William "Chops" Westfield wrote:
> Are there any good lead-free solder/flux combinations for typical
> hobbyist usage?  I'd be willing to pay a "reasonable amount" extra
> (say, up to $0.25/g in 100g quantities) for something with exotic
> components (indium?  Bismuth?) if it worked as well as ye old
> 63/37 rosin-core solder with "generic" soldering irons...

Are you talking about solder paste? I haven't found a good source of
lead-free paste in small amonts, I usually beg some from contract
manufacturers I have relationships with, and it's the standard stuff,
whatever that is. But mostly when I need paste I use 63/37 paste because
it works well and anything I do is a prototype.

For wire solder, I use 96.5 tin 3.0 silver 0.5 copper or something like
that from Kester, about $50/lb in .020 diameter. It works fine with a
regular soldering iron but the melting point is higher than 63/37.

But you might want lead-free with the same temperature as 63/37? I
haven't needed it, but I can imagine it's hard to find in hobbyist
quantities.

Cheerful regards,
Bob
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