Many moons ago when i was a teenager I tried to solder a simple "fuzz box" circuitboard but I failed miserably and literally burned my fingers. Bad tools, no patience and a lack of guidance - no Youtube or Instructibles in those dark days - were all factors but I just assumed electronics wasn't the hobby for me.

But today i discovered that some skills can actually improve as you get older. My first attempt at soldering some LEDs, resistors and wires to a piece of stripboard came out pretty decent. It won't win any prices at a beauty contest but all the connections are correct and the board just "worked" without any re-soldering. Not bad for a trial run!

Soldering experiments were temporarily halted when i blew up my iron! I had one of those Cheap 'N' Nasty knock-off soldering stations but the plastic enclosure had started to melt so i decided to tranfer the temp control and on/off switch to a new case and knock together something much sturdier. I salvaged the spiral, attached it to a piece of wood, nailed that to a plank and presto! I turned the switch but a loud bang and a small puff of dark smoke soon made it very clear that the soldering iron had gone to meet its maker.

I have since replaced the iron but kept the home-made "station". Also read some instructions on the Interwebs. Results are quite satisfactory; nice clean joints with just enough solder and no need for flux. And my Dremel skills have improved a tiny bit as well. Eventually I felt comfortable enough to attempt to solder in some IC sockets. Lessons learned: use the right tools and RTFM.