Soldering

[boneheadbassboy]

TA Da!!!.I hope I spelled that right.
I want to THANK everyone for their advice on the soldering.I have just finished soldering 36 feet of track and it took me 1/10 of the time that it took me to screw up just one connection
The magic ingediant was the solder.I went to 3 Radio Shacks before I found one of the employees ther who even know what solder was. GoFigure?.But they did have 60/40solder and it is like cutting butter with a hot knife.

The right tool for the right job!!

So THANKS again for all your help and I'm back on track( No Pun Intended)

Bonehead

[Anonymous]

For soldering wires to rail flanges just be sure you have rosin core electrical solder. A small tube of rosin flux is helpful in particular if you are soldering heavy gauge wire.
But with #18,16,14,12 typically used on layouts, tinning the wire end and the flange makes it an easy job. BUT when joining the tinned wire/flange you must satisfactorily reheat the tublar flange which requires a lot of time if using a low wattage iron. A weller 100 plus watt gun is ideal for quick rail pickup wire solder work.
As suggested practice some and learn the heat range and whether you are really keeping the work and tip clean/tight!

[lionelsoni]

The traditional electronic solder is 60-40, which is usually made with a rosin-flux core. The 63-37 that Ben mentions is called "eutectic" solder. It melts at a lower temperature and goes directly between solid and liquid states without any intermediate pastiness. Plumbers used to use 50-50, and may still for drains, which was still legal a few years ago.

Electronic manufacturing is now, like plumbing, being required to use lead-free solder, which is mostly tin and harder to work with. There is little reason for these restrictions, even for plumbing. The tiny amount of lead exposed in copper pipes is almost immediately covered over with something; so very little can get into the water.

I got a huge roll of 60-40 years ago; but it's mostly gone now. I think I'd better find another to last me the rest of my life, while I still can.

[FJ and G]

I think that part of the whole mixture changes could be tied to a desire on the part of government regulators to reduce the amount of lead. I know that to be the case in plumbing but for train applications, I think that a higher lead content (as well as silver) is preferrable.

[ben10ben]

The solder I prefer to use is silver bearing solder, which has about a 3% silver content on top of the normal tin-lead mixture. The silver adds a lot of strength, which is preferable for high-stress situations, such as when a wire attaches to a moving car or engine truck.

There's also a 63-37 lead-tin mix that makes it extremely difficult to make cold solder joints, and might be easier to use if you're just learning how to solder. As far as I can tell, the silver bearing solder I mention above also has this property.

To tin wire, I like to use a thin-diameter solder that I can twist in with the tip of the wire. I then hold the iron/gun to the wire, and the solder melts and wicks its way into the wire in a second or so. I also use this same method for attaching two or more wires together.

[jefelectric]

Definitely the solder is your problem. The solder on my bench, which is quite a few years old is 50-50, lead tin and it works beautifully.

[Dave Farquhar]

QUOTE: Originally posted by boneheadbassboy
I can tin the wire and I can tin the track,But put them togetherall I get is beaded up balls of solder.
Could it be my solder.I have a 95% tin solder

Probably. I'm guessing the solder I use is 40% lead/60% tin (cheap hardware store stuff), and that type of solder joint has always worked for me the first time.

I've heard that the solders with a high tin content are harder to use. I won't call it junk because it has its uses (plumbing, for one, unless you like lead in your water) but it's not the best stuff for this job.

[FJ and G]

Bonehead,

I get that problem too sometimes. Very frustrating. It usually helps to file the area or sandpaper so the solder has some bite. Perhaps someone else may have some advice here.

Otherwise, glad to help. It is sometimes frustrating when you are told to see a backissue, as the forum is for immediate feedback.

[boneheadbassboy]

First I want to THANK Dave for the info.It was GREAT.
I didn't want to open up a flood gate.But it was a well timed lesson I hope for all of us
However after all these great tips all is for naught.
I can tin the wire and I can tin the track,But put them togetherall I get is beaded up balls of solder.
Could it be my solder.I have a 95% tin solder

Bonehead

[Anonymous]

One of the best way's to learn how to solder is to get a solder iron from radio shack (can be had for like $10) and just practice...

[Jumijo]

Thanks, Dave!

Jim

[FJ and G]

And, you should try to remove ALL or nearly all of the old solder, as reheating old solder or mixing with new means less strong joint. I know. I've made all of the mistakes.

[FJ and G]

Jim,

Heat up the area and draw it away with a soldering braid or sucking device, both found at HD, Lowes, RS etc. Or, you can cheat by soldering the joint and taking a sliver of wood or something and knocking it off when it beads (sometimes it simply beads and falls off on its own). Thus, goggles are important as when you flick it off, it might hit you in the eye.

[Jumijo]

Thanks, Bob!

Dave,

How do you "unsolder" something? Let's say I want to remove a part with soldered wires. How do I get those wires unsoldered from the part? Heat it up with the hot iron?

Jim

[Bob Keller]

I sent this to Jim in an e-mail, but we ran a feature on soldering in the Feb 2002 issue (MTH FT in EMD Demo colors and soldering gear on the cover).

[FJ and G]

Soldering takes practice; don't let anyone fool ya.

Here are the steps (don’t need no book for this). Feel free to correct me as I’m no expert:

1. Assemble all of your equipment:

Flux designed for your type of solder

Soldering gun or pencil or butane or propane or mapp torch (latter for big, big jobs)

Resin-core solder or silver-bearing solder (avoid the acid solder that corrodes)

Soldering brad or sucking device for mopping up old solder or too much solder (alternately, you can file or grind excess solder but if you use a dremel at high speed it will simply just remelt the solder)

Parts like wire or rail you need soldering

A wet sponge for wiping off the tip of soldering iron after each use

Hex or other tool for removing or tightening the tip of soldering iron

Clamps to hold stuff together

Stand on which to place soldering iron

Goggles so you don’t get solder in your eyes as it sometimes flies around

Open window for ventilation (I know it smells nice but…)

2. Warm up the soldering iron for a few minutes

3. Clean the area to be soldered (if real dirty, I use a bristle brush mounted on dremel or other rotary tool). Also, add a heat sink to protect any circuits or plastic ties or stuff like that. A heat sink basically draws heat away from areas you don’t want it. It could be anything ranging from metal clamps to wet toilet paper or sand. There’s even professional heat sinks at plumbing depts..

4. Smear some flux on the metal areas to be soldered

5. Turn on the soldering iron and touch a piece of solder to the end to tin it (this will make the solder flow more easily but don’t ask me why).

6. Immediately touch the soldering iron to the joints you wish connected. The heat must be flowing to both joints and the metals must be touching one another. You can clamp the pieces together but if you use stainless steel clamps, they could become soldered to the joint if you aren’t careful as despite what people say, stainless steel can be soldered when it gets hot enough

7. As soon as you see the flux bubbling (in less than a second usually), touch the solder to the metal and watch it flow towards the soldering iron. I sometimes cheat and touch and solder to the soldering iron to coax it along (very unprofessional of me!)

8. Remove the soldering iron after about a second and the solder should be smooth and shiny. Wait about 15 seconds to remove the clamps. You can actually watch the solder solidify. Before the tip cools, wipe it off quickly on the wet sponge or rag to remove excess.

9. file off any excess solder or use the soldering braid and heat the area

10. Some tips:

Ensure the tip is tightened or it won’t heat

Ensure no excess solder residue left over from last job or it won’t heat (that’s why use sponge). If there is, you might be able to reheat it and sponge it. If not, file it off or buy a new tip.

Turn off the unit when it gets too hot and let it cool.

After about 15 minutes of soldering, a mysterious physics phenomenon occurs called oxidation, which is a thin chemical film that develops on the soldering tip. The solution to removing it is to turn off the unit, loosen the tip and then tighten it. This is where my expertise fails.

Use the right soldering iron, flux and solder for the job. Again, this is where experience helps. If possible, practice on some scraps that resemble your job.

[phillyreading]

Not sure but I think that soldering is covered in the DVD series DReam Plan Build put out by Classic Toy Trains or Kalmbach books, if not maybe Home Depot or Lowes will have a class on soldering that you can sign up for.
Lee F.

[Jumijo]

I'd like to learn how to solder as well. Seems to be a huge part of model railroading. Any tips out there? Please pass them along.

Have any of the hobby magazines done a recent article on the basics of soldering? I think it would be a great idea for them to do so. I'll bet I'm not alone in wanting to learn more.

Jim

[Data69]

How do you "tin" the tip, the wire, and the track without making a mess? I've mastered the "making a mess" part so I'd like to find a better way to do this. Also, I can follow instructions fairly well, but is there a video somewhere where I can actually watch the steps? Thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget that the nuts holding the tip tend to loosen up over time and need tightening periodically.

Daniel Lang

[Anonymous]

A key step is to "tin" the tip of your soldering iron and keep it clean with a wet paper towel or cloth. Doesn't hurt to sand or wirebru***he rail flange.
Then tin your stranded wire end and also tin the rail flange you plan to solder to with a small "puddle" of solder. Set your solder aside, lay your tinned wire end on the tinned flange, hold it with a small screwdriver tip and apply heat to the flange until the wire end melds into the solder puddle. Remove heat, wait a few seconds and remove the screwdriver.

[dwiemer]

Yes, as David suggests. Make sure you get a good connection by drawing the solder to the heat source.
Dennis

[FJ and G]

yes (with flux and resin-core)

[boneheadbassboy]

Will a 150 watt soldering gun do the job on a 16 ga. stranded wire to a O ga. tubular lionel track ?

Bonehead