I have received the iron I purchased on line and would like to comment on it for the benefit of those members who were so good with their help when I wanted it. For starters, for Loather’s suggestion, I did get the one he suggested. From a Company called Marlin P. Jones, www.mpja.com, in Florida. Stock #15860-TL, a smallish soldering station with adjustable temps and extra tips that can be ordered. I gave it a little trial yesterday, trying to connect a wire to scrap N track. It has been about 50 years or so since I did any soldering, so I realized that I need some practice! The iron heated up OK, tho I thought it was a little slow. I needed to adjust the wattage to almost max to get it hot enough to do the job, but I need to get some flux, too, as the amount of flux in the core of the tiny strand of solder was not enough, IMO. I will give it a good grade but could be better, depending on how much work you will do with it. The price was good, but the UPS s&h brought it up.
For the rest of you who answered me, I think I might have done better with the Hakko I had planned to get. As I learn to use mine, I expect to do much better.
You would want that set to max heat setting to solder rail and the use of flux is necessary. When you say it took a while to heat up, what do you mean? 2 minutes? 5,10, longer? I know the high dollar units we used to use at work took over 10 minutes to heat up.
Did you order the the flat spade tip with it or are you trying to use the pin point needle for your track?
Thanks for the info.
Set it to the maximum temp. as Loather suggested. Rail is pretty thick so you want to heat it quickly, make the solder then get out quickly so that you won’t melt plastic ties. Heating it slowely will definetly cause tie melt.
Also, Flux is a must. Without flux, the solder will blob up and won’t flow smoothly and evenly onto the metal. (don’t ask me how i know) because I soldered my entire first layout in 1977 without flux and it really made a mess of the track. (some guys just have to learn the hard way)…chuck
I have done soldering without using extra rosin flux but everything was clean as I have done soldering for years. Extra flux does help though.
It definitely helps to practice on scrap track first. Many people who have not soldered before make the mistake of soldering new track before practicing and mess up stuff. You might say, good soldering is not plug and play.
As Rich said above, “clean” for both parts being soldered is the key. Also be aware that “new” does not equal “clean” especially when it comes to making a quick and reliable solder joint. Setting this iron to the maximum output could be a mistake, especially if you’re soldering wire to N scale track, and an indication that the metals are not properly cleaned. For the cleaning of the rail and wire, I use a typing eraser, the kind you sharpen like a pencil. The soft tip will get into the web of the rail and allow you to buff it easily. Remember to get a good shine on the rail and wire, press them together tightly, if you use additional flux, DO IT SPARINGLY. The flux must vaporize before you can get the melted solder to flow, plus it gives off noxious fumes when it vaporizes. Get a small bubble of solder on the tip before you touch it to the joint, this will help heat conduction. Keep the tip clean, a wet sponge or even paper towel and a quick wipe after each joint, will give you a shiny and better working tip. After doing this, try a lower setting on the iron heat control, just enough to melt the solder directly on the tip. Turn it up slightly and try your joint.
Irons, even the ones part of soldering stations, take minutes to reach soldering temp. And you will want to set a soldering station to max hot to solder rail. And the rosin core of the solder never seems to have enough flux, expect to apply rosin flux from a can. Clean rail helps. A wire brush in a Dremel will do a good job.
Guys, if you need to add flux then try a better brand of solder. Quality really does vary. I’ve been soldering electronics for 40 years and almost never need to add flux to a joint. The only place I use flux is on water pipe. [:)]
Make sure that the solder is 60/40 tin/lead too. (or 63/37)
Your opinions and advice are invaluable to me, I appreciate all of them. I do want to acknowlege some of your messages, tho.
Loathar: Warmup time is not really too long . I guess it was about a minute, or less. In addition to the standard tip, I got a chisel tip, but only 1/8th inch(all that was offerred)
Rich: I agree with the brush idea, but it seems a bit costly. Can you justify that cost?
Tom: I’m ok on the eraser, too, and will see if I can locate one, at least to look at it.
Larak: I am using solder I got at Wally World, was pretty cheap, and is not 60/40, maybe 63/37. It is only about .02mm thick, so doesn’t have much flux in it. I found a site that looks good for solder, etc, “H&N Electronic, Calif. City, CA” www.ccis.com. I think I will try them for a small amount of flux and their solder and some “tip cleaner” stuff.