YCD Professional welding tools and desoldering tool sets (11 pieces), desoldering pumps, desoldering wicks, wire cutters, tweezers, soldering iron auxiliary accessories

I’ve been piecing together soldering benches for years, and I’ve learned that the accessories around the iron often make or break a repair. That’s exactly the niche this YCD 11‑piece kit fills: it’s a compact bundle of helpers for soldering, desoldering, handling small parts, and cleaning up your work on tight, component‑dense boards.

What’s in the kit

The kit is straightforward and focused on electronics work. You get:
- Six metal “soldering aids” in various shapes for scraping, prying, nudging, cleaning, and applying gentle pressure
- A spring‑loaded, one‑hand desoldering pump
- A 2.5 mm wide, 1.5 m long oxygen‑free copper desoldering braid
- Precision side cutters rated for soft conductors up to 1 mm
- Anti‑static (ESD) stainless steel tweezers with fine tips

There’s no iron, solder, flux, or stand included. Think of this as the accessory layer that surrounds your iron rather than a starter soldering kit.

Build quality and ergonomics

The overall fit and finish are better than I expected for the price category. The metal picks and scrapers are sturdy enough for board‑level nudging and flux cleanup. The variety of tips—hooks, flat scrapers, a brush—covers most of the awkward jobs you encounter when you’re reworking small pads or guiding wires into place.

The side cutters are the surprise favorite here. They’re sharp and have a clean shearing action on soft copper leads and stranded wire up to the claimed 1 mm. The jaws track evenly and produce tidy, flush cuts without leaving whiskers on trimmed leads. I wouldn’t use them on steel wire, cable ties, or anything hardened; keep them dedicated to copper and the edge will stay crisp.

The tweezers are very fine at the tip, which is ideal for 0402 passives and delicate connectors. They’re anti‑static stainless, so they won’t shed flakes or corrode easily. The trade‑off with such fine tips is resilience—if you muscle them, they can flex. Use just enough pressure to secure the part and they’ll remain true.

The desoldering pump is light and easy to cock and fire with one hand. The plunger action is smooth, and the nozzle sits close to the work. It’s not a heavy‑duty unit; more on that below.

Performance on the bench

I ran the kit through the typical tasks I do on a compact electronics repair bench:

• Desoldering a through‑hole headphone jack from a small board: The 2.5 mm wick did most of the heavy lifting. Once fluxed and warmed, it wicked solder cleanly from the pads with minimal residue. The pump helped clear the last bit of solder from the plated holes, but I needed a couple of passes per pin.

• Swapping a battery connector on a tablet board: The tweezers were precise enough to place and hold the tiny plastic‑shelled connector while I tacked down the tabs. The fine tip did not mar the plastic housing. The flat scraper in the aid set was perfect for gently lifting the old adhesive and cleaning under the connector.

• Building a small macro‑pad: The side cutters trimmed switch and diode leads neatly, leaving almost no post‑solder cleanup. The brush tool, combined with a dab of isopropyl, helped tidy flux residue around the controller.

Across these jobs, the kit covered the essentials: hold, trim, place, scrape, wick, and spot‑clear. Nothing felt wildly out of its depth for small electronics.

Desoldering: pump vs. braid

If you buy this set primarily for desoldering, know the strengths of each tool:

• The braid is the star. At 2.5 mm wide, it’s a versatile size for SMD pads and many through‑hole joints. Being oxygen‑free copper, it wets quickly once it touches molten solder. I found it left little residue and, on clean pads, didn’t require extra cleanup. For ground pours and big barrel connectors, you may want a wider braid or a hotter tip to speed heat transfer.

• The pump is serviceable for light duty. It’s easy to use one‑handed and does help free stubborn pins when paired with a bit of fresh solder and flux. That said, the suction is modest compared to larger or metal‑bodied pumps. On multi‑layer boards with heavy ground connections, expect to follow up with braid.

A practical rhythm that worked for me: add flux, reflow with fresh solder to lower melting point, use the pump for the bulk, then finish with braid for a clean pad.

Precision handling and board prep

The six “helper” tools ended up being more useful than I expected. A few cases where they shine:
- Scrapers: removing burnt flux or solder mask debris without gouging the copper
- Hook and pick: coaxing small wires into vias or lifting flexible flat cables without tearing them
- Brush: sweeping away solder crumbs and fiberglass dust after trimming or scraping

These are the unglamorous tasks that keep a board tidy and reduce the chances of a cold joint or stray whisker shorting something later. Having the right shape at hand matters more than you’d think.

The tweezers round this out for SMD work. Treat the fine tips with care—don’t pry with them—and they’re excellent for aligning parts, unbending pins, and threading small heat‑shrink.

Limitations and expectations

A few boundaries to keep in mind:
- The side cutters are for soft copper and component leads only. Cut hard wire or steel and you’ll nick the edge.
- The desoldering pump is sized for light electronics work. If your day often involves dense, lead‑free, multi‑layer boards, you’ll want a more powerful pump or a heated desoldering gun.
- The kit doesn’t include flux, alcohol wipes, or a tip cleaner. You’ll want those nearby for best results.
- The tweezers’ ultra‑fine tips can bend if you apply excessive force. Use them for precision, not prying.

There’s also a California Proposition 65 warning attached to the product. That’s common for electronics tools and materials, but it’s worth noting. Standard soldering safety still applies: ventilate your workspace, wash hands after handling solder and flux, and wear eye protection when clipping leads.

Who it’s for

This is a sensible, budget‑friendly accessory set for:
- Newer electronics hobbyists who need the essential helpers around an iron
- Tinkerers and DIYers doing occasional phone, tablet, audio gear, or small appliance repairs
- Makers building keyboards, macro‑pads, or small microcontroller projects
- Pros who want a travel or backup kit, with the caveat that they may later upgrade the pump or add specialty tweezers

If you already own high‑end ESD tweezers or a professional desoldering solution, this set won’t replace them. But as a compact, all‑in‑one set of helpers, it covers a lot of ground efficiently.

Care and longevity tips

• Keep the desoldering braid sealed when not in use; exposure to air and oils slows capillary action.
• Add a touch of flux to the braid before wicking—it speeds up solder removal and reduces heat time.
• Clear the pump nozzle after sessions; a quick tap on a silicone mat ejects trapped solder.
• Reserve the cutters for copper only and wipe the jaws clean; they’ll stay sharp much longer.

Verdict

The YCD kit gets the fundamentals right: sharp cutters for soft conductors, fine ESD tweezers for tiny parts, a versatile set of metal helpers, and a desoldering braid that genuinely pulls its weight. The pump is the weak link for heavier work, but paired with the braid and good technique, it’s adequate for most small electronics tasks.

Recommendation: I recommend this kit for hobbyists and light bench work. It’s an efficient way to assemble the “supporting cast” tools you need around a soldering iron without overspending. If you anticipate frequent heavy desoldering on dense, lead‑free multi‑layer boards, plan to add a stronger pump or a heated desoldering tool. Otherwise, for day‑to‑day electronics repair and assembly on small boards, this set is practical, compact, and genuinely useful.