Mini soldering station for casual SM work
 

CPC sell a small 8W / 12V temperature-controlled iron for under a tenner! I've just bought one and it's quite nicely made: you can add an earth if necessary as it's metal-cased. They also sell complete spare 12V irons for less than the cost of a Weller tip!

John

Re: Mini soldering station for casual SM work
 

That pencil looks like the one with my Australian Jaycar TS1610 10W Soldering Unit.
I have used one of these for a few years for the occasional job.
Mine is temperature adjustable, but not temperature controlled, even though the store catalog says that it is controlled.
I have had one failure; store replacement.

The pencil tip has small thermal mass and is only just OK for small components without too much PCB ground plane.
It struggles often.

The pencil is useful though at times, as the tip is quite small.

I use a Weller TCP with 500 deg F. smallest tip for larger SMD, like regulators etc.

My mini solder iron is plastic cased and double insulated.