Thanks for all the input. I have an adjustable temperature iron (Weller WES51) which goes to 450 C or so.

I'm not a pro, but have done hundreds of soic packages May have something to do with the bifocals I was just specified.

I'm just wanting to try it out the lead free way for curiosity sakes. I've read that its best to use a larger tip then normal to help with the heat transfer. Any suggestions on the type of flux? I'm looking at at the Kester K100LD, but not sure if I should go with the no clean, organic etc variant?

Melanie, I bought EasyPC as you recommended a few years back and just recently upgraded to the current version (12). I'm a novice at PCB layout, but I'm really happy with it

Thanks