The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... This is a posting that crosses over into other hobbies as well. We all know that there is an occasional use for soldering in Rocketry.  There's a clip that needs repair, or a battery terminal  or a length of wire that needs to be fixed. Whatever the repair or project, the task is the same.... joining two pieces of metal in an electrical and/or mechanical joint.  When you have two dissimilar metals,  or if you have a metal that is easily corroded, it works best if the tarnish or corrosion is cleaned off. And that's where flux comes in. Now, there are a lot of different kinds and strengths of flux.... from rosin core that is embedded inside a roll of solder, to a liquid acid flux that is brushed on and immediately attacks or brightens the metal. The intent is for the surface of the metal to be cleaned and allow the solder to "bite" better. Now, the first half of my life, I was only exposed to rosin core solder in Heathkit p...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... It's been awhile since I posted, but a recent post in a rocketry page inspired me. The original poster wanted to share how thrilled he was to discover a great re-application of something from the holiday season. He shared a photo of a package of holiday appetizer sticks like the kind you might skewer a piece of cheese or olive or perhaps an  hors d'oeuvres . He says he uses them as stir sticks and applicators for his epoxy and that he couldn't be more pleased with the disposable plastic sticks. This stirred a memory for me of my own quest for the best stir stick for my occasional epoxy needs. Back in the 60s when my father would repair a drawer pull or fix a plastic knob from a radio set or something household, he would always fashion a small cradle or bowl out of tin foil. He would then squeeze an equal measure of each tube of epoxy (Resin  and then hardener) onto the tin foil, and after securing equal amounts, begin some brisk st...