[sdiy] Soldering Iron Recomendations

[Colin f]

> I was doing a lot of work recently with Shen Mao Lead Free 
> solder which is what Rapid/Maplin sell as "own brand". The 
> flux in it is evil, ate through the coating of bits not meant 
> for lead free in a matter of hours.

I'm using Rapid Sn/Ag/Cu/Ni/Ge solder, which is easier to use than the more
common lead-free alloys, but yeah, that flux is nasty stuff.
I'm using nearly as much tip-brite as I am solder.
All for the sake of keeping lead out of electronic equipment that must be
compulsorily collected and reprocessed anyway.
The only upside of using lead-free is the pleasure of working on older gear
with leaded.
What lovely stuff.

Cheers,
Colin f