RE: Recommend a soldering gun
One note about Weller, they are a good company to deal with. I had a Weller soldering gun that my dad gave me. About ten years ago (it was 20 years old at the time), it started giving me a shock. You could litterally rake it across a metal bench and it would arc. Not expecting anything, I returned it to Weller just for the fun of it. Low and behold, two weeks later I get a package in the mail: a brand new complete Weller soldering gun kit extra tips, cutting wires... the works! I didn't even call them and the note was simple: "Hi, you'll get a jolt out of this one".
Great company.