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Yesterday I gave in and forked out for yet another WorkMate (how many of these things - and clones thereof - have I bought over the years?). This time it's a WorkMate 301 (on the grounds that it appeared to be the cheapest)!

(years ago, I used to have a posh one like this, but these days it's a question of "needs must")

But the daft thing was, that it took me such a long time to assemble the darned thing (due to holes not lining up, etc.)! All part of the "handyman" (... or not!) test, I suppose! But, again, surely another example of good, purposeful, design? And yes, another one of my favourites!

I am a tool nut & have had more than most people have had hot dinners so I can say with a certain amount of authority that generally when it comes to tools it is always a case of you get what you pay for

I too have an extended tool collection.
As such I’m not sure if I have a favourite tool, as it depends on the task in hand,
(big hammer?) however the three piece Vice Grip Set is always to hand (especially the small long nose), along with the ¼ drive snapon ratchet.
The newest addition to the plethora of tooling is an OE spanner set in Whitworth / BS

Welcome to the forum, Mate. Another admirer of the Vise Grip, I see. Yes, it's (they are) a true timeless classic. Handy and practical. O/E Whitworth? Can't be so easy to find these days, I would have thought? What are you doing with them (old British motor-bikes, I hope)?

(BSA: gone ... but not forgotten)

The Whit OE set will be put to task on some oxylitre products, (they have a good mix of metric and BS) I have a few random spanners collected over the years for the task, however I noticed that Prime Tools had a set available in a tool roll, whilst not the best brand, (Lazar) they are of an acceptable quality as a supplementary set.

Thanks for the welcome

Has anybody got any special tips (note the pun) for soldering using lead-free solder?

I must admit that I never did win any prizes for my soldering, but I do still try to make a reasonable job of it. Today I did a bit of soldering, simple stuff with fresh components ... but, well let's just say that I wouldn't have won many accolades there, either. And in "less than ideal" conditions (ie, the normal case), I sometimes reckon I would do better with a blob of well-chewed gum!

It seems that lead-free technique requires a hotter tip, and longer on the joint ... both of which is bad news to my mind. I'm using stuff that is 99.3% tin and 0.7% copper. Why we had to move away from the traditional tin-lead solder is beyond me (what was the problem, were idiots eating it, or what), but of course it's a "done deal" now.

It all seems to take so much longer too, and even when you have made a reasonable joint, it doesn't have that nice shiny look to it that good soldered joints used to have (in fact they all seem to look suspiciously like "dry joints" to me). So much, then, for so-called "progress".

It looks like I need to invest in a new regulated soldering iron to have any hope of producing reasonable joints. But, before I start splashing out, does anybody have any genius comments or recommendations (special fluxes, perhaps)?

For those of you lucky enough not to be in Europe (and consequently may not even know what lead-free solder is), here is a .pdf.

I get through a roll of solder every couple years os so. With more soldering years behind me than in front, I can feel a stock pile coming on!

Best wishes

Paul.

I've been thinking a bit more about it ... and I reckon my best (not to mention cheapest) option is to get hold of a couple of rolls of good old tin-lead, and squirrel them away!

Anybody got some they don't want (as in, "not allowed to use")?

PS: done (good old eBay)!

You need to check the flux as well, these modern no clean ones are not so easy to use as the old fashioned ones.

Lee

We are lucky not to be restricted here in Asia. So has it make much progress in the EU with the Environment or so?