I bought a 25 watt Weller soldering iron to solder the electrical leads to the track. The iron comes with three tips: a rounded, pointed tip and two chisel tips (one with slightly less of an angle than the other). I am currently practicing to get the “hang of it” but I don’t know which tip to use. I’ve read as many articles as I can find but this issue doesn’t seem to be addressed. I appreciate y’alls assistance.
I would recommend the chisel tip that has the sharpest angle. However, if you are going to be soldering code 100 track, 25 watts may not be enough. I would also get a 40 watt iron as well. You are going to need something heavier for soldering on the DCC bus wire.
Season the tip before you start. Heat it up and keep trying to apply solder to it. When you get solder on it, always keep some on it. When you get ready to solder a joint, wipe the tip on a wet sponge to clean it off. When you get done soldering the joint, apply a little solder to the tip again. DO NOT wipe all the solder off the tip and then let it set heating up. The tip will turn black and become almost useless.
Sorry for the error of omission: I am soldering code 70 track.
Hi Bob,
I take a small chisel shaped tip and grind it to a profile that fits the rail.Using two pair of hemostats on either side of the solder joint helps control overheating ties.
A very small amount of flux will allow the solder to transfer faster(less heat on ties).
Paul
I prefer to Solder my track wires to the underside of the Connectors not the rail, doing so does not melt plastic ties, it also would require less heat to get the job done, Both will allow the 25 watt Iron to work better for you, and the tip you use would not really matter doing it this way, if you do soler to the rail I think the finer chisel point would be best to keep things tite to the curvature of the web of the rail. and do use rosin core flux Solder! not acid core the acid core will corrode the joint over time! and as mentioned in another response Condition or season your tip! this is done by getting it good and hot and applying fresh new matching flux and solder to the hot tip! Remove excess solder by scrapping it off to some place safe, I prefer a small piece of cardboard or a match book cover as the scraper, and I re-condition before every soldering session and some times more if my Iron is very busy, its when the Iron completely cools when re-conditioning need should be considered
back to basics here,
1 surfaces must be clean
2 good mechanical contact before attempting to solder
3 use the right amount of the appropriate flux
4 use the highest wattage gun or iron that is practical for the project. get it hot, get in and get out
grizlump
Try it with the pencil point tip first. It will keep the heat closer to the soldering area and avoid melting ties. Use a paste flux in addition to the flux in the solder. A little bit goes a long way.
I’ll chime in here on this…
You have been given some excellent advise already. You don’t need a larger soldering iron. A 25 watt will even do the job well in code 100 track. A trick I have used for years is one I learned from a guy who used to repair electronics for me from time to time when I was in the Live Sound business. At first I thought he was nuts… But found it worked well every time. He learned it from his Father who learned in the US Air Force back in WW2. This only will work well if you use additional flux (rosin only!) for the job. I use the liquid rosin from Micro Mark… It is great! Place a small drop of solder on the tip of the hot tinned iron. Then place the iron on the joint. Within a second or less the solder will flow into the joint. when the solder flows, you are done! Don’t touch it!!! Cold solder joints most often occur when there is movement in the joint before the solder becomes solid… Here is a joint done using code 83 track using the method (note I only use this method for electrical soldering).
I also have a short clip here from a clinic I gave a couple years ago on soldering. http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h259/slow_rr/SLOW_RR_II/?action=view¤t=SolderingTech2.mp4
In one of MR’s recent newsletters David Popp demonstrared his technique. Tin the wire, place a small drop of solder on the rail. Then touch the wire to the rail solder and put the tip of the soldering iron on it and you are done. It has worked for me but like most things practice makes perfect.
Happy Railroading
Bob
I appreciate all the replies and now without further ado I will retire to the train room to PRACTICE. I thank y’all for the assistance.