Radio shack sellls a electronics kit with a 30 watt iron and aluminum heatsink, about 1' of solder, needle nose pliers, nippers, screwdrivers, and a iron holder for $20. Good little kit:thumb:Doc Holliday said:Using alligator clips or another type of hat sinks will help keep ties from melting. but won't prevent them outright. You also need a soldering iron powerful enough to get the rail hot real quick like and then you're done. In my experience, to little heat leads to melted ties.
Using rosin core solder or liquid flux also helps joints to solder faster and require less heat.
Doc