Difference between electrical solder and metal work solder.

[Flexibel_kampfe]

I sent my father today to get solder for me. I need to fix a makeshift antena I use for my radio(the antena doesnt seem to work in the garage without it... its merely a piece of thick metal wire.)

I sent him to get acid cored, but he came back with "electrical"... is there any real difference? Can I still use electrical for metal work. For all intents and purposes it seems very similar... Rosin-core, silver bearing. Lead-free(I really don't want lead poisoning...)

I can wait till tommorrow to return it, but if its the same, I would rather get what I need to get done, done....

Its Bernzomatic..

 

[Flexibel_kampfe]

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

That kind, except its rosin core.. 8oz

I have to pick up a few bricks... or a piece of sheet metal, tommorrow anyway.. since fire+wood=smoke!/Bad!

 

[Flexibel_kampfe]

Forget it... Im just gunna use it... solder is solder, and its not really a high strength application... I imagine, by the looks of it, metal work solder is just thicker...

 

[modelengineer]

If you really want something mechanically soldered together you use 45% silver solder. It's extremely strong.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i use a 10$ radioshack iron and 1.50$ standard, generic, wire

works fine

 

[Flexibel_kampfe]

Wire for $1.50... yikes... I paid about 10x that....

 

[Bluethunder3320]

uhhhh

here you get like a ton

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-lb-lead-free-rosin-core-soldering-wire-98734.html

 

[Flexibel_kampfe]

Not really... For $10 I got .5lb(8oz) there you only get .25lb for $6... its actually more expensive/volume..

 

[redsox985]

At school, they were cleaning out a cabinet, throwing away its contents. I scored a 1lb spool of lead free solder for the price of garbage picking. I'm set for life.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

wow.

and redsox nice score. wait, throwing away an unused spool of solder WTF?

 

[redsox985]

Throwing away a cabinet of whatever was in it. They got a cnc mill for robotics and had to make room I guess. I don't care though, I salvaged whatever I could maybe use.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i hate how my school says they cant buy anything because of budget cuts but they do stuff like that too.

 

[Blazkowiez]

Speaking as someone who is in the field of teaching you have to understand how the budget works before you complain about small items. They're fighting to keep staff which costs 30-50k a year per individual versus a single 300 dollar cabinet which may be out of date for code.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

yeah but they add up, if they buy something they should use it.

my school just built a huge stone wall and a big garden then bought smartboards and laptops for every classroom then they send me home with a door to door collection fundraiser because theyre desperate.

 

[devino246]

yeah but they add up, if they buy something they should use it.

my school just built a huge stone wall and a big garden then bought smartboards and laptops for every classroom then they send me home with a door to door collection fundraiser because theyre desperate.

I hate those smartboards. There overpriced and hardly get used. Most of those things were probably purchased by the PTA.

 

[newrider3]

Lol. My school just put in 3 new tennis courts, a new parking lot, re-did the football field in astroturf, and are in the middle of constructing a new building/shop just for the AG department (kinda pissed that they get a bigger shop than the metals classes). But they can't even afford tissues for the classrooms, and are always *****ing that they can't afford the amount of printer paper used in the school.

 

[Flexibel_kampfe]

You wanna hear how much my Shop teacher's budget was this year(Woodshop)...? Take a guess..



Did you guess?




Are you sure thats your guess?





Are you really sure?





Are you positive...?







$100... He went to harbour freight and... *gasp*... bought cordless drills....(The lumber I think is by donation...)....

 

[Bluethunder3320]

yeah last year my tech ed teacher got his lumber donation cancelled because the lumber yard couldnt give him any more free wood.

kind of sucks but that means we each got a foot long piece of wood or the year.