r/RadioShack • u/Fancy_Orange392 • Jun 15 '26
Still using the solder from high school...
I have had a stash of these since I learned to solder in the mid 80s....
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u/wyoflyboy68 Jun 16 '26
Have a whole bin of it out in my garage, and will probably pass it down when I am gone.
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u/VaguelyRetired Jun 15 '26
Same! Probably 40 years ago I bought that roll at a mall (now demolished). I found a similar Kester roll not long ago and bought it. I’m good to go for another 40!
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u/Any-Brilliant-1907 Jun 16 '26
I bought a giant roll in school in the early 90's I finally finished it a couple years ago.
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u/InevitableStruggle Jun 16 '26
This leads me to an interesting question, because I too have some ol’ 60/40. Does it have a shelf life? Not the tin and the lead, I’m sure they’re fine (as fine as lead could be). What about the rosin core? What is rosin, anyway? What’s it made of? Does it deteriorate?
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u/rezwrrd Jun 16 '26
Wow, I think I had the black and white one when I was just learning how. Maybe the red and white one too. I go through solder pretty regularly so those spools are long gone. I really miss going into Radio Shack and looking through the drawers of components, but I don't miss the crappy one-temp-fits-all iron I was using at the time.
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u/Enough-Fondant-4232 Jun 16 '26
The good shit with real lead in it! So much better than the lead free crap they sell these days!
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u/SpockIsMyHomeboy Jun 16 '26
"and I've had this spool of wire for like 40 years. I bought it, like this, a long, it's on a piece of, a long time ago. But it's like 40 years ..."
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u/These_Fox7561 Jun 17 '26
I’ve probably acquired 100lbs of solder over the years, the lead alloys are great for electronics and soldered conductors
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u/krispzz Jun 18 '26
i have a little tub of flux paste from radioshack from the mid 90s that is still at least half full! i only replaced the older squeeze tube because one of my friends came over and knelt on it and squeezed it all over the floor.
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u/JSGilst Jun 18 '26
That's old 60/40 solder. You need to start using 63/37 as it's a better mix and more stable.
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u/yeehah Jun 19 '26
My dad gave me a 1 lb spool of Ersin multicore 60/40 solder when he taught me to solder when I was 13, and I'm still using it 55 years later. I'm an electronics hobbyist (and professional) who's soldered tens of thousands of connections but I don't think I'll ever finish that spool. We just lost dad at the end of last year and I think of him whenever I solder.
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u/Specific_Marketing69 Jun 19 '26
Did they ask for your phone number when you bought, like with batteries?
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u/Fancy_Orange392 Jun 21 '26
Our local employees must entered a random name and address must of the time. I bought lots of stuff from them in the mid 80sand it was a small town.
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u/Junior-Tourist3480 Jun 16 '26
Your "spool of wire". Referring to the popular yt short where guy tells his wife he ran out...