Soldering Iron

Use a Weller RT iron base (or HAKKO 907).

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Soldering-Station-1/

There are quite a few projects that will buy a cheap iron and put a thermal coupler inside the iron to sense the temperature. They seem to work decently well.

• Weller ~25$
• Hakko $7
• Cheap Iron
  • iron $5.35
  • thermal coupler $1