Author here - I'll fully admit to not being totally up to date with best-practices for leaded/lead-free/rosin-free solders in a hobbyist environment. But a fume-extractor (and one with a decent fan) is a must, I feel, and they're so cheap these days they're worth the investment.<p>In the Hackaday comments, the other main thing I missed listing was magnification, either desk-mounted or head-worn. I've put my visor-magnifier in a place of prominence on my workbench now, shaming me with its glassy gaze for leaving it out.
Literally 5 minutes ago I finished my build of an Elenco XP-720K power supply kit. It has both DC +1.25 to 15V and DC -1.25 to 15V (1A), along with a DC +5V 3A output. And 12.6 VAC, for tubes I guess :-)<p>$65 and 6 hours of work. No meters, nor current limiting, but hey, it's accurate and cheap. Manual is <a href="https://www.elenco.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/XP-720K_REV-J-2.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.elenco.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/XP-720K_RE...</a><p>Elenco also makes a pre-assembled version, but what's the fun in that?
If anyone is interested in a nice long video talking about what you can use/need for setting up an electronics lab, take a look at the EEVblog video for doing this. Dave keeps everything under a certain dollar limit and explains his choices well.<p>Not saying this link is bad for some reason, but more information is better.
Some of this sounds useful, but the author recommends leaded solder instead of lead free.<p>Hasn't lead free has been the standard for <i>years</i>, due to safety?