Recommended tips for new JBC solder station - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 05:24:44 am
content: I just received my JBC CD-1BD soldering station today. I'm moving to this and retiring my 30 year old Hakko unit.It came with two tips: C245903 and C245741. The C245903 is a smaller conical tip that is useful for some things, but the C245741 is a 2.2mm chisel tip that is too large for most things. I am used to a chisel tip that is smaller than this, I think on my Hakko it is 1.6mm.Anyway, I started browsing the JBC C245 line of tips and quickly got overwhelmed.Can someone recommend a few tips that are the most generally useful? I do mostly through-hole stuff today, but am about to venture into the world of SMD for the first time (for non-work projects anyway). I don't have a reflow oven at the moment, so for SMD would probably be doing drag soldering. For through-hole it will be mostly be the usual 0.1 inch pitch stuff.Thanks

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 10:08:19 am
content: I have one as well and I like it!I useC245-903 for general solderingC245-742 for 'heavy' ground plane stuffc245-126 for poking into small corners, small smd , down into connectors etcbut you never can have too many, it took me a while to try hot swapping but it works well.The thermal transfer rate is fantastic.Enjoy, Robert

author: flolic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 10:32:28 am
content: This is what I use:C245-034 for almost everything from SMD to TTH boards (my favorite tip)C245-903 for general soldering, wires, connectors, etc.C245-759 for ground planes, heavy wires etc.C245-913 for BGA rework and quick desoldering of DIL packages, connectors etc.I also have T210-A handle with C210-009 tip. That is used exclusively for under microscope repairs of broken flat flex cables, small SMD connectors and other delicate repairs on digital cameras.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 10:45:42 am
content: Hakko has a resource page onTip Shape Selectionthat might be useful.There's a lot of crossover with what tasks different tips can be used for, so just a few tips can do quite a bit. Worth taking the time to check it out.Hope this helps. :}

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 11:26:04 am
content: My most used is the C245-963. Once you get used to all the ways it can contact things It is indispensable. Especially good for soldering heavy solder cup connectors. The large angled flat can get huge contact area to really get some heat flow into the parts.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 17, 2014, 02:04:10 pm
content: Thanks, everyone. The Hakko page on tip selection looks useful. I think I will spend some time going through the links there before ordering anything.

author: devnull
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 04:52:40 pm
content: Hello all,I know it's been a while since the original post, but I'd like to get a bit more info:Dave wrote:Quote from: EEVblog on April 18, 2013, 11:25:41 amDoes anyone know which tips are the "Two sizes of basic chisel tips (small and wide) will do most jobs " ?Can these be "the ones" :small ? C245906 Cartridge Chisel 1,2x0,7 ?wide ? C245907 Cartridge Chisel 2,2x1 ?wide ? C245741 Cartridge Chisel 2,4x0.6 ?Is the C245741 too big for ocasional work ? Would the C245907 be more versatile ?(ocasional work = soldering cables, through hole components/connectors, a few smd's and eventually scavenge parts from old boards)thanks

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 05:22:44 pm
content: C245-774 rarely leaves my iron; it's good for anything from an 0603 to through-hole prototyping with stripboard, including drag soldering 0.5mm pitch. Something smaller might be nice for 0402, though.For bigger stuff (eg. automotive wiring) I have a C245-907, and for really big stuff (eg. soldering D2PAK to a solid plane), I have a C245-966.

author: devnull
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 21, 2016, 08:41:42 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on April 21, 2016, 05:22:44 pmThank you AndyC_772.Just for reference:C245774 is a Cartridge Chisel 1,2x0,3 mm , which is the slender model of the C245906 cartridge.

author: digger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2024, 06:37:14 am
content: there are many similar topics i could have replied to, but i just picked this one because i kind of liked the answers more on average.i just ordered an aixun T420D with knock-off T245, T210, and T115 handles. two can be plugged in at once. each handle will come with a knife tip cartridge, and i believe they will not be aixun's "high level" carts (just the standard ones).as a complete newcomer to the jbc ecosystem, i was bewildered. all i knew was that i wanted some genuine carts of which jbc claims to offer over 500 varieties.https://www.jbctools.com/c245-cartridge-range-long-life-tip-product-19-design-iron.htmlhttps://www.jbctools.com/c210-cartridge-range-product-18-design-iron.htmlhttps://www.jbctools.com/c115-cartridge-range-product-1354-design-iron.htmli noticed that the 245 platform has by far the most variety of carts. tbh, 245 would probably completely cover my needs, but i decided to get the smaller tips on another platform just for the heck of it since it may be more ergonomic, and i wouldn't have to change carts as often.i found it interesting that, in general, carts seem to get more expensive as you move to successively smaller handle platforms. C245s are often around 37usd. C210s are around $47, and C115s are more than $50.for now, i decided to get carts for only two platforms. 245 is an obvious choice, but i had a hard time deciding between 210 and 115 for the other. assuming you go for equivalent/overlapping offerings (roughly same size and type of tip), my take on it is that 210 would likely be more performant due to more thermal mass behind the actual tip, and the 115 would probably be more nimble and ergonomic.i decided to go for 245 and 115.as for carts:C245056 bevel 3.5 – heavy duty use (i mostly picked this as my heavy duty option because i found it on sale)C245963 bent chisel 1.8x0.8 – general use, bigger jobs, tough accessC245906 chisel 1.2x0.7 – general use, smaller jobsC115105 bent conical 0.3 – fine smd work

author: selcuk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2024, 09:54:50 am
content: I can recommend using bevel cartridges for most of the jobs. I'm using mainly for QFN, TQFP chips, actives and passives but they are also suitable for through hole. Conical cartridges are not that useful. For smd passives like 0402 etc. chisel cartridges are good but I'm using bevel for them as well.This one is always plugged to my T245-A:https://www.jbctools.com/c245945-bevel-cartridge-o-22-product-356.html

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 21, 2024, 03:18:17 pm
content: Quote from: selcuk on June 21, 2024, 09:54:50 amThanks. Just ordered one and am going to give it a try.

author: digger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2024, 07:12:00 pm
content: one more tip (see what i did there?):i held calipers up to my monitor and adjusted my browser's zoom until the dimensions were actual-size. this helped me visualize and make my selection.frustratingly, the figures on the 245, 210, and 115 cart pages on jbc's site are not all the same scale, so i used a couple of different browsers.iirc, 245 was at one scale, and 210 and 115 may have been at another.

author: rdb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 28, 2024, 10:23:17 pm
content: Does anyone know of a fast turnaround-time vendor for JBC cartridges? I ordered from jbctools.com a week ago and still don't even have any shipping information.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 28, 2024, 10:38:51 pm
content: Quote from: rdb on December 28, 2024, 10:23:17 pmI wouldn't call them fast, but in my limited experience with them, Janel Inc. was better than jbctools.https://www.janelinc.com/manufacturers/jbc_tools?p=21&srsltid=AfmBOorCRaznnJkynt4raZ0hfxzIK2dMDcbUbnMTPm6lVI_UhKMtrqhU

author: Nocturnal
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 30, 2024, 09:49:09 am
content: I've bought tips from testequity.com and tequipment.com - both shipped either the same day or next of purchase.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 30, 2024, 02:49:13 pm
content: Quote from: Nocturnal on December 30, 2024, 09:49:09 amI would definitely go with one of these options over Janel if you can.

author: rdb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 01, 2025, 11:33:43 am
content: Thank you, motocoder and Nocturnal. Tequipment.com shipped same day. By contrast, jbctools.com did finally ship, but it took more than a week.

author: motocoder
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 01, 2025, 03:22:59 pm
content: Quote from: rdb on January 01, 2025, 11:33:43 amYou're welcome. Happy New Year.

author: digger
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2025, 09:09:15 pm
content: Quote from: rdb on December 28, 2024, 10:23:17 pmjust sharing a datapoint. i ordered from jbctools.com once, and they gave me tracking four days later. not that this is super fast, but i'm guessing yours was slower because of the holidays.

author: rdb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 11:50:54 am
content: Correction: jbctools.com never did ship those cartridges. I had to email them and get a refund. Not a good e-commerce experience.On the plus side, I do like the soldering station, and since this thread is about cartridge recommendations, here's mine. For through-hole, the C245178 is a game changer.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2025, 02:38:42 pm
content: Quote from: rdb on January 24, 2025, 11:50:54 amDouble check the part number, please. That number does not appear to exist.

author: rdb
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 25, 2025, 12:29:21 pm
content: Oops. Imadufus. Thanks for catching that. It's C245790.https://www.tequipment.net/JBC/C245790/Tips/