RE: Soldering iron and supplies for beginner
I just have a $10 radio shack 40 watt soldering iron. It actually works really well for everything I have done. I have soldered 10 gauge wire with no problem. It might take a little longer than some iron's, but it works just fine. I use 60/40 rosin core solder.
When it comes to soldering, technique is more important than anything. Make sure your wire is good and hot before you apply solder(it sucks the solder in this way), make sure your soldering iron tip is clean by rubbing it on some sandpaper to get rid of all the old solder on the tip this way it can make a good connection with the wire to better transfer the heat. Always tin both wires with solder and then solder them together.
Im sure there are many more tricks people know, but I have followed those simple guidelines and had good luck soldering, even with my low $$ setup[8D]
Eric