Lead tin or tin lead?

[samari46]

Rummaging around in the garage looking for some threaded rod (all thread) to fix my riding lawn mower. Found about a dozen bars of solder. 40/60 cast into the bars. Please refresh my failing memory. Is the first number tin or lead?. And yes did get my riding lawn mower deck fixed. As I was rummaging through some stuff, found the piece I needed to raise the deck and get it off the ground. Had to file off some burrs but fit the existing hole on the bracket on the deck,used a hitch pin clip and made the adjustments on the nut which fit another bracket on the frame. Tested it out and worked fine. So all in all saved some bucks with the riding lawn mower and found some bar solder I didn't even know I had. Thanks for any help. Frank

[Dusty Bannister]

40% tin and 60% lead.

https://www.kester.com/products/category/bar-solder

[unclemikeinct]

Sn60 Pb40 Leaded 1 2/3 LB ~0.75kg Zero-Halogen Sn60Pb40 UP BAR 1 2/3 LB

[Dusty Bannister]

I failed to notice that Kester solder was marked in that manner. Perhaps the Zero-halogen is a factor. And even more confusion.....

https://www.zoro.com/worthington-307...45/i/G2342383/

Link will refer to 30 tin- 70 lead. Perhaps it is the individual producer as to how it is marked.
I guess we could always check the hardness to verify what you have.

Sn40Pb60 44 0.062 1.50 66 3.3% Leaded Contains Halogen Sn40Pb60 3.3%/44 .062 1 LB SPL 2440600061 Rosin

[Paper Puncher]

From what I remember the first number being Tin and Second number lead.
63/37 was eutectic electrical solder
60/40 was electrical solder
40/60 was used for plumbing and I think stained glass.
30/70 was auto body solder

[HWooldridge]

Which is why I always buy 50/50...I know better than to trust my memory(LOL).

[samari46]

Thanks to all who answered my question. Splicers used to clean out their trucks and usually left either full bars of solder or partially used ones. So managed to pick up a few bars of their discarded solder. I just stuck them on the top of the shelving and literally forgot I even had them. What's the saying "out of sight out of mind"?. Thanks again. Frank

[kevin c]

Every source I checked has tin being the first number when it comes to solder.

Ternary alloys are the ones that confuse me; while lead is obviously the big number, I have never figured out whether the second number is always a particular metal or just the next highest percentage ingredient. I try to be explicit when describing my alloy, and find myself asking when others describe theirs.

[Winger Ed.]

I think of Lead free solder. It's commonly listed as 95/5.
The formula/numbering system is the same, and 95/5 is 95% Tin.

[samari46]

Thanks for all the help. Frank

[6622729]

Wiping Solder used in the telephone industry is also 40/60.

[samari46]

Splicers used to come in and throw out all the junk in the truck. Never knew what you'd find. Many's the time you'd find solder bars not even used. Tools, even found a splicers cutting tool,that was used to cut open the splice and joints. Gotta be around here somewhere haven't seen it in awhile. Course that was close to 30 years ago. Frank

[farmbif]

is that splicers cutting tool like a pair of snippers with very thick blades about 2" long that are ground on one edge each? picked up this cutting tool at police auction in a box of acetylene plumbers torch stuff and have always wondered what its intended purpose was

[samari46]

Farmbif, looks like one of the old style meat choppers that butchers use. Small enough to use on splices in tight spaces and very thick spine. Splicers set the blade on the splice and whack it with a hammer. Meat cleaver was the word I was looking for. Handle is only about 4-5" long. When I bought about 500 pounds of roofing lead, would unroll the cutup sections and used the same setup to chop the lead so it would fit into the dutch oven to melt down. Course you had to stay up wind while the tar burned off, them flux the heck out of it to clean it up. Frank

[samari46]

Farmbif, yes the ones that look like a pair of snippers or heavy duty pliers ground on the inside faces and usually will cut some of the lighter cables and electrical wire. Another memento of my days scrounging in the dump behind the pump house. Don't miss those bitter cold New York winters when the wind came out of the north. Came in to work one day and they had a cat bulldozer burying all the goodies. Ever see a bulldozer sinking?. Operator was driving near a tidal pool and everything there was like a tidal flat, pure mud. Went down by the stern. They had to rent two bulldozers to pull it out of the mud. Must have cost a small fortune to get it running again. Frank