Soldering?

[RogerPease]

Yep, more good advice above.

I didn't mean to imply soldering guns don't have the uses. They definitely do.
But for a beginner doing cables, a simple, inexpensive, 40 watt $25 pencil is the
way to go. Easy to carry in a toolkit, too, if you want to "be prepared".

You can buy a temperature regulated pencil later if you want.
It definitely will help you do a better job. And is needed for circuit boards and
flex cables work; e.g. amp mods.

Totally agree on the goodness of 60/40 solder, a sucker, and braid/wick.
(I don't use the separate flux but maybe I should!)
A "third hand" holder and wire strippers will speed things up a whole bunch in
the shop.

Also agree that lead-free solder should be avoided. Ick, yuck, pa-tooie!
(Besides, a soldering pencil does not get hot enough to vaporize the lead;
although it's still common sense not to breathe the flux smoke!)

Cheers. _Roger