Turns out I can solder after all (new soldering iron)

relic245

I'm building a midi pedal after not really doing much soldering for the last 35 years. 

It was hideous, just big blobs of solder everywhere and really poor mechanical and electrical joints. 

Turns out what I needed was a new soldering iron. 

This just arrived from amazon. Cost me the princely sum of £11 and suddenly I can solder again. 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09C7TMQGX/

Edit - Do not buy that soldering iron. It went back after 2 days. I did a 1 hour soldering session and one of the bits completely melted. Quite awesome really but definitely not fit for purpose. 

I think the main problem was my iron just wasn't getting hot enough.  It's actually a pleasure to solder again

BillDL

That's something I really should invest in.  I've had my soldering iron for many years.  It wasn't a very expensive one at all and was bought from Maplin.  I'm still very accustomed to using it, but the tip is well past its best and I'm not going to buy new tips for probably as much as I could buy another reasonably priced iron that is as good or better. It does make soldering more pleasurable with the right iron for the job.