7 ms·

>a $40 roll of thin gauge solder (which will last the rest of your life) I dunno, I'm 56 and I'm about to finish the roll I bought as a teenager. (Albeit bough

>a $40 roll of thin gauge solder (which will last the rest of your life) I dunno, I'm 56 and I'm about to finish the roll I bought as a teenager. (Albeit bought in pre-RoHS times.)

lostlogin 2y ago
Hopefully your affairs are in order…
- m463 2y ago
  should things be in flux to be in order?
bigiain 2y ago
> Albeit bought in pre-RoHS times. Yeah. Old high lead content solder is way nicer to solder with than modern stuff.
- SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
  Was there an actual safe way to deal with this stuff besides maybe wearing a gas mask while you were working with it?
  - nemosaltat 2y ago
    we had overhead vacuum suction on all the terminals in the training environment. On the sub, not so much, but if you’re soldering^ underway, it’s because shit has hit the fan so badly that a bit of lead inhalation is the least of your worries. edit: if you’re ^soldering *Nuke* stuff underway, it’s because things have hit the fan, and that’s the whole point of ETMS. Other rates also solder underway and might also use (did use) lead, and perhaps none of our inhalation was warranted.
  - Leonelf 2y ago
    Why? Lead solder doesn't evaporate. The risk was always in recycling and maybe eating without having washed your hands. But you don't breathe in the solder, only the flux (which is even more toxic in lead-free solder applications).
- nemosaltat 2y ago
  Since no other navy nukes have chimed in on this thread to speak about ETMS—eutectic point is a huge piece of the puzzle and there are tradeoffs for selecting between 60/40 and 63/37. Fillets suck, bifurcated terminals are worse. For any other Navy nukes, I wanted to link to a good reference on what ETMS is (was?) but couldn’t readily find anything. If anyone has a reputable link to publicly available course material on their solder grading rubrics or the 7-step, I’d be interested.
  - bigiain 2y ago
    Not what you're asking for, but I have this from NASA in my bookmarks: "THROUGH-HOLE SOLDERING GENERAL REQUIREMENTS" https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/601%20General%20Requirements.html https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sectio... This one might be relevant too (but it's too long for me to read through right now to confirm): "Military Standard - Standard requirements for soldered electrical and electronic assemblies (1989)" https://electromet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Electromet-MILSTD2000a.pdf https://electromet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Electromet...
tibbon 2y ago
I've been going through a 1-2lb of solder a year recently, and find myself needing multiple thicknesses and types. But, I've been repairing guitar amps, organs, building lots of microphone preamps, outboard rack gear, digital projects, etc. Kester solder rocks. I do remember my first pound lasted about 15 years though...
throawayonthe 2y ago
[dead]

>a $40 roll of thin gauge solder (which will last the rest of your life) I dunno, I'm 56 and I'm about to finish the roll I bought as a teenager. (Albeit bought in pre-RoHS times.)

lostlogin 2y ago

Hopefully your affairs are in order…

m463 2y ago
should things be in flux to be in order?

bigiain 2y ago

> Albeit bought in pre-RoHS times. Yeah. Old high lead content solder is way nicer to solder with than modern stuff.

SOLAR_FIELDS 2y ago
Was there an actual safe way to deal with this stuff besides maybe wearing a gas mask while you were working with it?
- nemosaltat 2y ago
  we had overhead vacuum suction on all the terminals in the training environment. On the sub, not so much, but if you’re soldering^ underway, it’s because shit has hit the fan so badly that a bit of lead inhalation is the least of your worries. edit: if you’re ^soldering *Nuke* stuff underway, it’s because things have hit the fan, and that’s the whole point of ETMS. Other rates also solder underway and might also use (did use) lead, and perhaps none of our inhalation was warranted.
- Leonelf 2y ago
  Why? Lead solder doesn't evaporate. The risk was always in recycling and maybe eating without having washed your hands. But you don't breathe in the solder, only the flux (which is even more toxic in lead-free solder applications).
nemosaltat 2y ago
Since no other navy nukes have chimed in on this thread to speak about ETMS—eutectic point is a huge piece of the puzzle and there are tradeoffs for selecting between 60/40 and 63/37. Fillets suck, bifurcated terminals are worse. For any other Navy nukes, I wanted to link to a good reference on what ETMS is (was?) but couldn’t readily find anything. If anyone has a reputable link to publicly available course material on their solder grading rubrics or the 7-step, I’d be interested.
- bigiain 2y ago
  Not what you're asking for, but I have this from NASA in my bookmarks: "THROUGH-HOLE SOLDERING GENERAL REQUIREMENTS" https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/601%20General%20Requirements.html https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sectio... This one might be relevant too (but it's too long for me to read through right now to confirm): "Military Standard - Standard requirements for soldered electrical and electronic assemblies (1989)" https://electromet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Electromet-MILSTD2000a.pdf https://electromet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Electromet...

tibbon 2y ago

I've been going through a 1-2lb of solder a year recently, and find myself needing multiple thicknesses and types. But, I've been repairing guitar amps, organs, building lots of microphone preamps, outboard rack gear, digital projects, etc. Kester solder rocks. I do remember my first pound lasted about 15 years though...

throawayonthe 2y ago

[dead]