Re: solder gauge?


"Dave Plowman (News)" <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4efb415174dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article
<prestwhich-72BEFB.10065130062007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Smitty Two <prestwhich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I work in manufacturing, not repair, and keep the human robots supplied
with .015, .020, .025, .031, .040, and .050 diameter solder. The range
of things we work on makes having a broad selection helpful. But I
wonder what repair techs use most frequently? (If I could only have one
size, I'd go with the .025 I think.) Also I assume you guys on the other
side of the ditch are using metric sizes?

Yes. My home made dispenser has 1.2, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5mm and 0.9 is the most
used one. But I do little SM stuff.

Today, I added another useful little item to my arsenal of soldering tackle.
It is tip re-tinner. Basically, it is a small 'cake' of quote "electronics
grade solder powder and chemicals" set in a little tin, with a stickypad on
the bottom to stick it to the bench - or in my case, on top of the Weller
desoldering station. All of my irons are on all of the time ready to just
snatch up and use as needed. The downside of this is that if they are not
used for a couple of days, the tip oxidises up enough to make retinning a
little difficult. Well, I don't know what the "chemicals" are in this little
cake, but the lightest stroke of an oxidised tip across its surface, and it
is gleaming again with perfect tin. Just happened to see it advertised on
the front of a flyer that one of my suppliers sent me, and as I was
ordering, thought I'd get some. Glad I did. It's certainly something that I
won't be without in the future.

Arfa


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