How do you choose your solder?

I don't know what size he uses, but I do know Ben loves lead solder.  It melts cooler and flows better than most lead-free stuff so its great for prototyping and anything where you might have to remove something.  He jokes that he bought a lifetime supply of leaded solder awhile back.

It's no joke I have about 30 years worth stockpiled.

It is a lot easier to work with but anything production you should use lead-free.

So any solder I get from Home Depot is fine for my projects?

Go to radio shack and get some 60/40 solder. It's a good general purpose solder. The stuff at home depot is most likely for soldering copper pipes together.

Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . Leadfoot: Sometimes going green hurts more than it helps. | PBS

joecr wrote:

 

Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?

Taking the cynical business/beancounter line for a moment... Of course we want the stuff we make for others to fail, as long as it fails just after the guarantee expires. That way you need to buy another one from us and we get more of your money on a more regular basis. Repeat business and how much un-needed intangible rubbish they can "attach" to the sale is what's important.

Now obviously that's not how I'd like things to work, I'd prefer to spend a little more on something that's reliable, but you need to realise that big business cares about just one thing (and how that affects the CEO's bonus). The customer is quite a long way down the list..

joecr wrote:

 

Ben do you want the electronics you make for other people to fail from tin whiskers, or have they finally solved the tin whiskers without putting the lead back in?

Taking the cynical business/beancounter line for a moment... Of course we want the stuff we make for others to fail, as long as it fails just after the guarantee expires. That way you need to buy another one from us and we get more of your money on a more regular basis. Repeat business and how much un-needed intangible rubbish they can "attach" to the sale is what's important.

Now obviously that's not how I'd like things to work, I'd prefer to spend a little more on something that's reliable, but you need to realise that big business cares about just one thing (and how that affects the CEO's bonus). The customer is quite a long way down the list..