Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I don't think leaded solder is dangerous to the home hobbyist, provided reasonable precautions are taken (no food, drinks, or smokes on the bench and wash your hands immediately upon getting up from the bench).

If you're repairing something that used leaded solder, you pretty much have to use leaded solder. That's fewer and fewer things post-RoHS, but when you have something older, you're going to use leaded or you're going to have a bad time.

With a decent iron and flux, hand soldering with lead-free solder is fine. All my new work is lead-free, but I have zero concerns having my kids work with leaded solder at the frequency and using the reasonable precautions.



Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: