[weinzierl]

Soldering by hand is a dying art...

I'm not sure. Back in the day we avoided SMD like the plague and it had a reputation of being unapproachable. THT parts were highly sought after and I would even say that a good deal of the success of AVR was because they offered THT versions of their µs long after most others had stopped. Some of us even engaged in the uphill battle of lead-free soldering only to be disillusioned.

We thought hand soldering will die with THT but it didn't.

I see a young generation that has mostly overcome these hurdles. With their young steady hands, sharp eyes, high-lead solder, small temperature controlled irons and other modern equipment they just go about. I envy them.

[dotancohen]

High lead solder? Are you sure about that?

For what it's worth, I took the time to learn leadless soldering specifically so that I could teach my kids. I like to introduce them to safe hobbies (that why they all went skydiving before their 10th birthday, too).

[jdietrich]

Leaded solder is safe to use if you wash your hands afterwards. Leaded solder - particularly 63/37 eutectic solder - is much more forgiving of poor technique. Lead-free isn't a massive inconvenience if you know what you're doing, but it can be absolutely infuriating for novices.

[dotancohen]

What about breathing the fumes? Also, doesn't (long-term) exposure to the fumes severely affect skin? I remember the folks soldering a lot of things for the Gemini and Apollo programs had very wrinkly, obviously damaged skin on their faces.

[Kirby64]

There is no lead in the solder fumes. If anything, lead-free solder is substanially worse, since the flux used for lead-free solder is a lot... harsher. Either way, this can be largely fixed by a small fume fan.

[dotancohen]

Thank you. In fact, I drive a small horizontal quadcopter propeller with a 3.7v LiPo while soldering to pull the fumes away.

[nolist_policy]

I actually prefer lead-free solder because its more aggressive flux and higher soldering temperature.

This allows burning away and tinning enameled wire with the soldering tip.

Though there are only two lead-free solders that qualify. I use the Felder Ultra-Clear EL Sn100Ni+. The other one is the Amasan BF32-3.

[jve]

I suspect tip oxidation is an issue with leadfree? Or isnt it?

At what temperatures you solder mentioned leadfree?

[jdietrich]

Tip life is inevitably worse with lead-free solder. Using a brass wool cleaner rather than a wet sponge will help prolong tip life, as will the regular use of a suitable tinning/cleaning paste (e.g. Hakko FS-100 or JBC TT-A). Keep the tip wetted with solder as much as possible - a completely "clean" tip will oxidise much faster than one with a protective layer of solder.

The correct tip temperature for any hand soldering operation is the lowest temperature that will allow the joint to be completed in two to five seconds. In practice, that depends on a host of variables - the composition of the solder alloy, the properties and calibration of your iron, the thermal mass of the joint etc. A usual rule of thumb is the melting point of the solder plus 150°C, but your mileage will vary.

[lukego]

Oxidation is a big problem with the harsh no-clean fluxes in many cheap lead-free solder wires. Switching to a rosin flux (RMA or RA) name brand solder should fix that (did for me.)

Metcal have a great big doc on tip care that covers this.

[pkolaczk]

Maybe it’s just me but I find SMT easier and faster to prototype with than THT. Apply paste, place all components on the board with tweezers, reflow, done. With THT I have to bend / cut the legs of most components, and solder each point individually.

As for “high lead solder” - you won’t buy it in Europe. We had to learn using lead free for rework and you know what - it’s not much different, assuming you have high quality equipment.

[mistaken]

As for “high lead solder” - you won’t buy it in Europe. We had to learn using lead free for rework and you know what - it’s not much different, assuming you have high quality equipment.

That's bollocks. You can buy leaded solder in Europe just fine. You only need to worry about lead-free if you want to sell a commercial product.

[pkolaczk]

You can’t in Poland if you don’t own a resistered business. I tried and nope, they won’t sell it to individuals.

But thanks for letting me know, maybe it was just a local problem of the particular store, but a EU policy.

[pta2002]

I have a roll of 38% lead solder on my desk which I bought last year from Leroy Merlin in Portugal, so you can definitely buy it in Europe.

[atesti]

Any idea where I can buy some from Germany? Reichelt stopped to sell it and I did not have chance to stock up

[weinzierl]

Nowadays I don't bother with Reichelt or Conrad and just get must of my stuff from Mouser. They offer leaded solder in all kinds of forms. I have to say that I have not tried out if they will actually deliver it to Germany though.

[imtringued]

If you can do your joints on first try, lead free solder is exactly as "difficult" as leaded solder. I never notice the difference except when I have to remove it.

[willis936]

Yeah that's true if you have a reflow oven and avoid 0402 and below. Ovens aren't cheap or small though.

[BenjiWiebe]

Can't you modify a toaster oven to make a usable reflow oven?

[leoedin]

What’s strange is that the larger SMD packages are far simpler to solder than THT ones are. Give me an 0805 or SOP any day over a THT package.

I guess the real driver towards hobbyists using SMD is cheap and fast PCB design. You can’t really do stripboard or wire wrap with SMD packages.

[foldr]

>Some of us even engaged in the uphill battle of lead-free soldering only to be disillusioned.

I've never had any trouble using lead-free solder for through-hole or SMT (and I don't have any expensive or sophisticated equipment).