leaps and bounds difference
if youre planning to solder one or 2 things here and there, get a pen...
i got my hakko off ebay for $30!!
Be a part of the community.
It's free, join today!
Does anyone actually know where I could get a 936 in the UK?
I have been searching and can't pin point it.
J
http://www.donberg.co.uk/descript/h/hakko_936.htm
You might have better luck looking for the FX-888, which is the updated re-design (and usually a bit less spendy).
Dancap is the Hakko UK distributor:
http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/soldering.htm
I just recently bought a hakko FX-888 from Dancap, and I was really impressed. Ships the thing out with the most amount of foam ive ever seen lol 
The only problem with ordering from him is there is only two options for payment, check and bank transfer. However don't let these put you off, and besides buying from him is the easiest way to get a FX-888 without importing it and messing around with the transformer inside the power supply.
Also make sure you get a replacement tip for the iron as it only comes with a conical tip, and well these just arn't very usefull tbh. Get a chisel tip around 1.6 mm

I bought my FX888 in Aus from element14 (Farnell), so that might also be a decent option in the UK, well worth a look anyway. 
At the time i got it, the extra tips were only around $5 or $6 each and i grabbed a bunch of useful sizes, but the price on those seems to have risen significantly since then
.
Well at the moment I've got a Weller SP25L but, I can't seem to find any fine tips for it (ie.: 1.6mm).
Further, the more I read/investigate I'm beginning to understand if I am going to get serious about DIYing I need a temperature controlled iron.
Still searching for a decent UK station...
J