How about a soldering thread?

Dacostab- never new there could be a hazard from the fumes although plumbing solder has lead, yes? Anyway, many pro woodworkers and some hobbyists wear a powered mask made by Airlite, Airlite 3, about $250 which pushes overpressure air through the face shield. It's powered by a battery pak you wear like afanny pack and relatively comfortable. All the mail order tool dealers sell them. Go and solder more.

Dacostab, you need to get one of those little devices that soaks up the fumes(like the smokeless ashtrays). My old company(where we soldered all the time) had a bunch of them. It is not the lead that causes problems, but the flux. It is organic, and burns off. Yes, heat the work piece, use a good pencil and tip(tinned), and always use a heat sink for parts that can be damaged. Be especially careful of this with polystyrene capacitors. Silver solder is cheap, compared to the benefits it yields. I don't believe the new Silver Lace is available from HomeGrown Audio in kit form, as it is more complex(uses 8 conductors, vs. 3). Silver solder is supplied with the kits.

How about a recommendation for a high quality soldering iron? What about some sort of a vice? (for holding parts, not the other kind) Heatsink? Will the hairdryer I use for spot repairs of lacquer work on shrink tubing? Can I undo a bad joint? How can I tell a bad joint, other than the dope all falls out the end?

In my youth I used a vise called Vac-u-vise that had all types of attachments. Not for stereo gear, but to build slot car frames out of piano wire and rewire (tweak) the little armiture motors as well. I am not sure if they are still around but thet were both affordable and precision made and would be good for sub assemblies.

I recommend a good weller pencil. Get something that feels comfortable in your hands. Also, unless you have some old stuff laying around, solder these days does not contain lead. You will be able to tell a bad or cold solder joint by visual inspection. A good joint is generally smooth and shiny. A cold solder joint has a rough appearance. The bad solder joints can be remedied by simply resoldering the joint. I also recommend you procure a sponge and stand for your iron. A solder sucker and solder braid for removing solder would be handy also. Your hairdryer will probably not be hot enough for heatshrink tubing but you can use a lighter in a pinch being careful not to hold the flame too close to the heatshrink tubing.