Very basic question about soldering problems.....

Like wot James said above, I purchased this little tin from Squires when proprietor Roger couldn't have been long out of nappies.

iron clean.jpg

This is it after 20-odd years of soldering lots of '0' gauge wagon kits and another 10 since.
It will do all you are looking for, Jon, and the exact same item is still available on their website (bottom of page 234).... http://www.squirestools.com/files/12-17.pdf
Although there is a minimum order of £15, I bet you will find other useful kit amongst all those pages!
 
To be honest I avoid lead free solder and just ventilate well. I find lead free far more prone to balling and dry joints.
A decent iron with good tips like the antex range are worth the extra money. I've had tips last years with only a sponge to clean them.
 
Can't stand lead-free solder, I stick to tin-lead. Iron set to 300c. Damp sponge for cleaning in between each joint or two. I have one of those little pots of tip cleaner stuck to the top of my soldering station. I use a lolly stick to clean the tip of crud (rather than using something metal). Fry Powerflow flux, and also have a little dispenser pen of liquid flux from Maplin for some jobs.
 
Tips for soldering gleaned from when I used to do micro miniature circuit board repair in an avionics workshop.
1. Mechanically and chemically clean the joint prior to soldering
a.Mechanical = rubbing with an abrasive something like an ink rubber will do, there are ones in the shape of a pencil available,
b.Chemical = cleaning wipe the area with Isopropyl alcohol or methylated spirit after mechanical clean.
2. Apply flux to joint to aid solder flow.
3. Clean the tip everytime prior to making a joint usually done by wiping on a wetted sponge (similar to steam cleaning).
4. Make joint by first building a heat bridge (a solder connection between tip and pad/joint) then apply enough solder to create a fillet that covers all the pad and is up at least 2/3 of the protruding lead.
5. After each joint wipe and tin the iron tip to remove residual flux and solder this will aid in the prevention of corrosion.
6. When soldering operation has been completed prior to switching off iron repeat step leaving the tip tinned till next time.

Solder joints should be bright when made if the are grey then the joint may have been overheated. Most "dry joints" are caused by not cleaning the leads and pads prior to soldering.
Cleanliness is important.

Tips that do not wet i.e. repel solder can be mechanically cleaned by using a light abrasive, I have used ScotchBrite type pads but you have to give the tip multiple quick wipes to prevent burning, another method is to get a small brass wire brush to clean the tip. After mechanical clean, wipe tip clean on a clean wetted sponge, examining the tip for damaged plating, then re tin the tip.

We never re profiled tips just replace ones that started to corrode or the plating was starting to fail, we also removed the tip from the iron after soldering operations ceased for the day but then again we were always changing tips depending on the type of job that we were working on.

Sounds like a lot of mucking around and a bit over the top but quality control for our work was extremely strict, because lets face it if your aircraft stops at 30,000 Ft you can't just pull over and call for assistance.
 
James Day said:
I realise that even mentioning this is likely to get me chucked off the group, but I don't tend to suffer from dry joints if I use flux first - Yes I know this is multi core heresy!

James
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Nah, multi-core is sticky and messy - it's OK in small doses, but for small tricky jobs I use 145 degree solder that I bought for brass / nickel silver kits with a liquid flux - seeeemples :nod::nod::nod:
 
I think four hands would be nearer the mark. How many times have you got the whole lot balanced and found you can't get the iron to the solder, and then your nose starts to itch?
 
Most top soldering iron tips have a long life Iron coating, so DO NOT file away to clean. If pitted buy a new tip. Clean the tip with a wet sponge and then use TTC-LF soldering iron tip cleaner/tinner from RS 226-287. Then take the iron to the solder and tin the tip. Afterwards take the solder and iron to the part to be soldered. Then clean the tip on a wet sponge before placing in the stand.
 
Railway42 said:
Most top soldering iron tips have a long life Iron coating, so DO NOT file away to clean. If pitted buy a new tip. Clean the tip with a wet sponge and then use TTC-LF soldering iron tip cleaner/tinner from RS 226-287. Then take the iron to the solder and tin the tip. Afterwards take the solder and iron to the part to be soldered. Then clean the tip on a wet sponge before placing in the stand.
Click to expand...

That is interesting and would certainly agree with the slide on tips of my Antex irons. I have never needed to do anything to them, other that replace one that broke.

The other brand I have is Weller with copper bits. These are the ones I have reprofiled.

James
 
I just did the tip in plumbers flux.
 
Soldering is a basic skill. I really enjoy soldering, especially for projects with my model railroad. Basic tools would include a large hand-held soldering gun, say 250 watt Weller for one. That's for heavy, non-electronic work. Add to that an array of smaller 5, 10, 15, 20 watt irons for working on circuit boards. Also, you will need a selection of solder wick for removing solder from existing parts. I use a piece of 0000 steel wool to clean the tip from time to time.

Then there is soldering flux. It's a really important part of a good solder joint. Nice clean parts with a small dab of rosin-based flux and you will make a good joint. There is, of course, acid based solder and flux, but I never use that on my model railroad work. I like the 1/32" (0.8mm) Kester rosin core solder.

Another tool that I added to my collection is a resistance soldering device. It uses a transformer and a hand-held carbon tip. It's amazing how you can do small detail with one. They are available commercially although not inexpensive - or you could build one like I did, with a 10 amp, 12 V transformer and a standard 120 V light dimmer (I know, you folks in Europe have 240 V sometimes so you could adapt accordingly.)

The main thing is to keep your work and the tip clean and avoid overheating.
 
A tip I picked up along the way for 'tinning' the bit of an iron which isn't temperature controlled is to keep touching the solder to the bit while the iron is warming-up. Once the bit reaches the melting point of the solder it will run on and become tinned. As I understand it, if the bit is too hot, the solder oxidises and builds up a coating on the bit which then repels melted solder. Whether this is scientifically accurate I have no idea, but it seems to work for me.

Once tinned, all the suggestions on here about keeping the bit clean apply.

Rik
 
IMG_8475.JPG Here's my sophisticated work holder for soldering tricky three or four hand jobs.
You can drill holes in pegs too to mount on a wire as work holders and the wire can be bent to suit too. I've also got one of those helping hands magnifiers and just use the croc clips to hold stuff
 
PaulRhB said:
View attachment 224672 Here's my sophisticated work holder for soldering tricky three or four hand jobs.
You can drill holes in pegs too to mount on a wire as work holders and the wire can be bent to suit too. I've also got one of those helping hands magnifiers and just use the croc clips to hold stuff
Click to expand...
Man many moons ago, I bought a specially made clamp that could clamp to a table or bench, and have up to 4 of those little fellas in it - I have not used it recently...............

However, one golden rule of soldering is to have a good physical connection before you start soldering :nod::nod::nod::nod:

Where I have soldererd brass or nickel silver kits that do not have locating tags, I have used blue tak to hold the two edges, then spot soldered the joint in 2 or 3 places to check that everything is in line and tickety-boo, then run the solder down the length of the join to give a nice crisp corner like so:

DSCF0005.JPG
 
gnm109 said:
Soldering is a basic skill. I really enjoy soldering, especially for projects with my model railroad. Basic tools would include a large hand-held soldering gun, say 250 watt Weller for one. That's for heavy, non-electronic work. Add to that an array of smaller 5, 10, 15, 20 watt irons for working on circuit boards. Also, you will need a selection of solder wick for removing solder from existing parts. I use a piece of 0000 steel wool to clean the tip from time to time.

Then there is soldering flux. It's a really important part of a good solder joint. Nice clean parts with a small dab of rosin-based flux and you will make a good joint. There is, of course, acid based solder and flux, but I never use that on my model railroad work. I like the 1/32" (0.8mm) Kester rosin core solder.

Another tool that I added to my collection is a resistance soldering device. It uses a transformer and a hand-held carbon tip. It's amazing how you can do small detail with one. They are available commercially although not inexpensive - or you could build one like I did, with a 10 amp, 12 V transformer and a standard 120 V light dimmer (I know, you folks in Europe have 240 V sometimes so you could adapt accordingly.)

The main thing is to keep your work and the tip clean and avoid overheating.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't use wire wool to clean any thing for soldering as it often contains oil, to stop it rusting.
 
When I solder, I never use a wet sponge. Water instantly cools the tip!!
I use an old facecloth. cleans and does not cool the iron. I also use the tinning pastementioned above.
When solder does not flow to the connection isis de o the connection needing to be cleaner.
Here i scrape the wire with a sharp knife (exacto) and I use liquid flux to assist in making the solder flow like water.
When soldered correctly the joint will be shiny!!
 
Soldering is not a basic skill. It is a cross between alchemy & witchcraft & many do not have even basic skills.
Lesson 1, Hold the plastic end!
 
dutchelm said:
Soldering is not a basic skill. It is a cross between alchemy & witchcraft & many do not have even basic skills.
Lesson 1, Hold the plastic end!
Click to expand...

Like almost any skill, once you've mastered it then I guess it seems easy and basic! Those of us lesser mortals who have not yet acheived mastery of the hot iron can only sit and gape in wonder at the arcane magicks that others perform as metal flows for them like water..... ;)

Jon.
 
Zerogee said:
Like almost any skill, once you've mastered it then I guess it seems easy and basic! Those of us lesser mortals who have not yet acheived mastery of the hot iron can only sit and gape in wonder at the arcane magicks that others perform as metal flows for them like water..... ;)

Jon.
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Yes, Jon, to a certain extent you're correct.

Two things - I have soldered a lot of white metal kits in a past life, using liquid flux and 85 degree solder

But, when I was a young lad, as one of our skills achievements at a church based youth group, we had a guy who worked for Decca who taught us, among other things, basic soldering - I owe that guy big time :nod::nod::nod::nod::nod:

So it's best to dabble and have a go with some unimportant things, before launching yourself into the tricky corners.

In the white metal days, I remember being so intent on soldering a detail in a tiny corner of a loco cab (4mm stuff here) that I touched the rear spectacle plate with the shaft of the iron and melted it. This was a kit being built on a semi-professional basis. So while I went to work the next day, SWMBO rang the manufacturer - Sutherland Castings, somewhere up near Dornoch, north of Hadrian's Wall - who despatched a replacement part FOC :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

We all have to learn somehow :nerd::nerd::nerd:
 
Yes but it is true to say that if you don't have a go, you will never learn. As said, play with something that doesn't matter and get a feel for it. Screw a solder tag to a piece of ply and solder a freshly stripped wire to it, then unsolder it and do it again. (and again)
 
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