john wrote:
"Good joints have a bright and shiny appearance."
Be aware that this depends on the solder you're using - the new, safer lead-free solders produce joints that are not as shiny as the older lead solders. The difference in the surface is like the difference between flat glass and ripple glass - flat glass can just gleam, like a good lead solder joint, while lead-free solder joints are smooth but never get that gleaming surface.
Lead-free solder, on the other hand, can be safely used in a house with children, where you would need good ventilation if using lead solder around kids.
Jim
jkeatonjohn wrote: "Good joints have a bright and shiny appearance." Be aware that this depends on the solder you're using - the new, safer lead-free solders produce joints that are not as shiny as the older lead solders. The difference in the surface is like the difference between flat glass and ripple glass - flat glass can just gleam, like a good lead solder joint, while lead-free solder joints are smooth but never get that gleaming surface. Lead-free solder, on the other hand, can be safely used in a house with children, where you would need good ventilation if using lead solder around kids. Jim
Yes, that's a good point.
Since the youngest 'kid' who resides in my humble abode has been drawing Social Security for ten years... OTOH, even as a callow youth I was smart enough to avoid eating solder. (If you get the idea that I'm not a big fan of idiot-proof solder, you got it in one.)
Here's a heads-up on a potential safety hazard. Unnoticed by me, the trigger switch on my ancient Weller gun stuck ON. By the time the breaker on the power bar snapped, it was too late. Smoke was pouring out of the casing. RIP, old friend. I've already purchased the most powerful available replacement - 255 watts, versus the old one's 325 watts.
Moral of the story. A cheap circuit breaker equipped power bar kept the lights on and saved a trip out and around the garage to the main breaker box. If I had been using a plain extension cord, things would have been a lot less convenient.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
tomikawaTTSince the youngest 'kid' who resides in my humble abode has been drawing Social Security for ten years... OTOH, even as a callow youth I was smart enough to avoid eating solder. (If you get the idea that I'm not a big fan of idiot-proof solder, you got it in one.)
I'm glad you clarified that, I was leaning toward thinking you were just spectacularly incurious...
John
Well I did it!! I did my first soldering yesterday ... and it was as bad or difficult as I made it to be!
Just on question on wire tinning ... should I pre-tin the tip with solder first and then pre-tin the wire ... I tried look back through the comments and couldn't find clear recommendation. Some of the You-Tube videos did so ... others noted using flux. To date, I haven't been able to readily find flux at Canadian stores ... all the solder I find is rosin-core.
Thanks,
David
Yes, the tip of the solderign iron should be tinned - but don't leave blobs of solder hanging on it. A sponge slightly wetted with water works to keep the tip clean, however my sodlerign station came with a stand that incorporated a copper pad that I think works much better, plus it doesn't cool down the tip liek the wet sponge will. It looks somewhat like a piece of scouring pad as used to clean pots and pans - but do NOT use the steel ones, they will wear the soft copper tip of the soldering iron right off. I've seen the copper pads in the grocery store as well - for cleaning copper pots. In addition, you might be able to find a tip tinner compound in your equivalent of Radio Shack, I know they have it int he Radio Shacks here. Not sure what mine is made of, it's called lead-free tip tinner and it came from H&N where I bought my flux. In the old days a block of sal ammoniac was used, I don't think that's available anymore, it's probably considered so dangerous that one whiff will kill you instantly, despite the fact the peopel used it for years. You just rub the hot tip on the material (it melts) and it tins up nice and shiny - follow with a wipe. The tip needs to be nice and shiny for effective heat transfer, When it starts to dull and get black spots on it, it takes longer to heat up the joint and that's when you start melting things. Always keep the tip clean, and you will have much better luck soldering. It's not the high heat that melts ties when sodlering track, it's keeping that heat on too long. With a clean tinned tip, it takes less than a second to heat the immediate area to effectivelt flow the solder. The heat never has time to spread to the ties and melt them. With a dirty tip, you end up holding the iron in place for several seconds and EVERYTHING gets hot.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
dsabourneWell I did it!! I did my first soldering yesterday ... and it was as bad or difficult as I made it to be! Just on question on wire tinning ... should I pre-tin the tip with solder first and then pre-tin the wire ... I tried look back through the comments and couldn't find clear recommendation. Some of the You-Tube videos did so ... others noted using flux. To date, I haven't been able to readily find flux at Canadian stores ... all the solder I find is rosin-core. Thanks, David
Try Sayall Electronics
http://www.sayal.com/
They have all sorts of things and they do show a location in Cambridge.
Their flux is here
http://tinyurl.com/37yl88x
Tinning the wire will definitely help. Apply some flux, tin the wire, apply a little more flux to the wire after it has cooled or to the rail, then solder in place. Be sure to wet the iron with a little solder first.
You should use a large chisel tip for this process. A small pencil tip doesn't have the thermal mass needed, and the rail will just suck the heat out of it. The bigger tip won't do that. If you can, you should have about 700 degrees at the tip. A hot iron, a little flux, and the process is so fast it isn't funny.
If it takes too long, the work is not clean, the iron isn't hot enough, or the tip can't stay hot enough. A little flux helps with corrosion on the work, a large hot tip helps with the heating of the work. Otherwise, it just won't work, or you will end up with a cold solder joint because the solder didn't flow properly. If it balls up, it could be that the wire is coated with something solder doesn't alloy with.
Thanks for the "tips" Randy. I have seen brass shavings used for tip cleaning. I'm going if they have them at our local Radio Shack equivalent here ... unfortunately our Radio Shacks became The Source (thesource.ca) by Circuit City ... and then in Circuit City's financial woes was bought out by Bell (Bell Canada) and has really phased out a lot of the small Radio Shack parts supply ... now focusing on mainstream electronics, TVs, cell and portable phones etc. Staff are not very knowledge ... ie. my soldering supply issue.
The US Radio Shack website has a lot more stuff ... like the old Radio Shack ... I'm wondering if I can order directly through them to Canada?
Betamax - Thanks for web links ... I guess I have to check out these more specific specialty electronic stores/suppliers than just be able to go to my local Radio Shack in the mall ... see my above comment about Radio Shacks in Canada transformation into The Source.
That's pretty much all Radio Shack is in the US as well - a cell phone store. They have a small cabinet with few parts (way overpriced - for the price they charge for a 5 pack of resistors I can get like 100 from Mouser), and no one in the store has the slightest clue about anything, but they do still sell soldering irons and solder in that small section is where they also have the tip tinner and rosin flux. Failing that, you might want to see if H&N will ship to Canada - their flux at least is water soluable and safe to transport through the US Mail so it may be able to go internationally. They do have a currency converter on their web site so one would expect they ship at least somewhere besides the US. I ordered flux from here ont he recommendation of someone else on the forum and it works very well. I got paste and liquid - have no real need for the liquid. Here's the page (really BAD web page design, but it's all there): http://www.ccis.com/home/hn/ They don't manufacture the stuff so it's possible there is a supplier in Canada in case they charge too much to ship international. Disclaimer: I have no connection to this company, just a satisifed customer