A collector at a hamfest near Dayton told me my recapping method was wrong

He saw me using standard lead-free solder on a 1960s Hallicrafters receiver and basically said I was gonna crack the joints in a year. Switched to 63/37 leaded solder and a hotter iron at 700F per his advice, and my last 3 restorations actually held up without cold joints. Anyone else get called out on technique by an old timer at a swap?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona5021d ago

Ha! That old timer had it backwards if you ask me. I've been using lead-free on vintage gear for years and my joints are still solid. The trick isn't the solder type, it's cleaning the old rosin and oxidation off those ancient terminal strips. I use a fiberglass pen and isopropyl alcohol before I even touch the iron. Lead-free at 650F works just fine on that white ceramic insulation. The old guys get stuck in their ways because that's what worked in 1972. Your cold joints were probably from dirty connections not the solder alloy.

nancys901d ago

That old timer had it backwards" - I had a buddy who swore by lead-free too until he recapped a 1950s Zenith TV and had joints cracking within six months. He switched to 63/37 leaded and a hotter iron after an old-timer at a swap meet told him the same thing, and his next three sets all held up fine. Sometimes those old guys actually know what they're talking about, even if their methods sound weird to us.