Remember when we used to fix every single board with a soldering iron?

I was cleaning out my old workbench in the garage and found my first soldering station, a Weller from maybe 2003. Back then, if a desktop had a bad capacitor or a loose trace, you'd spend an hour under the hood trying to fix it. I compared that to how I work now, where I just swap the whole motherboard. The old way felt like real craft, but honestly, it was a money loser. You'd charge for an hour of labor, but the customer's machine was still five years old and something else would fail next week. Now, a board swap takes twenty minutes, the system is more stable, and I can actually guarantee the work. I miss the tinkering, but my business in Kent almost went under before I made the switch. Has anyone else held onto their old tools but just can't justify using them for real jobs anymore?

2 comments

2 Comments

ramirez.blair18h ago

I mean, a Weller station from 2003 is still a solid tool. I keep my old Hakko around for quick fixes on personal stuff, like game controllers. Just can't bill a client for that kind of time anymore.

wesleyc7511h ago

Yeah, it's funny how tools get demoted like that. My old reliable iron is fine for hobby stuff, but it just feels too slow for paid work now. You reach a point where your time is worth more than the tool's limits.