soldering supplies, solder

I wil try that.  Thank you!

Usually acid core is thicker in diameter, and has no flux core or one core. Rosin core usually is multicore. The rosin core has usually a much smaller diameter. If you were to make a puddle of solder, then let it cool. You would see a ring of solidified flux that looks like hard resin from a pine tree.

I have several rolls of solder- some whose labels are very worn.  How can I tell what is acid core, plumbing solder, or rosin core solder.

Every thing you wanted to know about solder.

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I have never found any rosin core solder for sale at flea markets or yard sales. As I mentioned previously, here at my local Do-It store it's $24.95 for a one-pound roll plus 6% Michigan state sales tax, total $26.45. I've seen it for a couple or so dollars less from Internet suppliers, but adding one-pound shipping and handling makes it more than the total Do-It cost.

I have solder paste, an "antique" small can of it that my wife's father used in the 1930s! It's "Burnley Soldering Paste--Put on a little paste then apply solder with iron or torch." I use it mainly when I anticipate tough soldering jobs, where you need to get in, solder, and get out as quickly as you can. The paste is also excellent for rubbing into solder wick to make it more effective in soaking up old solder.

another way instead of a resistor as such, use a 20 watt   light bulb. easier to find.

I buy solder at the hamfairs. Quite often I can find it for abt. 12.00/lb.

Garage sales are a good source of solder too.
I picked up an bag of assorted solder for 5.00. Now it had a lot of plumbing solid core solder in it, but also 3 small rolls of silver solder, and 3 cans of flux. I got the entire lot for less than one roll of silver solder costs.
The down side to old solder is that sometimes the flux has gone bad in it. So the soldering paste is nice to have. I also bought a bottle of rosin flux also. That seems to be indespensable on these new "lead free" EPA mandated crap grade solder boards.
I have NEVER seen so many bad solder connections in my life than these "lead free" boards have.
Of course, the EPA ruling seems only to effect the US. Many other countries apparently are still using lead based solder.

To bad we can't buy it in bulk for members to participate in some savings.

I will look that up, as a reminder. and thanks to all for telling us of your way of doing things!

For an excellent DIY soldering iron tip, see pages 457 (very bottom) to 458 in Marcus and Levy's superb [i]Elements of Radio Servicing[i](1947 ed.) If you don't have a copy of this book, get one. For beginners, especially, it is as indispensable as the soldering iron itself.

Here in central Michigan at a Do-It hardware store, a one-pound roll of resin core solder, 60/40, about 22 ga, will cost me, including 6% state sales tax, almost $30. I say "will" because I'm running out of my current supply (which I once thought would never run out; I used to stockpile it). That's a lot of money for something we all take for granted in this hobby. The wrong way to go, though, is to buy these small 2 oz. amounts, sold by Radio Shack and others, which are about $5.95. So, when the time comes to buy I'll have to grin and bear it. But no more stockpiling!

Never thought of that. Good Ideal for even test equipment cord replacement.

If you need to replace the power cord on your soldering iron or drill (or other power tools) as I have, try to obtain cold flex cord. It's round, rubber, and available (in my area) in 18-2 and 18-3 gauges. Unlike the usual vinyl cords, it won't kink in cool environments. Yes, it costs more than vinyl (here about sixty cents a foot) but well worth it.

Something else I do is run a little transistor radio playing though my bench power strip , so if I close the door, to keep the grand-kids out or have chores to do, and forget that I have something I left on, I can hear the radio as my prompt to investigate that switch which needs to be turned off.

I like all my tools on wheels. The ones that need wheel locks have them. I figure one day if I get older and scale down I still will need tools so I want them easy to move. With that said I wanted to build a new workbench with all the things done to it that would make it easy to use. One of the things I did was to wire the bench and put a light with it. I also put a switch on it to cut everything off. I also wired a plug long enough so I could plug it into the wall without moving the bench. I usually just unplug the bench when I am done. That kills power to my projects ,tools,and iron. That way I don't have to guess if I cut it off and then walk out ot the shop in the cold winter. I just look out the window in the kitchen to see if I can see any shop lights on in case I forget to cut something off.

I do Like the timer Idea as well as the light, I use my overhead fluorescent on the same strip, so the visual light helps that way too.

The following is far from original but may serve as a reminder that modifying a tool or device to suit your needs can be mighty rewarding.

The current bench I use is a standard 6'8" SC birch door with legs attached to it and a power strip on one end- I didn't want power cords plugged in the middle and simply prefer having it on one end. As such, there isn't (well, wasn't) an iron I owned with anything longer than a 5-6 foot cord.

Every iron or gun I use with regularity has since had their cord replaced with 10-12' versions and on the smaller irons with no switch, an inline rocker switch (the type used for lamps) has been added, eliminating the need to unplug things.

This may seem like folly- but to me, anyway- there's nothing worse than being at the end of my cord (rope) and then having to reach for an extension cord. I've done this with any AC powered tool in regular use (Dremel, for instance) and I feel it's been time well spent. Additionally, a low-watt red bulb is plugged into the power strip to indicate things are "on"- I've yet to leave an iron turned on all night. (The other option, of course, is to plug the power strip into an inexpensive timer you set before beginning work).

Also, using the smallest reasonable gauge cord is helpful; it allows the cord to drape more easily and limits the amount of fighting one has to do trying to keep the iron to sit still. Take some time and find the most flexible cord available (at a reasonable cost); you'll be happy you did when it lays on the bench rather than being stiff and knocking things over as it's moved around. Small things, yes, but things most of us have cursed at one time or another.

If this would be better posted elsewhere, please relocate as applicable.

Follow this link for a good explanation.

CLICK HERE

There is no specific brand name, but the tool is distributed by M.I.T. (Michigan Industrial Tools, a Grand Rapids outfit). There is also a M.I.T. "gun type" soldering iron.

Was there a brand Name?

Recently, I bit on a 30-watt "pencil" soldering iron for sale at a so-called dollar store in my town. Cost was just $3.95. The iron comes with a replaceable nickel-coated tip and a heavy-duty 3-prong power cord. After using it many times, here is my conclusion: One of the finest soldering irons I've ever used. I bought another one for a back-up spare. The iron is surely superior to a 40-watt one I bought from a well-known supplier of antique radio parts and tools, which took forever to heat up and burned out after a relatively few uses. A replacement tip and heating unit for the latter would have cost several times more than the economy model. Yes, before you ask, the economy unit is made in China, but I have yet to see a comparable unit made in the U.S. that retails for the same ridiculously low price.

This topic was merged---Admin

Picked up a resistance soldering unit for $40
500 watt
WASSCO GLO-Melt
Model 105-B2S3


American Beauty took over the line so I can still get parts.
Again no manual

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