Advice for tape drive repair / maintenance (lead-free)

Mil-Spec in the US is exempt from lead-free. Bonding, whiskers (growing shorts) and the like are know quantities in leaded; and lead-free formulations are still evolving--and improving. A long term concern is what happens to the leaded parts supply. Some of the manufacturers I've spoken with say they will continue to produce lead parts for mil, areo and medical, but will watch the market. No comment on what this will potentially do to leaded parts prices. I have a small stock pile of leaded parts for one application I support, mostly for price stability, and hopefully I will find an appropriate electrical and mechanical bond system by the time I run out. A nice side effect of RoHS, is that many companies are discounting their lead parts. We picked up a nice stock of MicroChip [direct] parts from .18-.40 cents on the dollar for example. Chers,-jp