Nice writeup. You should point this out to RCKen or one of the moderators to be made into a sticky. That way there's a place to point people when they want to learn.
ORIGINAL: dragnse7en
Soldiering Iron: Avoid any iron less than 40 watts. Try and find a good one that has been made in the USA
Wall Lenk is a good company to look at for irons. They make good irons in several wattages from 25 to 150 watts.
They're US made, too.