I have the little alligator clip holder from Harbor Freight- the “hands free” device. I have small flat clips that I use as heat sinks when soldering electronics components and wires. Sometimes it is frustrating to try to keep leads and wires aligned as I start to apply solder. I went on YouTube today and looked up a topic “soldering wires to LEDs”. Imagine my suprise when one instructional video suggested using small pieces of masking tape to hold parts in place as an aid to soldering (freehand, not with a breadboard) and using a scrap of wood as a work surface.
Such a simple solution to an annoying problem![:D]
I can relate to having your “work” secured in some way.
Imagine MY surprise when I was soldering small 30 ga. wire to a “sugar cube” speaker. As I brought the tip of the soldering iron close to the tiny spring clips that make up the connection the speaker jumped right off the bench and stuck to the hot iron.
[D)][D)][D)] Speaker = magnet + soldering IRON.
Yes, I make sure my pieces are somehow secured. That goes for drilling, too.
A common securing device for “structural” model soldering (things like fencing, guard rails, stairs and the like) is to use blue-tack or playdoh or some equivalent substance to tack the pieces down to a flat board, at least for the initial ‘flat panel’ soldering phase.
Soldering has always been one of my weaknesses. Yep… by no means one of my strong suits.
When I was a kid there wasn’t too much I wasn’t good at. Soldering was not one of them.
I always melted the ties on the Flex Track and the big blob leftover looked like junk. The only difference is back than, a piece of Flex track was only $0.50 I ruined instead of $6 it will be now a days.
Isn’t that nice[soapbox]… now I’m even more timid to solder[:S] TF
Flux paste, and a wide tip (NOT the little pointy one you’d use for electronics).
Essentially, the idea is to cram as much heat as fast as possible into the two rails and the joiner, so that the solder melts, but the heat doesn’t have time to travel to the ties.
Kind of the same idea that a sharp knife is safer than a dull one.
You know… I am a pretty good welder in all types of welding. Different ball game, same concept with bigger stock but no plastic around to melt.
With that in mind, I would think HO would be a little more forgiving to solder rails than N scale… just wondering? I also have heard, the hotter the soldering iron the better results you will have. Is this true?
I’m already melting ties and I should use a hotter soldering iron does not make a lot of sense to me.
Thanks for helping advance.
TF
Sorry I was typing while you were answering my previous post
I would suppose HO is a little more forgiving, what with the bigger rail and all. Haven’t ever done N scale trackwork, so…
Yes, you want the soldering iron as hot as is workable – if it’s oxidizing as soon as you clean it off, it’s too hot; but the hotter it is, the more heat it can dump into the rail (and likewise the solder) before the element has to (SLOWLY) heat the tip and the rail again. And while it’s doing that, all the heat you started with is escaping down the rails / into the ties.
I have an Xtronic soldering station- with a digital temperature dialable control. It comes with 10 various tips and replacement elements. Best father’s day gift I ever got several years ago!.
Thats what I do, when ever it’s practable. I use a piece of 2x4. I’ve also just placed some kind of weight over the wire and the object.
It doesn’t fit every situation. Now I know I’m not getting one those “helping hands” thing. I’ve put off buying one. Thanks for making up my mind.
I’ve seen home made versions with clips soldered to pieces of wire, stuck into a block of wood. The wire being bendable, to postion things the way you need.
I think one of those soldering stations will be my next move.
Some just do not realize. Good soldering is an acquired art. Not a necessary evil. You can do ii if you want to. It takes practice on scrap material. I have been soldering since 1955.
The tip of wide blade and not pointy tip is a good one, along with the flux paste. I don’t even use a pointy one for electronics because they don’t disperse the heat quick enough. Get in and out quickly. You learn this quick when solding expensive ICs and transistors. I used my helpings hand this evening fixing the Harbor Freight maginifiing desk lamp. The spade connectors were cheap and the wire had metal fatigued and the conector broke So I put new wire to the switch and did not use spade connectors.
I do need to improve my soldering ability no matter what I decide to do. I’m thinking of soldering a feed wire on to every track connector on the layout and then taking a toothpick and putting No Ox A Special ID continuity grease inside the channel of every track connector before I connect them.
If you think about it at that point, every rail can have a 50% failure rate and still work.
TF
PS Let’s talk solder here. I seem to remember about a year back on this forum the talk of a 20% silver flux core solder… good stuff?? Make the job go smoother??
I think you are referring to 2% silver bearing solder. 20% probably wouldn’t melt unless you used a torch.
Silver bearing solder is recommended for electronics work. I have used it for years with great success. I buy Kester’s 62% tin, 36% lead and 2% silver rosin core solder from Ngineering, item # N4200. It seems to last me a long time.
The other solder that I have just discovered thanks to Frank (zstripe) is solder paste from SOLDER-IT. It is also silver bearing and melts quite quickly. The beauty of solder paste is that you don’t have to hold it on the joint. It sticks by itself thereby eliminating the need for a third hand.
This is a Canadian listing but the same stuff is sold in the US:
Dispencing it from the tube takes a little practice. I have found it helpful to pull back on the plunger as soon as I have enough solder coming out of the tip. Otherwise it will continue to flow.
I have one of those alligator clip thingies. It doesn’t work very well IMHO.
If by “alligator clip thingies” Dave is referring to the little stand with the clips and magnifying glass on moveable arms, I’m inclined to agree.
But that brings up another issue here in “Soldering 101”: I’m pretty skeptical about using standard alligator clips as heat sinks, too. After all, consider the rather minimal contact with the material being soldered by merely the points of the clip’s teeth. Intuitively, the greater the common surface area, the greater the effectiveness of any heat sink. I bring this up because it’s not uncommon to see these unmodified clips being suggested or displayed in this role on this and other forums.
Am I nit-picking here? I certainly don’t mind being corrected on this point. There’s some great stuff in this string. Might be good to get a little more play on the issue of heat sinks.
That is exactly what I am referring to. Thank you for describing them better.
I agree. Alligator clips are not very effective heat sinks.
Now just to stir the pot, I’m going to suggest that heat sinks aren’t necessary when soldering track feeders and the like. As has been said, the trick is to use a soldering tip with enough mass to carry sufficient heat that the rails will heat up quickly, prepare the joint properly, and get in and get out as soon as the solder flows. If the solder doesn’t melt quickly then either your tip is dirty or it is too small or you haven’t made proper contact with the rails. Don’t sit with the iron on the rails waiting forever for the solder to melt. Holding the iron on too long will surely melt the ties.
I do use heat sinks when I am building my brass critters like the one in my avatar. Usually I will use damp paper towels. Sometimes I use needle nose pliers with an elastic around the handles. However, the principles are still the same. Prepare the surface properly and get in and out as quickly as possible. If the solder doesn’t melt within a half a second or so, remove the iron or all the adjacent joints will melt. Been there, done that!![banghead][|(][:(!]
Agree as well. Like Dave I’ve never had to use heat sinks on the usual joiner/feeder wire soldering to track. I HAVE had to use heat sinks when soldering to short lengths or rail at turnouts or the occasional repair at a switch point.
They are also handy for holding small components for soldering. Most alligator clips have very crudely formed “Teeth” and aren’t much use for gripping anything but stranded wire and the like.
Well I have been using Solder-It silver bearing solder paste for well over 5yrs. now and have got so used to it, that I do not use anything else. It is 5times stronger than 60/40, along with being so much easier to use. I do not use anything else anymore. I believe You got that tip from Me Dave…not putting down Mel, He does great work!
I usually make jigs for soldering many hard to hold parts, sort of like assembly line soldering. Using the paste to hold things in position gives you a one hand free advantage…that’s the main part I like about using it.
A jig for making the chain link fencing, which is set for 100 scale ft. Painters tape just holds down the ends:
The paste set on the parts, which is 3/64 posts and 1/32 stringers. The long posts are cut every second one then set in the Homasote base. No need to glue…they are removeable…the whole fence, including sliding gate:
The sliding gate, Of which I made two, so far. All soldered with the paste:
I use a pencil variable temp iron from Mudder, with a chisel tip. The fence material is 3/64 copper screen cut at a 45 degree angle:
A true temperature controlled soldering station like my Xytronic one (which are quite inexpensive and built a lot better than the typical Chinesium junk you can find on eBay for the same price - and FAR less expensive than the Hakko or other brands which seem highly touted), and using simple plain 63/37 solder are probably the two best tips for someone who has trouble soldering.
First - the solder - 63/37 is a eutectic alloy, meaning the whole composition freezes and thaws at the same temperatue. The other common leaded solder, 60/40, is not, so when the joint cools, first one of the metals freezes, thent he other. This is where you get ‘cold’ joints if you don;t hold the connection physically stable the entire time. Much easier to accomplish a good joint with a eutectic solder. Other alloys are eutectic as well, some of the silver bearing ones are, some are not. You can find lists on line. Any solder will work once you are good at it, but a eutectic solder is by far easier to use.
Now - why a soldering station? Because the most important thing to remember when soldering is KEEP THE TIP CLEAN. The reason was mentioned - you want to transfer the maximum heat as fast as possible, so you can get in, get the joint soldered, and get out before the heat has a chance to migrate down the track and melt ties. Or melt wire insulation, or fry electronic components. A plain ordinary pencil type soldering iron, it just heats continuiously until the loss to the air from the tip is matched by the heater capacity (20 watt irons, 50 watt irons, etc). Not only is that temperature far too high for soldering, it also causes the tip to oxidize faster. ANd that oxide coating is a heat insulator. A temperature controlled station, on the other hand, has 4 wires going to the handpiece - 2 to power the heater, and 2 to measure the temperature. When the temperature reaches the setpoint, power is cyt off, keeping the tip at whatever temperature you set it for. Plus they heat very fast - the reall
