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Thread: Soldering Iron

  1. #21
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

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    Quote Originally Posted by brian2957 View Post
    Sorry James never saw the second part . If you give me your address again I'll send you some down .
    Thanks Brian but I have got some solder now.
    Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702

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  2. #22
    Join Date: Jun 2012

    Location: Portsmouth, UK

    Posts: 503
    I'm Steve.

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    I think you'll find a 25W soldering iron is completely useless with modern lead-free solder which has a higher melt temperature.

    I used to use a portable one fuelled by gas, but it seemed to eat tips rapidly, and I often burned myself with it.

    This cheap and cheerful £14.99 40W Maplin kit works well enough on crossovers, and replacement tips are available:
    http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-40w...iron-kit-n72hy

    Always tin the tip the very first time it warms up, and keep it tinned when hot, or it will oxidise black into unrecoverable uselessness. Modern irons are not copper, so you can't file them down. It's a false economy to buy those little 15g tubes of lead-free solder. 100g for £10 makes more sense.

    Modern solder is flux free, so you need clean unoxidised components, and work fast because of the high temperature. I've never noticed any advantage with the more expensive 4% silver solders.

    15-30A fuse wire works well for hookups. It's just tinned pure copper, in fact, and you can buy similar stuff in longer reels at electrical wholesalers.

  3. #23
    danilo Guest

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    Absolutely true.
    I mistakenly bought Lead free solder and my geriatric 25 watt Weller pencil wouldn't melt it .
    Immediately threw that solder away, it being worthless.
    No one IMO.. Willingly.. uses Lead free in DIY Electro fiddling.
    Or should, for that matter

  4. #24
    Join Date: Jun 2012

    Location: Portsmouth, UK

    Posts: 503
    I'm Steve.

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    I just looked it up.

    Sn 63% (tin), Pb 37% (traditional leaded eutectic solder) melts at 183 C.
    Sn 96%, Ag 4% (silver) melts at 221 C.
    Sn 100% melts at 232 C.

    ROHS (EU regulation: Restriction Of Hazardous Substances) compliant Lead-free solder has a notorious reliability history, and in fact is excluded from medical and military applications, where it's tendency to dry joints and cracking is too risky to contemplate. But for all that, since 90% of my solder ends up in the bin, and hence in landfill to the water supply and incineration into the air, I am happy with lead-free. Lead and its airbourne fumes from soldering is seriously bad news for your brain and body and can reduce your IQ by 10% or more.

    It's rightly quite hard to buy leaded solder these days, but obviously it works better, particularly for fine work. The key with unleaded is clean surfaces to solder.

    Us senile oldies breathed enough lead from lead-tetraethyl additive in Petrol in years gone by, that perhaps we should no longer care. But our children should.

  5. #25
    Join Date: Mar 2014

    Location: Herefordshire

    Posts: 104
    I'm Alex.

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    Another good solder to work with is WBT 4% silver solder, 180ºC melting temp so no overheating components :-)

  6. #26
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

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    Thanks for the advice chaps.

    Anyone got a bit of lead solder that could send me, obviously willing to pay +postage.

    PM if you can oblige.
    Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702

    Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2

  7. #27
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  8. #28
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Birmingham

    Posts: 6,772
    I'm James.

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    I have been kindly sent some lead solder - thanks.

    Now back to the YouTube videos on how to solder!
    Main system : VPI Scout 1.1 / JMW 9T / 2M Black / Croft 25R+ / Croft 7 / Heco Celan GT 702

    Second System : Goldring Lenco GL75 / AT95EX / Pioneer SX590 / Spendor SP2

  9. #29
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

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    I'm Grant.

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    Apply to the job, not the bolt
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  10. #30
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

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    I use a pair of Antex adjustable temp I got from Maplins, one fitted with a big bit the other with a fine one. + Silver loaded solder (Maplins) which seems to melt/flo well.

    I got an eBay Chinese knock off of the Hakko analogue solder station, which was the Industry standard in Japan and the USA and is similar to Weller or Antex quality.
    The knock off lasted a day before failing completely (element/sensor). I've found a UK distributor, so may treat myself to the real thing one day, the analogue type is no longer made, so it will have to be the digital version.
    In all the comparative reviews I have come across, the Hakko heats up faster/recovers and maintains an even temperature closer to that selected, better than anything else anywhere near the price.

    Using lead solder is OK on new joints.
    If you are adding to an existing lead free joint, not so good in my experience, they don't mix well. Remove the lead free first.

    I use leaded for fine work, like soldering a SMD op amp to a DIP8 adaptor. It flows well and you apply heat to delicate parts for a shorter time to get it moving.
    Last edited by Qwin; 08-09-2016 at 17:32.

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