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| Do you still use leaded solder? I was today refused to buy it ... |
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| mansaxel:
I am probably responsible for all of this, since I'm from Sweden. But, seriously. Lead is poisonous. I've had, as many mixed success with lead-free products; I have a Stannol lead-free roll I avoid using, because it is not very helpful. With good temperature control, it is quite OK, though. For repair of old gear, lead is of course quite necessary. I have a bunch of rolls leaded, but I restrict use of it to old stuff, to make it last and to minimise exposure and contamination. New builds are lead-free through and through, regardless of what I'm doing. I've, through other members here, found that Balver Zinn unleaded is extremely good, and a bunch of us managed to score a group buy. It feels like the old days. I've also stopped using Freon, Asbestos, and DDT. Quit smoking. I do drink, though. There are limits. But I can, OTOH, keep drinking for longer now that I've optimised wear and tear on myself. :-DD Edit: What Bassman wrote. 10 times over. |
| ejeffrey:
--- Quote from: Miyuki on November 16, 2021, 07:55:16 am --- --- Quote from: ejeffrey on November 16, 2021, 04:09:19 am --- --- Quote from: jesuscf on November 15, 2021, 08:43:25 pm ---They should ban the sell of leaded bullets as well!!! --- End quote --- The exclamation points make this sound sarcastic. I'm not sure how you meant but they absolutely should. Lead bullets are a serous environmental problem since they are deliberately shot into the environment when used for hunting or often at outdoor target ranges. Lead bullets have already been banned for hunting in some cases in the US and the US military is phasing out lead from at least their most common ammunition types. No idea how far along that is, I think it's been in progress for a decade. --- End quote --- It is a reasonable ban for shotguns, as most of the shots do not end in the game but in the environment and it is a big issue For other uses, I do not see many concerns And military ammo is mainly steel anyway (and always was for penetration reasons) and after a war, is that little remaining lead from bullets the least problem. In any bigger conflict will be used plenty of really nasty stuff to kill each other and lead is compared to it just a children's toy. --- End quote --- No, most military small arms ammo is/was some form of jacketed lead. Might be steel, might be copper alloy, might be copper clad steel jacketing. Lead free versions have only recently become common. And the concern isn't necessarily about the rounds fired in war although those currently living in Vietnam or Korea might see it differently, but the far, far greater number used in practice and training. Lead (from both ammunition and paint) is one of many contaminants affecting large numbers of army bases. Lead ammunition contaminates the soil and water of the bases affecting everyone there, and shooting ranges both indoor and outdoor generate significant amounts of airborne lead dust resulting in people who regularly using them having significantly elevated lead in their bloodstream. It's funny (i..e, not funny) you should call it a "children's toy" since one of the biggest concerns is that kids growing up in the military are exposed to lead (and a bunch of other toxic chemicals -- military bases have a lot of hazards)) at rates far higher than others. I know everyone here wants to believe that lead is no big deal because leaded solder works much better, but it is really bad and eliminating it wherever possible is a good idea. No, the dozen or so pounds of lead solder a hobbyist might use in their lifetime won't cause any major problems if they use good practices but lead in commercially produced electronics, like lead in gasoline and lead in bullets is an environmental problem that we don't need. |
| Someone:
--- Quote from: TimFox on November 16, 2021, 06:07:11 pm ---One client asked us if there were any substitute for the lead shielding, and the only ones available were tungsten (quite expensive) and gold (very expensive). --- End quote --- Suggest to them another entirely unfashionable shielding material, pure cadmium. Lead seems like the happy option! ... cobalt is another alongside tungsten, practical but expensive. |
| penfold:
--- Quote from: tooki on November 16, 2021, 07:43:33 pm --- --- Quote from: Bassman59 on November 16, 2021, 06:24:09 pm ---Seriously, i think those of you railing against lead-free solder are just complaining about [...] --- End quote --- That, or they were dealing with early alloys that maybe weren’t as good, with equipment not quite up to the task. Then they never looked at it again, even though it’s been tweaked a ton. --- End quote --- That reason. I'll admit I'm totally behind the curve, I had some awful experiences of it 10-15 years ago, since then 90% of my professional soldering needs have only been only on proto's that'll never be part of any production gear, the few minor mods I've done with lead-free on production stuff just haven't made me want to totally ditch lead. I'll be making the switch soon though with some more-commercial/mainstream clients coming through the door. Tin whiskers though! Whilst not a problem as an entity, the fearmongering! For some long service life defence stuff (so long spares storage also) you can easily end up with 25mm courtyards around some components! All it took was one person raising their arm in one relatively innocuous meeting and saying "oh, but what tin whiskers" and... I'll avoid ranting. |
| Miyuki:
--- Quote from: ejeffrey on November 16, 2021, 10:11:00 pm ---No, most military small arms ammo is/was some form of jacketed lead. Might be steel, might be copper alloy, might be copper clad steel jacketing. Lead free versions have only recently become common. And the concern isn't necessarily about the rounds fired in war although those currently living in Vietnam or Korea might see it differently, but the far, far greater number used in practice and training. Lead (from both ammunition and paint) is one of many contaminants affecting large numbers of army bases. Lead ammunition contaminates the soil and water of the bases affecting everyone there, and shooting ranges both indoor and outdoor generate significant amounts of airborne lead dust resulting in people who regularly using them having significantly elevated lead in their bloodstream. It's funny (i..e, not funny) you should call it a "children's toy" since one of the biggest concerns is that kids growing up in the military are exposed to lead (and a bunch of other toxic chemicals -- military bases have a lot of hazards)) at rates far higher than others. I know everyone here wants to believe that lead is no big deal because leaded solder works much better, but it is really bad and eliminating it wherever possible is a good idea. No, the dozen or so pounds of lead solder a hobbyist might use in their lifetime won't cause any major problems if they use good practices but lead in commercially produced electronics, like lead in gasoline and lead in bullets is an environmental problem that we don't need. --- End quote --- I'm not a military expert, but I expected it is the same in the "western part of the world" because "easter style ammo" from 7.62 family, pistol and riffles are mainly steel with a small portion of the lead to hold steel rod in the jacket (more like a solder) BTW interesting fact most soviet era electronics (even consumer) use probably something like Pb70 solder, it was really annoying to desolder if you want to scavenge some part from an old board I support more environmentally friendly alternatives, and lead-free solder on a big scale works well. But when I cannot buy good lead-free solder in small quantities and then even simple leaded one it sucks |
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