Therapy: Mechanical & Audio

For the solder station, I use a Hakko 926. This unit is adjustable from about 325 to 900 degrees, and is equally comfortable in either hand.

The wand is lightweight, consumer replaceable tips (round and wedge), and comes up to full heat in only a few seconds. The cleaning pad (with wet sponge) is right in front, and the hanger for the wand will mount on either the right or left side, making it able to switch back after your recovery.

Don't forget to buy Wonder Solder or WBT for that project. If you are putting in the work, it may a well be with the best results.

As for music, choose something that is light and fun to keep your spirits up. I find that if I play my absolute favorite stuff, I literally stop working and listen to the tunes. This may be OK for you, depending on how long you are recovering and how much work you try to get accomplished.

My best wishes to you and your recovery.

Weller is a good brand, I have several of their temp-controlled soldering stations of various ages and they have all been totally reliable. Will run you about $100 but worth it.

Good luck with the physical therapy! I suggest you search here for these excellent threads:

"Most achingly beautiful music"

and

"Music for tough times"

Both should be relevant to your situation!

Some other great music threads (not so much about pain, though!) are:

"Music you can't live without"

and

"Recordings to die for".

I have these threads (and others) on my palmpilot, where I am slowly picking through them and adding recordings to my "wish list".

Again, all the best!

- Eric

I've been bingeing hard on Laurence Juber this past month, which is really great acoustic guitar music to get your mind off anything and everything. Try his collection or LJ plays the Beatles for starters. Amazon has free shipping right now in case you have a big list and don't feel like going out :^)