Posted by John McHugh on February 06, 2002
What I learned from my daddy, almost seventy years ago, was that
a "tinker's dam" was a small piecd of claly to hold the solder on
a pan until the solder cooled and set.
You would not make a dam out of solder. It is what you melt to mend
or tie something together either mechanically or to make a good
electrical connection.
At least you did not write that it was the "profane language" of
the lowly tinker. Heck, he had to be a craftsman to do his work.
Thanks for the link.