I need a new soldering iron, but I can’t afford one right now. Is there a way to connect N scale flex track WITHOUT soldering it?
You could “pinch” the rail joiners a bit with some needle nose pliers (prior to putting them on the rail) so they grip the rail tighter. Once the track is layed and spiked down it shouldn’t move at all. The solder joint is more for improving electrical conductivity.
-G-
Around here you can get a soldering iron for perhaps 6-7$, granted that it’s hardly the best but it will be enough to solder joiners. I would suggest you get one.
Magnus
[#ditto] 30watts for $5.
ok; are you gonna give me the money to fly to Sweden?[swg]
Sure why not. Go to Washington, go to the embassy and their is the tickets waiting for you! [:D]
On a serious note. Any DIY store or even gas stations will have this very basic tool. Check an auto part dealer or just about anywhere but a grocery store and you will find one.
As I said, it will not be a very good one, but soldering track joints are not a very demanding job. It will do it. You got to have 5 dollars right?
Magnus
Also check jameco, mouser, digikey and other electronics suppliers on line.
You can also connect now and solder later but the job will be easier before the rail oxidizes.
If you pinch the rail joiners AND fasten the track securely to your roadbed, you can probably get by - at least until down the road you can find one of those cheap soldering irons mentioned. I ran a layout for years without soldering rail joints with no problems. Remember that in a continuous loop you’ve got current coming from two directions so several joints have to fail before you run into trouble. You can also buy a bunch of rail joiners (Atlas sells them) that have wires already soldered to them. If you can really buy a little soldering iron for under $10 (US), I am not sure how much less expensive they would be however.
Abbie
When you pinch the joiner make sure it’s top to bottom and not side to side. Squeeze side to side and the joiner gets U-shaped and is almost worthless to slip on. Squeezing top to bottom closes the gap to slide the joiner on the rail which translates into a tighter grip. You will need to push each one on with needle nose pliers and the adjoing rail will need to be up close and personal with the joiner so you can slide the joiner onto it with a small screwdriver or a rivet punch or anything that will not distort the joiner as you push. This will give you a tight fit and good electrical contact for sometime. Soldering is the way to go for years of dependable electrical contact as soon as possible or whenever you buy that soldering iron. Use good solder and an electric fan to blow the smoke away from you. Don’t be inhaling that smoke for anything. Lead free or not, don’t take the chance.
Archie
Similar question, but worth asking, in the past I’ve soldered feeder wires on the bottom of the rail joiners before attaching to the track, since it made it easier to hide (never have been a fan of soldering on the inside of the rails which is another method I’ve seen to hide the connection). Is there a real downside to this? Only asking because while it’s never been a problem for me, I’m building a new layout with two new variables Code 55 N scale track (always used Kato for my previous N scale efforts) and multiple levels with some hidden track that will be a pain to repair if I needed to resolder feeders.
soldering to the rail joiner only produces a 100% joint on the joiner, then friction has to be depended on to get that voltage to both tracks. Best way to do it, solder one feeder to each piece of track, no matter how small, even if it is joined with a metal joiner to another piece of track (don’t forget to wire the frogs on turnouts too. This will require an electrical switch connected to the throwing mechanism). This will ensure electricity is supplied to every peice of rail, regardless of the joiners. Sounds like a lot of work, but it pays off if you get a problem 10 years from now, after all the track and scenery is in place. You can also run trains really slowly around the layout without and flickering lights or stuttering. Solder small 22-24 gauge feeders to the rail, on the outside or bottom of the rails, never to the inside. Under the layout, solder those little wires to a larger ‘bus’ wire (14-16 gauge or bigger for long runs). After painting and ballasting it will blend in nicely. You could also place a small piece of ground foam over the joint to further disguise the joint. I still have to look twice to find the wires I’ve soldered to my track. The few I did solder to the bottom, I’ve regretted since I upgraded to DCC. I wasn’t sure where I could cut gaps in a place or two and then had to re-solder feeders to the place I just cut. Not a big deal, but it could have been avoided if I could see the wires. A little extra work now will save hours of work later and people will be impressed to see a flawless layout operate, not to mention it will be more fun for you to not worry about dead sections of track.