🚀 go-pugleaf

In message <mn.53347d941293c360.100014@news.motzarella.org>, Jack Jones 
<jonesj@googlemail.com> writes
>In a burst of enthusiasm when I was much younger, I bought a large reel 
>of solder which I barely used.
>
>It must have been at least 20 or more years ago. It looks similar to 
>this:
>http://img-europe.electrocomponents.com/largeimages/C557130-01.jpg
>
>Now I need to do some soldering again.  Would that old 60/40 multicore 
>of mine have deteriorated?
>
>I'm thinking the rosin in the multicores may have gone off in some way 
>because when I tin the tip and then leave it unused for 10 minutes, it 
>turns brown and uneven on the tip.  I'm using brand new tips.
>
>Maybe this is normal and happens even with less old 60/40 solder?
>

Solder flux was definitely different - I was convinced it smelled 
different  in the 1960s

And I dug this up :-

"As I mentioned, pine rosin is often the main ingredient of the
flux.  In a pinch, I have used raw rosin scraped from a pine tree,
but the smell is pretty bad.  [Still, I prefer it to the perfume
several manufacturers added to solder in the 1960's that smelled
of cheap incense.  But hey, it WAS the 1960's.]"

Http://yarchive.net/metal/soldering_flux.html

Brian
-- 
Brian Howie