I need some advice regarding soldering brass tubing. I have an idea for scratch building an item for my layout and found some 1/32" brass tubing that would work perfectly for the design. I would be soldering several pieces of the brass tubing together, so nothing heavier than the tubing would be involved.
I have a Weller 40W soldering station. Will the solder iron produce enough heat to solder the brass? Do I need a special type of flux to use on the brass?
Thanks in advance,
Don Z.
The 40 watt iron should be able to do the job. Clean the areas to be soldered using fine sandpaper - #600 or #800 wet/dry works well (use it “dry”). A non-acid paste flux is useful and you can also use resin core solder. Whatcha buildin’?
Wayne
Wayne,
Thanks for the advice. I want to use the brass to create the framework for an Aeromotor windmill.
Don Z.
What your building sounds like one of the few applications a mini torch would work for.[2c]
Don,
You’ve probably already thought of this, but I’ll mention it just incase.
Build a fixture to hold the pieces as you solder them, allowing you to build each side of the structure. This will also insure repeatability. All four side will be exactly the same.
Wood is a good medium for this. It may discolor from the heat of the soldering iron, but the time eliment of the heat application shouldn’t be enough to cause the wood to ignite.
Another suggestion, Build each side minus one of the vertical legs. Then, when all four sides are complete, insert one of the sides into the void area and solder it to the side laying in the fixture. Then you can rotate the assembly and add another side.
One last thought. Consider a heat sink, if the solder joints are close together, to prevent loosening a previously soldered joint.
I’ve used the Fixture method several times in the past with styrene structures and wood trestles. This gantry crane is on my neighbor’s N scale layout.
Mike,
Thanks for the timely response. I was sitting here sketching different ideas for a jig to help me build the windmill. I have sent a request to the Aeromotor company to see if they would be willing to give me a scale drawing to help me design mine. The only data I discovered on the web was the horizontal members are spaced at 7’ intervals.
Building the jig from wood will create some challenges of its own; since the tubing is only 1/32" thick, having alignment blocks thicker than 1/32" might prevent the tip of the iron from contacting the joint…maybe a CNC machine might come in handy…
Don Z.
Don,
I’d use a base plate(sheet of 1/8" plywood), with strips laid down to elevate the work slightly. Then I’d place guide pieces above and below the intended joining areas. This way, the work isn’t in direct contact with the base. I use styrene for my templates, but CA should work well to allow you to build one out of wood.
The brass tubing should be sturdy enough, that positioning guides can be kept to a minimun and away from the solder joints.
For horizontal bracing, one small guide above and two, spread below. I’m assuming the diagonal bracing would alternate direction you move up the structure. The guides for the horizontal braces can be positioned to allow access to the joints.
The diagonals would only need a strip of wood under them to hold them at the correct elevation. The surrounding structure would hold them in the correct position.
Put your vertical tubes inplace, position your cross bracing and solder only on one side. Depending on whether you’re right or left handed would determine which side is easier to solder when assembling the sides together into the final structure.
I have a picture of the template in my head, but it’s hard to put it into words. Hopefully I’ve given you a clearer picture of what I had in mind.
Mike,
Okay I’m a [D)]! Why was I thinking I needed alignment blocks that were the same size as the structure??? Of course, your idea makes perfect sense now that I read it again and understand what you said. I agree, sometimes seeing something in my head and trying to explain to others can be difficult…is this what you meant?
The red lines would be the alignment bracing. Additional blocks would be added for the diagonal bracing parts.
Don Z.
That’s almost exactly what I was thinking of, Don, and will work prefectly.
I hadn’t envisioned the X bracing in every section of the bents. I was thinking more of a Z configuration, with the angle of the brace reversing itself as you move up the bent.
For the X brace, you could use one piece of brass to bridge the diagonal gap, then use two small pieces to form the X, with a Cover plate at the center crossing point. The cover plate would hide any irregularities at that joint.
The Z bracing would simplify construction. By making all four sides that way, the structure would be sound, because opposing sides would be braced in the opposite direction.
Here’s a photo of what I want to copy…maybe the Z bracing would work.
Don Z.
Now I understand.
You could use smaller brass rod, I think you can get it square, for the cross bracing, and mount one to the rear and the other to the front as it is in the picture.
That’s going to be an awesome tower when it’s finished.
Building soldering jigs is easy. Forget wood strips.
Take a tip from balsa model airplane building. Draw the structure on a piece of wood. Soft pine is nice. Clip the head off of small brads, or wire nails. Place a member along the line and put two nails on one side near the ends, and another on the opposite side in the middle. Continue for all members. It will now be square and true ready for soldering. Flux all joints, and solder. When done lift it out. If need be, just pull any impeding nails out and replace them for the next side.
I used this technique years ago to construct hair pin style station fencing. I inserted a row of nails opposite each other a scale 12 feet apart.
Fist I wound soft wire around each peg, back and forth, from one end to the other.
I then soldered four brass strips across the parellel wires, two near the top of the loops, and two 6 scale inches from the center.
After soldering, I removed the section fom the jig, snipped it in half lengthwise and had two fence sections. My jig was 3 feet long so I could make a lot of fencing in a very short time.
Rusty,
That’s a great tip! I will try that idea first to see how it works.
Thanks again,
Don Z.