I bought some lead free solder, 95% tin, 5% antimony, rosin core, and need some advice. The hazmat statement lists the materials in order, tin, antimony, rosin so I am assuming that the rosin is less than 5% by weight of the total. Is that correct? Also, if I use this to enrich some wheelweights to get better mold fillout, will the rosin pose any problem? Might also use it to improve some mostly pure lead I have lying about.
The solder cost $1.00 for 4 ounces, which I figure is a little less than $4.50 per pound for the tin. Seems a reasonable buy, especially given the convenience of 4 ounce servings from the discount store. Is this stuff OK to use for my casting?

Thanks for any comments and/or advice.

elblerinnv,
The rosin is flux and it will flux your alloy for you. Most flux however is somewhat corrosive and will leave nasty stuff on your pot if you aren't careful. I would get the solder that doesn't have flux in it. I get 50/50 solder for under $3 a pound from a plumbing wholesale house. I just tell them it is for a hobby and I'm not doing any plumbing. Orygun

Orygun, thanks for the information. I'd love to get 50/50 solder somewhere, but we have no plumbing supply house locally, at least that I am aware of. I might try a couple of the industrial supply houses that are geared to the mining industry, though. I'll try the unleaded in one of the Lee pots and see what happens.
Thanks again.

I've used fluxed solder as an additive to bullet lead, and indeed most will leave some nasty crud in your pot which will rust it very quickly.

Solution: Fill your COLD melting pot 3/4 full with water, then add a tablespoon of powdered laundry detergent. Bring to a boil (the 3/4 fill is to prevent boiling over water from getting inside the heater jacket). Boil away for a few minutes, and use a scrub brush to scrub the bottom and sides (and above the waterline of the boiling water). Unplug, then immediately dump the water out and the residual heat will dry the pot instantly.

Even if you don't use fluxed solder, this is a good thing to do regularly, especially if you melt dirty lead like wheelweights in your casting pot. You will have FAR fewer tiny dirt inclusions in your bullets if you do this regularly.

jpb

Rosin core solder is non toxic and non-corrosive. It's used for electronics work where you don't want any corrosion. The rosin is tree sap and the "tree huggers" have not stopped us from using it yet. The other type of cored solder is acid core and this is very bad stuff to use, this solder is used for copper pipe soldering. If you can still find lead based rosin core solder it's great to use.

[ 01-01-2003, 13:00: Message edited by: Ed Barrett ]

Thank you all very much for the information. I feel better now about this stuff. I'll be buying more if I get the chance.

Best to all.

I'm curious to what your shooten your lead enriched alloy in? Do you want it to stay soft like the guys use in BPCR?

Alot of us enrich an alloy with old linotype or similar. Just enough to get good fillout if that's really the problem. In my case to enlarge some areas of the as cast slug.

Rozin makes a dandy flux-- lots of it around here on the pine trees aka pine pitch. Those are the clobs of sap running otta holes and formed into a hardish mass. I flux my ww alloy with such at meltdown, that and raw spuds. Between those two I rarely have to flux when those ingots are added to the melter. That alloy is covered to prevent oxidation with generic kitty liter..

Ed Barrett & jpb,
I will disagree with you. I use rosin flux on copper pipes and it is corrosive. We wipe the pipes with a damp rag to clean it off. I have a can in my work van that has ate up the lid. This is from the MSDS for rosin solder: WHEN HEATED TO SOLDERING TEMPERATURES, THE SOLVENTS ARE EVAPORATED AND ROSIN MAY BE THERMALLY DEGARDED TO LIBERATE ALIPHATIC ALDEHYDES, ACIDS,and TERPENES.
Another MSDS for rosin cored solder: CARBOXCYLIC ACIDS.
Some fluxes also contain chlorides. So I don't trust any commercial made rosin fluxes to be non-corrosive. Orygun

Aladdin, I want to use this alloy in 311413 for the M1903, and the long Lyman for the 38-55 Target Model. I want to enrich the wheelweights to see if I get a little better mold fillout, not that fillout has been much of a problem. But the main reason to try is because I can. Finding the 95/5 stuff $.25 an ounce was something I just could not pass up, and so we'll (that's the imperial we) give it a try and see what happens.
Where one would find old Linotype around Elko, Nevada is a mystery to me.

Orygun, thanks for the further information on the rosin. It just gets more interesting.

Best to all.

elblerinnv that sounds like a plan. That 413 bullet is very accurate. Let us know how you come out.

Mark,

Are you sure that is rosin core, and not acid core solder? I know that electronics grade rosin core solder is not corrosive. Acid core plumbers solder is highly corrosive!

I just picked up 20-1LB rolls of 95/5 solder for $23.88. Unfortunately thats all they had at that price. Happy day.....Orygun

Paul H,
Right on the label it says acid free lead free flux. When heated the by-products produce an acid. I have also used Electronic grade flux that caused corrosion on steel. Do a MSDS search on flux. You'd be surprised what they say. I know plumbers that won't use one brand of acid free-lead free flux because it is corrosive. Remember that when materials get alkaline they can also corrode things. Orygun

If it says flux and not rosen it can be many things. Soldering flux is corrosive and rosen is not. Please check with the manufacturer about this, I have seen many things called soldering flux and none of them were rosin. Please check it out and let me know, or let me know the maker and I will check it out for you.

Howdy, Ed. It's from Oatey, says Lead Free, Rosin Core, 95% tin, 5% antimony. The product number is 53177. The local discount store where I bought it dropped it! I might look around for some more.