Two Identical Rolls of Solder?
The pic shows two identical rolls of solder, right? Nope–trick question. There are a number of differences. But the important one (to me) is the ALLOY. Until 2 days ago, I would have said there was no difference in the alloy–60/40 or 63/37–c’mon–they are the same, right? Wrong. As some of you know, I am building a modern 3-rail train layout. I was having a devil of a time soldering leads to the track. It got to the point where I was ready to try anything. I tried a new flux. I tried more power in the iron. I tried several difference surface preps–grinding the track, wire brushing, filing, etc. Nothing worked. In desperation, I was rooting through my soldering stuff and came across this 63/37 alloy solder. In the “try anything” spirit, I applied heat, laid the solder down, removed the iron, blew on the connection to cool it, and…..doggone it if it didn’t make a perfect solder joint. Crazy. But there it is–63/37 worked with ease where 60/40 would not hold despite my best efforts. Comments? Has anyone else seen this?