4 ms·

Wait, you're not supposed to? Why not (with lead free solder)? As a self taught electronics tinkerer I've never heard this, and I do it all the time when I work

by GuiA 12y ago

Wait, you're not supposed to? Why not (with lead free solder)? As a self taught electronics tinkerer I've never heard this, and I do it all the time when I work and no one's ever told me anything :/

MCRed 12y ago
No reason not to, really. The paint of my car has all kinds of evil chemicals in it, but if I lick my car I'm not going to die. Even if I licked my car a lot. There's a huge difference between skin exposure and ingestion. At some point being overly cautions crosses the border into pseudo science.
- smatthews 12y ago
  >At some point being overly cautions crosses the border into pseudo science. Sure, but there isn't much harm in that in this particular example. What is there to be gained by holding solder metal in the mouth?
  - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
    > What is there to be gained by holding solder metal in the mouth? Unless you have a third arm or a monkey tail, holding the solder in your mouth is about your only option when the component is in one hand and the iron is in the other.
    - DanBC 12y ago
      If you spend any kind of time doing this you should just invest in a jig to hold the work. And solder is thin and flexible, it's pretty easy with a bit of practice to manipulate it with the other fingers. Wiggling the joint while it's setting is sub-optimal.
      - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
        Of course. But not everything fits into a jig.
kazinator 12y ago
Though I have no qualms about mouthing a piece of leaded solder, and that's the stuff I use, I just use a "Helping Hands": a metal base holding a structure with a pair of alligator clips (and even has a magnifying glass mounted on it). This holds the pieces to be soldered in perfect position, so then you have one hand for the solder, and the other for the iron. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=helping+hands+electronics+tool https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=helping+hands+elect... You can pick up one of these over-the-counter in one of several electronics shops in Vancouver for as little as eight dollars Canadian.

by GuiA 12y ago

Wait, you're not supposed to? Why not (with lead free solder)? As a self taught electronics tinkerer I've never heard this, and I do it all the time when I work and no one's ever told me anything :/

MCRed 12y ago

No reason not to, really. The paint of my car has all kinds of evil chemicals in it, but if I lick my car I'm not going to die. Even if I licked my car a lot. There's a huge difference between skin exposure and ingestion. At some point being overly cautions crosses the border into pseudo science.

smatthews 12y ago
>At some point being overly cautions crosses the border into pseudo science. Sure, but there isn't much harm in that in this particular example. What is there to be gained by holding solder metal in the mouth?
- jack-r-abbit 12y ago
  > What is there to be gained by holding solder metal in the mouth? Unless you have a third arm or a monkey tail, holding the solder in your mouth is about your only option when the component is in one hand and the iron is in the other.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    If you spend any kind of time doing this you should just invest in a jig to hold the work. And solder is thin and flexible, it's pretty easy with a bit of practice to manipulate it with the other fingers. Wiggling the joint while it's setting is sub-optimal.
    - jack-r-abbit 12y ago
      Of course. But not everything fits into a jig.

kazinator 12y ago

Though I have no qualms about mouthing a piece of leaded solder, and that's the stuff I use, I just use a "Helping Hands": a metal base holding a structure with a pair of alligator clips (and even has a magnifying glass mounted on it). This holds the pieces to be soldered in perfect position, so then you have one hand for the solder, and the other for the iron. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=helping+hands+electronics+tool https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=helping+hands+elect... You can pick up one of these over-the-counter in one of several electronics shops in Vancouver for as little as eight dollars Canadian.