt solder (which is useful for removing surface mount chips from circuit boards).

• A jeweler’s micro-torch.

• Old blow torches for plumbing and other larger-scale soldering work ran on liquid fuel. The tip needed to be pre-heated by burning some fuel in a little tray provided for that purpose. This is why, even though I have several of these, I’ve been too scared to try lighting one.

• Solder pots keep a pool of liquid solder handy for “tinning” the ends of wires.

• I never had a fancy soldering station like this as a kid, but it would have been nice. The sponge is for cleaning the tip, the alligator clips hold things in place, and the magnifying glass is for people who are handicapped by not being nearsighted, so they can’t just take off their glasses off to see up close.

• Extra hands are welcome for holding wires and components to be soldered.

• A soldering iron could not deliver enough heat fast enough to counteract the heat being drawn away by the copper water pipes (copper conducts heat very quickly), so you use a propane-powered plumbing torch.

• A desoldering iron is like a soldering iron, but with a desoldering pump, like the one above, built in.

• A simple desoldering pump has a spring you compress, and a trigger you push to release the spring. This releases the plunger, which jerks back rapidly, creating vacuum suction at the tip. It’s like a reverse bicycle pump. You use it together with a soldering iron to melt the solder, then suck it away.

• Fine braided copper wires, heated with a soldering iron, will wick away molten solder, removing it from a joint you want to undo.

• Representing the least convenient form of cordless soldering, these “sad iron” antiques have to be heated in a furnace or forge, then used to do a bit a soldering before being returned to the oven.

• Undoing, cleaning up, and repairing soldered circuit boards is much more work than making them in the first place. This kit will try to help you get back on track with your non-working circuits.

• Ah, the memories I have of using a soldering iron like this. When I was a kid I soldered together so many things.

• As with nearly all other areas of tools, soldering irons have gone cordless. But since most soldering is done at a work bench, the plug in kind is more common.

• This tool has wire brushes that clean both the inside and the outside of copper pipes to be soldered.

• Hot melt glue guns are basically soldering irons for wood and cardboard.

• This soldering iron uses resistive heating to heat only the joint, not the tip of the iron.

• These old soldering irons are heavy, but quite powerful.

• A basic propane plumbing torch.

• Nice brass blowtorch.

Do you have a better example of this kind of tool? Let me know by leaving a comment, and include a picture of it if you can so everyone can see!