Can you solder to stainless steel?

The main reason I'm asking this question is for stupidity prevention.

Is it possible for me to accidentally solder my tweezers to my driver or sinkpad?

I've already done enough other foolish things.

Not without special acidic fluxes. If they're (real) stainless tweezers, you won't be able to accidentally solder them to anything.

I guess I better find out if they’re real SS before I pull a stupid. What’s the best way to test for that. …I mean test for stainless…not stupidity.

Magnet shouldn't stick to it is one simple (but not completely definitive) test.

Away from the tips, someplace inconspicuous, try soldering to them. Solder should just ball up, but not stick.

Thanks Pilot. This could save someone heartbreak down the road.

I’d guess that if your tweezers were not made of SS, you’d not get very long use of them. Standard spring steel (which is also difficult to solder, unless it is plated) would probably break off at the tip.

I can… you can’t… J)

Often metal tweezers are covered with nickel or so and solder sticks to it, just try it and find out…

For example it is possible to solder batteries together its kind of covered still too…

Yes it is perfectly possible to solder to SS, bear in mind no SS is real 100% SS anyway, so ALL SS will attract a magnet as it contains IRON, to massively varying degrees, but is is easy to solder to it.

I checked nine different pairs of tweezers. All said “stainless steel”, and a magnet stuck to all of them.
People confuse “stainless” with “rustproof”. You can toss stainless in the ocean, and it will be eaten away. I have some folders made with French surgical steel that could have went down with the Titanic, and would look exactly the same.

that’s presumptuous :wink:

Yeah, isn’t it, though? :wink:

Most people can probably get solder to stick to stainless using acid fluxes and silver solder, but doing it right takes voodoo and black magic not to mention some REALLY nasty flux and exotic solder alloys.

what have you soldered to stainless steel for?

It’s a secret… Men in Black come with their Flashy Things… or at least a gaggle of gurgling lawyers…

like this?

That be them…

Your a Funny Guy. :smiley:

they seem a bit cartoonish

Real stainless is non-magnetic see if they don’t stick to a magnet.

There are many stainless steel alloys that are magnetic… well, actually they all are if you have a big enough magnet. Generally cheaper alloys are more magnetic. Hint… if your stainless item says “Pakistan”, it’s most likely a crappy alloy that will rust and attract magnets from halfway across the universe.