pre-made track feeders

[Phoebe_Vet]

Mea Culpa.

I did not mean to denigrate. My intent was merely to provide an easy to understand example.

In Navy Electronics Technician School I was taught to make a mechanical connection and then cover it with solder. The solder is not strong enough to be the mechanical connection.

A slip on joiner covered with solder is both strong and a good electrical connection. Any movement of the joint will eventually allow air into the joint which will allow corrosion.

If you would run your trains over the butt connected track without the solder, then the joint might be strong enough soldered. But if you are depending on the solder for anything other than electrical conductivity, you are making a mistake.

The dull looking “cold solder joint” only occurs if the joint moves while the solder is hot. Even a good job can go bad over time if it can move.

[BlueHillsCPR]

Mea Culpa.

I did not mean to denigrate. My intent was merely to provide an easy to understand example.

In Navy Electronics Technician School I was taught to make a mechanical connection and then cover it with solder. The solder is not strong enough to be the mechanical connection.

A slip on joiner covered with solder is both strong and a good electrical connection. Any movement of the joint will eventually allow air into the joint which will allow corrosion.

If you would run your trains over the butt connected track without the solder, then the joint might be strong enough soldered. But if you are depending on the solder for anything other than electrical conductivity, you are making a mistake.

The dull looking “cold solder joint” only occurs if the joint moves while the solder is hot. Even a good job can go bad over time if it can move.

No es nada.

[Texas_Zephyr]

Your gonna cut them on flex track anyhow. When you bend your soldered flex track around a curve, the ties are going to catch on your soldered joiners.

No I don’t. I never cut ties away until I get to the very last piece. I slide the rail from the next piece into the ties vacated by the prior rail. See the picture I’ve posted about a zillion times.

[Texas_Zephyr]

if you are depending on the solder for anything other than electrical conductivity, you are making a mistake.

Even if you are depending on the solder for electrical conductivty you are making a mistake. The wire feeder or railjoiner should have good electrical contact to the rail without the solder. The solder is just to hold that connection in place. Lead is a horrible conductor. The story would change if one switched to silver solder, but most don’t want to spend the extra bucks for that.