Can any fellow NerdKitter recommend a temperature cotnrolled soldering iron/gun for working with throughole components on a PCB? What I have is just way too big. Any help is most appreciated!

I have used a Weller for the last several years... It's been my bench iron and never seems to fail me...

The model I have is the WES51 (http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103191311)

It's relatively inexpensive considering, and really has some nice features... Temperature is pretty accurate and very stable... It also heats up very quickly... About 30 seconds and you're usually ready to go (depends on tip)... It also has a lot of various tips, including some VERY small stuff for working with TSOP, etc... It can run up to 850, so even pretty heavy work that I run into with TV's and such are no problem at all. And of course it's ESD safe... You didn't really say what you're looking to spend, but if you're going to be using an iron a lot I'd highly recommend it. I think I only paid about $60 for it, but that was quite a few years ago...

They also have a lower end "consumer" model... I think it's 40W instead of 60, and not quite as accurate and stable, but for general work it should be great...

Thank you very much, that sounds like exactly what I need, and considering my investment in electronics since my adventure with this began, that's very reasonable!