solder gauge?

I use almost exclusively 0.7mm for general repair work. I also have a reel of 0.5mm for surface mount work, and some 1mm for 'heavy' work

Arfa

Yes. My home made dispenser has 1.2, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5mm and 0.9 is the most used one. But I do little SM stuff.

--
*How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he is lost?

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I just buy the smallest stuff I can find, it's the same cost per pound generally. Somewhere I have a roll of heavier stuff for big connections but usually I'm too lazy to go dig it out and just feed in a bunch of thin stuff.

In the UK the most common size for leaded is 1.2mm and it's vastly cheaper than the smaller sizes. One quick comparison gives a 500 gm reel of 1.2 at

12.70 gbp, and a 500gm reel of 0.6 at 32.25, from the same maker (Multicore)

--
*I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Blimey Dave ! I haven't used anything as thick of 1.2mm in about 20 years ! Even the 1mm that I have feels like you're soldering with welding rod ! d;~}

Arfa

Yes - same here. But the fact remains it's much cheaper.

--
*Never kick a cow pat on a hot day *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

That's prob'ly coz they can't shift it !

Arfa

It's the most commonly sold size. You'll find it on sale in most DIY places - but very unlikely to find the thinner stuff there.

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*Sometimes I wake up grumpy; Other times I let him sleep.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Are you sure that's not acid core plumbing solder?

No. I take it you don't solder plumbing much either - that is usually 3mm diameter.

1.2mm (actually 1.219) is 18 swg and the most commonly available size - it's the only size the likes of Draper sell. Of course a decent electronics supplier will have a range of sizes. But that wasn't my point.

--
*'Progress' and 'Change' are not synonyms.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I do quite a bit of plumbing, I've never measured the solder though and while I'm no stranger to metric, it's not as ingrained in my mind as imperial measurements. It's just been a while since I've seen any electronics solder as big as 1.2mm, even Ripoff Shack has it in smaller sizes.

Heh heh - swg or awg etc doesn't mean much to me either. Mains cable sizes in the UK have been listed by cross sectional area in mm² for some time, and I can just about recognise them.

--
*All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Same here. I buy the lower temperature stuff. 66/44

greg

Today, I added another useful little item to my arsenal of soldering tackle. It is tip re-tinner. Basically, it is a small 'cake' of quote "electronics grade solder powder and chemicals" set in a little tin, with a stickypad on the bottom to stick it to the bench - or in my case, on top of the Weller desoldering station. All of my irons are on all of the time ready to just snatch up and use as needed. The downside of this is that if they are not used for a couple of days, the tip oxidises up enough to make retinning a little difficult. Well, I don't know what the "chemicals" are in this little cake, but the lightest stroke of an oxidised tip across its surface, and it is gleaming again with perfect tin. Just happened to see it advertised on the front of a flyer that one of my suppliers sent me, and as I was ordering, thought I'd get some. Glad I did. It's certainly something that I won't be without in the future.

Arfa

Thats 110 %

-- Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell Central Florida

In article , snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net (known to some as Michael A. Terrell) scribed...

"Yes friends, Whizzo Butter, with 10% More or Less, is absolutely indistinguishable from a dead crab!"

(For those of you scratching your heads over this one, two words: Monty Python).

--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
http://www.bluefeathertech.com -- kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t calm
"Salvadore Dali's computer has surreal ports..."

Leave it out in the hot Florida sun for a few days. Then the smell will tell! ;-)

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

That's why it costs more. :)

--
bz    	73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an 
infinite set.

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