Solder hunt

[petey twofinger]

i put this in this section for max exposure ...
unfortunately , i have run out of all my garbage picked / gifted solder

i have purchased solder one time in my life , many years back at radio shack , and it wasnt THAT pricey .
looking around for a second , i couldnt believe how much it is !

a bit busy , anyone know of a good source for affordable solder , anything i should avoid purchasing ?

i would like to get a large ammount to save mney / hassle so getting something good at a decent price would be ideal .

i say sodder , do you say soLder ? well you are prolly a lot smarter than me anyway .

thanks !!

[R.G.]

Wherever you get it, get either 60-40 tin-lead or 63-37 tin-lead. Whether you are a believer in lead destroying the world, calling in the Death Star, poisoning the stratosphere, causing global ...er, climate change, killing the tooth fairy, wiping out generations unborn, yada, yada, or not, your use in building a few pedals is not going to make a difference one way or the other.

And there is a reason that these two alloys were the standard - they're good. They melt well, adhere well, are easy to see defects in, and in general are the pinnacle of the electronics solder technology.

Something like an 0.020" to 0.032" diameter rosin core. I'm on my second roll (ever ... !) of Kester SN60PB40 rosin core, 0.031" diameter. I bought my first roll in about 1974. Clearly I don't do production runs here. 

Pick the smaller 0.020" size if you do much SMD.

And frankly, since it lasts so long, just go find a pound roll of Kester. Their flux formulation is proven (by me, to myself, for decades) to be reliable and not rot a way over time. It's been ready when I am.

I can't wait until we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper. 

[Thecomedian]

Wherever you get it, get either 60-40 tin-lead or 63-37 tin-lead. Whether you are a believer in lead destroying the world, calling in the Death Star, poisoning the stratosphere, causing global ...er, climate change, killing the tooth fairy, wiping out generations unborn, yada, yada, or not, your use in building a few pedals is not going to make a difference one way or the other.

And there is a reason that these two alloys were the standard - they're good. They melt well, adhere well, are easy to see defects in, and in general are the pinnacle of the electronics solder technology.

Something like an 0.020" to 0.032" diameter rosin core. I'm on my second roll (ever ... !) of Kester SN60PB40 rosin core, 0.031" diameter. I bought my first roll in about 1974. Clearly I don't do production runs here.  

Pick the smaller 0.020" size if you do much SMD.

And frankly, since it lasts so long, just go find a pound roll of Kester. Their flux formulation is proven (by me, to myself, for decades) to be reliable and not rot a way over time. It's been ready when I am.

I can't wait until we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper.  

to be fair, properly used and taken care of, all materials are "safe", or at least "not dangerous". Too much caffeine can kill a person.


I always laugh when people buy "crystal-ware" based on how much Pb it has in it. Yeah, serve acidic drinks in lead containers so it can leech into the people you're serving. Delicious.

I like using flux paste myself, even if the solder has flux core. It seems to flow like water pretty quickly.

[Gurner]

I can't wait until we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper. 

This just in...

[bukas]

lead is ok, its evaporation is not. so dont solder in closed room to long. get some small PC cooler to vent air in front of you if you feel like it.

@ecologists: 2000+ nuke tests should wary you more xD

[Thecomedian]

I can't wait until we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper. 

This just in...

that's just his version of a bench press before he eats it.

[R.G.]

to be fair, properly used and taken care of, all materials are "safe", or at least "not dangerous".

I would have agreed with that until I read about chlorine trifluoride here: http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/things_i_wont_work_with/

Any substance that will cause bricks, asbestos and sand to burn is going on my list of things that ought to be un-invented.

Dioxygen difluoride (FOOF...) deserves a place on the list too.

[Jdansti]

lead is ok, its evaporation is not. so dont solder in closed room to long. get some small PC cooler to vent air in front of you if you feel like it.

@ecologists: 2000+ nuke tests should wary you more xD

It's a good idea to have good ventilation when soldering, but not because of lead vaporizing. The boiling point of lead is much higher than the temperature of soldering irons. The vapors fumes that you see and smell are the flux burning. It's not a good idea to breath a lot of fumes from anything burning.

To avoid allowing lead that has gotten on your hands to enter your body, after you handle solder, wash your hands before eating, smoking, rubbing your eyes, going to the bathroom, having sex, or picking your nose (or any combination of those things ).

[Thecomedian]

lead is ok, its evaporation is not. so dont solder in closed room to long. get some small PC cooler to vent air in front of you if you feel like it.

@ecologists: 2000+ nuke tests should wary you more xD

It's a good idea to have good ventilation when soldering, but not because of lead vaporizing. The boiling point of lead is much higher than the temperature of soldering irons. The vapors fumes that you see and smell are the flux burning. It's not a good idea to breath a lot of fumes from anything burning.

To avoid allowing lead that has gotten on your hands to enter your body, after you handle solder, wash your hands before eating, smoking, rubbing your eyes, going to the bathroom, having sex, or picking your nose (or any combination of those things ).

well, there goes my friday afternoon...

[armdnrdy]

I love the smell of burning flux in the morning! 

[Kipper4]

Hi Petey
I've just started using Silver line 60/40. I dont know if its available over the pond.
I love it.

[greaser_au]

What R.G. said!!!!

John's comments re ventilation are good advice also. I spent almost 10 years hand and machine soldering (for a living) over 20 years ago without problems. These days I get my iron out and do a half hour's work and I notice my nose feels funny (and it's not because I'm burning it on the iron!).  In my experience this sort of exposure seems to cause sensitivity.

davidt

[duck_arse]

everytime I solder these days, the back of my throat gets sore pretty quick. maybe I'm doing it wrong.


and since I haven't smoked a cig in 17 years or so, I can always smell the room stinks after soldering.

[therecordingart]

I can't wait until we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper. 

This just in...

Do you see what you did, RG? I hope you're happy! 

[R.G.]

I suspect that the EPA would decide I was environmentally incorrect for even thinking of such a thing.   

[PRR]

> we find that cornflakes is leading to the demise of the ring-tailed grasshopper.

It was supposed to cause the demise of excess sexual urges.

Agree: less than one pound of good brand-name 60:40.

I like Multicore; my other roll is Kester. I have not gone through 2 whole pounds in my whole life (including large patch-bays). If you don't over-pay for a Half-Pound, do that.... it ain't Silver, it isn't a good monetary investment hedge.

> serve acidic drinks in lead containers

It's *in the glass*. If your drinks etch glass, they are too acidic.

[Jdansti]

^Would anyone care for a hydrofluoric %^&*tail? 
(Dang!  Talk about an aggressive auto-anti-cursing feature!  That word is supposed to be c0cktail )

%^&*ade
%^&*amamy
%^&*apoo
%^&*atiel
%^&*atoo
%^&*ed
%^&*er spaniel
%^&*eyed
%^&*fight
%^&*leshell
%^&*pit
%^&*roach
%^&*scomb
%^&*y
cold%^&*
game%^&*
pea%^&*
pet%^&*
poppy%^&*
shuttle%^&*
stop%^&*
wood%^&*

[Jederino]

On a side note, I work in construction, historical restoration and such.  Technically, a lead paint chip the size of a quarter, ground into a powder form can, by code, contaminate 2000sq ft.  Burning, or melting, lead is a big no-no.  So, that being said, what are the concerns (in y'all's education/opinion) on soldering with partial lead solder?  I was populating a PCB the other day, and thought to my self, "dude, put on your n-100 respirator, fool!"  Ha ha!

[Jederino]

^ oops, dang small devices!  Didn't see that there were opinions posted.

[davent]

^Would anyone care for a hydrofluoric %^&*tail? 
(Dang!  Talk about an aggressive auto-anti-cursing feature!  That word is supposed to be c0cktail )

%^&*ade
%^&*amamy
%^&*apoo
%^&*atiel
%^&*atoo
%^&*ed
%^&*er spaniel
%^&*eyed
%^&*fight
%^&*leshell
%^&*pit
%^&*roach
%^&*scomb
%^&*y
cold%^&*
game%^&*
pea%^&*
pet%^&*
poppy%^&*
shuttle%^&*
stop%^&*
wood%^&*

Translation

^Would anyone care for a hydrofluoric %^&*tail? 
(Dang!  Talk about an aggressive auto-anti-cursing feature!  That word is supposed to be c­ocktail )

c­ockade
c­ockamamy
c­ockapoo
c­ockatiel
c­ockatoo
c­ocked
c­ocker spaniel
c­ockeyed
c­ockfight
c­ockleshell
c­ockpit
c­ockroach
c­ockscomb
c­ocky
coldc­ock
gamec­ock
peac­ock
petc­ock
poppyc­ock
shuttlec­ock
stopc­ock
woodc­ock