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Lead-free solder works fine as long your soldering iron is decent. Even if the lead isn't vaporized, you'll be exposed by touch and splatter. When I learned to

Lead-free solder works fine as long your soldering iron is decent. Even if the lead isn't vaporized, you'll be exposed by touch and splatter. When I learned to solder I learned on complete crap soldering irons that could barely work with leaded solder, and I developed a prejudice against lead-free. But lead-free solder has gotten better, and investing in a Weller or a Hakko will save the hobbyist so much time and frustration and ruined components that it's the way to go anyway. If your iron can hold it's temperature worth a darn, the lead-free solder is fine. If it can't, you're going to struggle no matter what you use.

grumpy-de-sre 2y ago
Damn right, there's absolutely no justifiable reason for using leaded solder for hobby projects today. Get a good iron, and a nice roll of SAC305 from a reputable vendor and you won't have any issues.
- djmips 2y ago
  Working on vintage computers, it's unavoidable. Removing failed components like recapping usually involve desoldering machines which use heat and suction which creates spatter and waste inside of the machine and who knows maybe even toxicity that isn't part of normal soldering.
- blincoln 2y ago
  Does modern lead-free soldering still end up having tin whiskers? That was always the big downside as far as I was concerned. A quick internet search implies it's still a thing.
  - grumpy-de-sre 2y ago
    From what I understand SAC305 if not exposed to corrosive environments has a relatively low (but nonzero) risk of whisker formation. But in practice in a hobby environment it's not going to be a big issue. Pure tin (or Sn99.3Cu0.7 alloy) is garbage, the silver helps a bunch. For demanding applications there's apparently some even more performant alloys available today, eg. Innolot [1]. 1. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/55827 https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/55827

grumpy-de-sre 2y ago

Damn right, there's absolutely no justifiable reason for using leaded solder for hobby projects today. Get a good iron, and a nice roll of SAC305 from a reputable vendor and you won't have any issues.

djmips 2y ago
Working on vintage computers, it's unavoidable. Removing failed components like recapping usually involve desoldering machines which use heat and suction which creates spatter and waste inside of the machine and who knows maybe even toxicity that isn't part of normal soldering.
blincoln 2y ago
Does modern lead-free soldering still end up having tin whiskers? That was always the big downside as far as I was concerned. A quick internet search implies it's still a thing.
- grumpy-de-sre 2y ago
  From what I understand SAC305 if not exposed to corrosive environments has a relatively low (but nonzero) risk of whisker formation. But in practice in a hobby environment it's not going to be a big issue. Pure tin (or Sn99.3Cu0.7 alloy) is garbage, the silver helps a bunch. For demanding applications there's apparently some even more performant alloys available today, eg. Innolot [1]. 1. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/55827 https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/55827