63/37 or not?

[uccm25]

I was recently going thru my archives and dragged out a 1 gal can of solder which my brother in law, who ran a printed circuit board factory many years ago, gave me. Explained that he was cleaning out his pot and did I want it? Said yes of course. I called him, and he said it was probably 63/37. I pried the top off and nearly went BLIND!! It's really shiny. I used the pencil test on it, H slid by, but 2H scratched it. Will have to smelt into ingots, a 50# block is unmanagable. Q:Can anyone confirm my pencil test as it being 63/37? Thanks...

Guy

[lwknight]

It is possible that 63/37 would be very soft after aging a few years.
One way to verify it is to check the temp as it sets up in ingot form.
It will start to harden around 375 degrees and be solid pretty quick
with little or no slushy stage. This is commonly used for electrical
work because of the quick setup and low temperatures that don't
burn up circuit boards.

If it has a long slushy stage over 400 degrees its 40/60 which is more popular for plumbers

Also after melting , it will be a lot harder for several months anyway.

[badbob454]

sounds like it .. good score !!

[fecmech]

One pound of the 63/37 with 32 lbs. of WW's will give you a nice 2% tin mix for casting.

[uccm25]

LWK- Are you saying that the 63/37 should have taken a harder pencil to score it? According to my notes, H will score linotype, so this stuff is harder than lino. It could be that the solder degraded in tin content during its production time, but it's still pretty hard, wouldn't you say? I wish I had a new bar to compare. If I smelt it this wknd, I'll try your procedure. Thanks to all and God Bless...

Guy

[lwknight]

LWK- Are you saying that the 63/37 should have taken a harder pencil to score it? Guy

Not at all. Have you ever noticed how dead soft solder is? Tin softens with age.
Your same soft solder will be a lot harder after you melt it and let it cool.

[uccm25]

Gotcha, thanks a lot.