I’m joining the split keyboard group by building a piantor. I have the pcbs already and they’re lead free coated and I will use lead free solder on the components.
I’m a bit worried though as I used a borrowed split and I noticed I keep touching the soldering in the microcontroller quite a bit and the build I was going for was a bare one where we just put rubber feet directly in the pcb so there’s no case or anything.
I tend to rub my eyes and bite my nails quite a bit during the day. I was wondering if it’s safe enough on lead free solder or if this is something I should completely avoid.
Any suggestions in case I should avoid it entirely. I reckon the worst place would be the top of the pcb maybe I can use some hot glue where the solder is but I have no idea if it’s hard to pull it off later if I need to review/resolder.
This is my first project and I haven’t done anything like this before, so even the flux I’m kind of unaware how to clean, solder comes with it right, do I need to wipe it somehow or use isopropyl alcohol and wipe with maybe a paper towel?
Sorry about being a complete noob. I searched around but most people are concerned about the lead solder not lead free like me.
So. This is the solder I have https://www.jaycar.com.au/lead-free-solder-1mm-15g-hobby-tube/p/NS3092 I tried to check the facts sheet on the downloads section but couldn’t find any info on the flux used there. I’ll see about buying the clear nail polish.
The description says “resin core” which is a misspelling of rosin core. It is just pine tree sap that can be cleaned off if you want with alcohol with a toothbrush and then wiped with something absorbent so it doesn’t evaporate on the board and leave a haze.
Tin, copper, and rosin sound pretty safe to me but I’m no doctor. Just try and avoid any fumes from the resin while soldering.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosin
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer :)