Soldering help

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

How do you solder something? I have the iron out and i was wondering how to use it.

Thanks

2

1st rule of soldering: Keep the iron & the work CLEAN. Scrub it, file it, use sandpaper - whatever.
2nd rule: Let the WORK melt the solder. The iron is there to get the work hot enough.
3rd rule: For anything electrical, only use rosin core solder or rosin flux. No acid fluxes.
Practice! practice! practice!

3

Basic soldering such as wire to wire, wire to track, and other electrical conduct via solder is usually easy.

The trouble usually is getting the solder to tack onto the metals. To do this you need to apply heat correctly. An indicator if solder is melted is if it’s glossy, if it’s dull, it’s hard. If you could apply as much heat as possible, soldering would be a peice of cake. If you have plastic, rubber and other materials that deform when heated, you need to heat the metal quick and get the soldering done quickly. Heatsinks do help.

Tinning a wire is a good skill to start with. Tinning is simply putting a thin coat of solder on a wire. To do this, strip the wire to a desired length (for practice, make it an inch or so). Take your heated iron and touch the tip to the end of the wire. Take your Rosin core solder and start near the iron tip untill it begins to melt and move the solder back letting it melt onto the wire. If your having trouble getting heat from the iron to the wire, try to put a small amount of solder on the tip to make better conduction between the iron and the wire.

Soldering wires together is the same, except twisting the wires together first. Make sure they are tightly wound together. You can put two wires end on end, or side by side or make a T tap or 3 wire junction. It’s very simple Just get the solder to flow, cover it good and your done.

Soldering feeders to track can be tricky, expecially if the track is already painted. I recomment getting some scrap track and trying stuff to is trying to get heat to the rails quickly. Once you get the solder to run, remove the iron and you should be done. Sometimes you will need to reapply heat of the wire doesn’t have good contact with the rail such as solder not tacking to the rail. Flux paste is probably helptfull, but I have yet to use it.

4

one other tip…if you are soldering track to railjoiner or wire to track use an iron rated for 30 watts or greater…if you are soldering electronic parts don’t use anything higher than a 15 watt iron and don’t forget to use heat sinks…even an alligator clip makes a good heat sink…Chuck[:D]

5

Couple of other tips. You say ‘iron’ so i assume you’re talking about a pencil type soldering iron, instead of a large soldering gun (pistol type).

  1. It will take time to heat up sufficiently to use, don’t get anxious.
  2. It will get very hot. Before plugging it in get something fireproof to lay it down on. The best thing is one of those soldering iron stands (like this one from Micro Mark http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Department&ID=82&Offset=10 ) or you can make your own. Or you could get a ceramic tile or trivet to lay it on. Be aware of where you lay it. It stays hot for a long time after unplugging!
  3. Flux isn’t necessary, but I do use a liquid flux, that you brush on the part to be soldered, that helps the solder flow better. I like it but it’s not necessary.
  4. I keep a small square of wet sponge alongside to wipe the soldering iron tip off on.

Hope some of this helps.

Regards

Ed