The art of making a good solder joint is essential to anyone who wants to make electronic equipment, and it is an art form that is not too hard to master, once the basics are learned. Without good solder joints, your project will not perform up to its potential. To start with, you need the proper equipment. This means, at the minimum, a soldering iron and solder. For working with components, IC chips, transistors, resistors, etc., you need a low wattage iron. Typically a 20 to 35 watt iron is good for this purpose. If you are working with connectors, cables and other devices that have more mass to absorb heat, then a higher wattage iron may be necessary.