Solder and Soldering Irons

Thanks Xen - a fan is nice simple idea. I try and be careful but know I managed to to inadvertently suck in some of the fumes during all the excitement of being a soldering newb.

 

Ventilation is key. Don't let air blow directly onto your molten solder because the sudden cooling can later make the joint brittle.

 

Cardas Quad Eutectic for solder and a Metcal SP200 that I got super cheap off of a friend. I also use liquid flux that was originally intended for stained glass making. All three transformed the cable making process for me from a cheap Circuit Specialist iron along with whatever Radio Shack had for solder.

 

Is that liquid flux neutral or acidic? I didn't know about liquid fluxes (bought my rosin flux years ago and never gave flux another thought). This stuff seems easier to use with less fumes.

 

This is the stuff:
http://www.stallingsglass.com/store/product.php?productid=17293&cat=328&page=1
I use a cotton swab to dab a little on the surface of whatever I need to solder and just a touch of the iron is usually all it takes to make the Cardas flow like water.
I don't know if he still uses it, but Peter over at Doublehelixcables recommended to me years ago.

Edit: It is a safety flux, so about as gentle as you can make it, I suppose. At my peak DIY time, I probably inhaled a little too much solder fumes, but the Cardas smelled so sweet, I didn't care at the time...

 

@velvetx - awesome. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun putting it together.

I'm not sure about the lead-free solder though. I've never used it but by some accounts it might be more difficult to work with than the leaded stuff. When I was gathering materials for my own build I just remember a comment from Paul Birkeland who (I think) designed the Crack : "the lead-free stuff is garbage, I would only use it for a paper-weight".

Unless you have specific health concerns about the lead - but I think it's probably fine for just doing the odd kit. Washing your hands after a session is meant to be good practice.

 

Fair enough, I just thought I would mention it. Yes I believe you are correct about Europe's regulations for manufactured electronics. You can still buy the leaded solder here though.

Best of luck with your build, I'll look forward to hearing what you make of the amp.

 

Just wanted to chime in and essentially endorse everything Xen has said. The Hakko 888d is tops, rosin flux is perfect for cable making (and DIY electronics), and the 1.6mm flat tip (the T18-D16) makes everything much easier. The only additional recommendation I have is the T18-K 5mm knife tip. It is great for when you need to clean cut things like techflex / sheathing, or when you want to shaveburn off any pesky sections of insulation. I have used it to clean cut paracord and webbing in a pinch. Much cheaper than a hot-knife, which is overkill for the hobbyist anyway.

 

As Xen mentioned, in terms of lead poising it's not usually the fumes you would need to worry about since the vaporising point of lead would generally be higher than the soldering temperature.

I don't think the lead in solder can be absorbed through the skin. Exposure, if at all, would more likely come from handling it and then inadvertently ingesting it (e.g. by licking your fingers, smoking, or eating something). As the guys have mentioned it's the flux fumes that are pretty nasty.

In any case, I admit to being cautious about this stuff too so do fully respect wanting to avoid it. If you can get the lead-free stuff to work well for you, that seems like a good thing. I did use the lead solder stuff but washed my hands thoroughly and also sometimes wore a latex glove when I was feeling particularly paranoid.

I got a cold shortly after finishing my build and did briefly wonder if I was dying. It's hard being a newb.

 

Lead-free solder is a good thing for large-scale electronics manufacturing. The danger isn't to humans (directly) via exposure, but is more of a consideration when you look at the eventual disposal. Imagine all the idiots who buy a new iPhone every year and throw their old electronics in the trash.

No reason to not use classic 60/40 as a hobbyist. Lead-free is indeed a PITA to work with, any electronic technician will tell you.

 

Not sure how important it is to a hobbyist, but lead-free solder can also have an issue with "whiskers"... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy)

 

Whoa. Weird.

 

Congrats on the Bottle Head (awesome learning experience) and the Hakko purchase's. It will be cool to hear the difference when you eventually get the speedball upgrade. So far I've only used my Hakko-888D to build a few XLR and mini-XLR cables, but it performs much better than my old budget iron (much quicker to get up to temp, and holds the set temp nicely).

I'm debating whether to go for the Torpedo III or hold out and wait to see if the Eddie Current BW DIY kit materializes...

DIY get's addicting

 

@fraggler Thanks for the info. I picked up some from Amazon and will try it on my next few projects which are interconnects for my soon-oh-so-soon Gungnir Multibit and Carbon. I also will be making an extension cable for balanced headphones (Neutrik XLR4 on both ends). This will allow me to unplug and stop super-coiling from happening. Finally, make another balanced cable using individually sheathed wires and a more pleasing color palette.

Very interested in trying to assemble an amp, too. Maybe a summer project. I like the Torpedo since it has prefab enclosure and is a tube (I have 2 solid states). I would be sorely tempted by a BW kit, though...

 

hi, everyone, I bought a soldering iron 7.5 yrs ago, and only used once. A local guy told me yesterday, different solder, totally different sound, (he've tired 13 kinds of solders bahlala) it this true?

 

Only if you're doing something very wrong with the solder. Your connections should be making physical contact first; the solder just holds the components in place.

 

That sounds preposterous. What is his application? Cables? Electronics? Plumbing? I suppose if he were talking about copper piping for in house plumbing, different solders at the various joints might affect how much the pipes vibrate when struck with a mallet, but even then the differences would be tiny. I suppose if the solder was really brittle/shitty, and the pipe joint completely broke, then the resonance would completely change due to less pipe vibrating. But then your basement would be filling with water, which might also change the resonance.