I have one of those, the one I bought was actually al ittle tin of it, with double sided tape on the bottom - I stick it to the tray area on the base of my soldering station.
The other thing - last thing I do when I turn the soldering iron off is melt a blob of solder on the tip and then carefully put it in the holder so the blob stays. When that freezes it forms an air tight seal around the tip until next time you heat it up and clean it off, revealing the nice shiny tip, ready to go. And the holder that came with my unit does not use the wet sponge thing, it has a brass or copper scrubber type thing - you can get them in the grocery store, next to the steel wool scouring pads (NEVER use one of those on a soldering iron), they are used to scour out copper pots (never use steel scouring pads on those, either). I find this does a better job of cleaning off the tip than the wet sponges ever did.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You might consider getting a salammoniac block for tip cleaning. Rubbing the tip on the block will shine up the tip and it stays that way for a while.
The stuff is available from the normal on line places. Seems a bit expensive, but I've had the last block I bought for about 15 years - although I don't have use for the irons every day any more. I found the stuff invaluable for fine circuit board work
MidlandPacificTaught myself to solder a few years back, and learned along the way not just that flux is a must, but that it MUST be appropriate for the kind of solder you are using- the whole lead/lead-free thing hampered many jobs until I figured it out. Add Quote to your Post
I thought I taught myself several years back. Now after 8 years of sitting doing nothing, I jumped right in forgetting all my hard learned lessons. But you are right, I need to learn this skill at least to the level of proficiency.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
j. c.well you didn't look closely then
Instead of telling me it can be done, and I'm not looking close enough, how about explaining how you would use resistance soldering to solve my problem. You've got the picture. Feel free to ask questions.
Chip, it’s good to have you back! Taught myself to solder a few years back, and learned along the way not just that flux is a must, but that it MUST be appropriate for the kind of solder you are using- the whole lead/lead-free thing hampered many jobs until I figured it out.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
SpaceMouse j. c. puts heat where you need it , so you are not wating for heat transfer. I've been hearing about these for a couple of decades and I'm sure they are quite effective. I've just never seen a tip that would fit this application. I did see an American Beauty tweezer grip that might work, but it was a $250 add-on to a much much more expensive system. The systems I saw under $100 had 1/4 inch tips or larger. Certainly I saw nothing that would create a resistance current within the 1/16th" pad.
j. c. puts heat where you need it , so you are not wating for heat transfer.
I've been hearing about these for a couple of decades and I'm sure they are quite effective. I've just never seen a tip that would fit this application.
I did see an American Beauty tweezer grip that might work, but it was a $250 add-on to a much much more expensive system. The systems I saw under $100 had 1/4 inch tips or larger. Certainly I saw nothing that would create a resistance current within the 1/16th" pad.
well you didn't look closely then . resistance unit is my go to tool for most all soldering no time wasted for iron to heat up , there are a few exceptions like as electronic gear and general wireing chores. have built many brass locos with fine details closely spaced.
zstripe: Didn't mention it in My post....but I totally agree with Randy....every joint in that little tire rack, before touching the solder paste, I run through the damp sponge that is built into the solder iron stand so it has a shiny tip without any black oxidation on it.
I think you nailed the issue here.
Nice tire racks.
doctorwayneIf the wire broke off, but the original glob of solder was still intact on the truck, all you needed to do was re-strip the end of the detached wire, tin it, then, while holding the tinned end of the wire against the glob, touch it with the hot iron - the joint would have been made almost immediately.
You see that was my exact plan.
I think that Randy nailed it. I was using my weakest iron with a dull tip.
And when I get a replacement, I'm going submerge the truck in liquid nitrogen with just the solder pad showing.
j. c.puts heat where you need it , so you are not wating for heat transfer.
rrinker. If the tip is dirty, or dull looking, it will take much longer to get the piece you are touching up to temperature to melt solder.
I think you nailed it. I was using the 25W Weller and the tip was dull. When I went through my stuff later, I found a 45W Radio shack that had a nice clean shiny tip. Not new, just maintained. I think before I went on hiatus, I had learned this lesson and retired the Weller.
rrinkerYou don;t have to spend a lot of money for this - the one I have (and I think Selector, and at least one other person here) is the Xytronics LF-389. The current model is the LF-389D (I've had mine at least 10 years now), which has a digital display instead of a plain knob to set the temperature. It had been the same price, $49.95, for a long time, but it's finnaly increased - $52.95 now.
Okay, I'm convinced. Southgate found me one on eBay for $39 new. And just today I watched a video ranking it #2 in the top 10 solder systems in 2017.
Thanks for taking the time to make such a long post.
SpaceMouse...I'm not sure if the little metal post is slid into place, pressed, or glued, but it definately contacts the plastic....
Thanks for the photo: it clearly explains the set-up with which you were dealing. I'd guess that the heat was being dissapated throughout the metal, from that little tab atop the bolster, all the way to whatever was used to contact the wheels, so no chance for a quick job if the heat was leaving faster than it could be added
If the wire broke off, but the original glob of solder was still intact on the truck, all you needed to do was re-strip the end of the detached wire, tin it, then, while holding the tinned end of the wire against the glob, touch it with the hot iron - the joint would have been made almost immediately. If I'm soldering on things near plastic, I use bits of wet paper towel or tissue to prevent heat transfer, from the item being soldered, to the plastic.This tender ladder, with curved rungs, needed to be assembled in-place in order to keep the proper orientation of the curves, and the proper spacing of the stiles...
With the stiles and rungs cleaned of oxidation by dragging them through a folded sheet of wet/dry sandpaper, I added the stiles to the plastic tender, temporarily ca'ing them in place. A small wad of wet tissue was placed at each point of contact between the stiles and the plastic.
I then inserted a pre-cut (a little bit longer than needed) rung in each pair of holes, added a dab of paste flux to all of those joints in the right-hand stile, then holding the solder on the outside of the stile at each joint in turn, touched the iron to the inner side of the same joint - the solder flowed almost immediately.
When the right side had been done, I added a small wad of wet tissue to all of those joints, then repeated the procedure on the left side. The completed ladder was then removed, with the excess wire and solder removed with the face of a cut-off disc in a rotary tool, finishing up with a fine needle file.
Wayne
SpaceMouse j. c. an altrnative that hasen't been mentioned is to get a reisance unit , puts heat right where it is needed. a 0 to 100 watt unit handles most all soldering jobs in ho. In this case, I'm not sure how a resistance unit would be better than a variable soldering pencil type iron. I needed a hot iron with a small tip. That post is barely 1/16"
j. c. an altrnative that hasen't been mentioned is to get a reisance unit , puts heat right where it is needed. a 0 to 100 watt unit handles most all soldering jobs in ho.
an altrnative that hasen't been mentioned is to get a reisance unit , puts heat right where it is needed. a 0 to 100 watt unit handles most all soldering jobs in ho.
In this case, I'm not sure how a resistance unit would be better than a variable soldering pencil type iron. I needed a hot iron with a small tip. That post is barely 1/16"
puts heat where you need it , so you are not wating for heat transfer.
Keys to soldering:
1. clean tip
2. clean tip
3. clean tip
Whatever iron you use, the tip should be shiny and clean - this is what gets you good fast heat transfer to the work. If the tip is dirty, if it's black (really bad - maybe better to get a replacement at that point) or dull looking, it will take much longer to get the piece you are touching up to temperature to melt solder. That means there is more time for heat to migrate to other parts of the same piece of metal, and plastic softening temperature is well below solder melting temperature. The the tip is nice and clean and shiny, the heat moves quickly from the iron tip to the work. The work spot will heat up faster than extra heat can migrate to where you don't want it.
Excess heat is the enemy of the soldering iron tip. The hotter it is, the easier ir oxidizes. A typical "on as long as it's plugged in" soldering iron just hepps getting hotter and hotter until an equilibrium is reached between heat loos into the air and the heat that can be generated by the heating element. Same size tip, a higher wattage iron will get hotter. But that temperature is way beyond what is needed for soldering, and when soldering within the vacinity of somethign that can melt, too hot is just as bad as not hot enough or too dirty.
Clean joint area is important as well. I tend to not use flux for just wires, or many times on circuit boards, but i DO use flux for feeders to the rail and rail joiners - even brand new rail is usually somewhat dirty, as it's not packaged in air tight packages, and there may be residue from the machining processes used to make it. For example, so solder rail joiuners, I put a little flux in the joiner (I use a paste kind), slip the rails together, then apply the soldering iron to the inside of the joint (where you don;t want a big solder blob that can interfere with the flanges) and the solder to the outside. The flux will activate and the solder will wick in under the joiner and attach everything without forming a blob. I run the iron tip back and forth along the point where the joiner and rail meet to flow it evenly along the whole length of the joiner. haven't melted a tie yet.
One way to avoid overheating the iron is to use a temperature controlled station. They vary in proce, but the key feature of a true temperature controlled station is that it actively measure the temperature at the tip and tuens the element on and off as necessary to maintain the temperature you dial in on the base.
You don;t have to spend a lot of money for this - the one I have (and I think Selector, and at least one other person here) is the Xytronics LF-389. The current model is the LF-389D (I've had mine at least 10 years now), which has a digital display instead of a plain knob to set the temperature. It had been the same price, $49.95, for a long time, but it's finnaly increased - $52.95 now. I'd put it against anything $100 or less. Like I said, I've had this about 10 years now, and STILL use the original tip. I did order a few of alternate size, but the standard one has worked for everything.
Chip,
I'm willing to bet that would not have happened if You used a Silver bearing solder paste and a 1/16 tip iron. I use both....I have a variable temp. iron by Mudder and the changeable tips go down to pointed or chizel 1/16''. The solder paste I use is by Solder-It. Flux is already in the paste and it has a low temp. melting point,,,the bond is 6 times stronger than regular solder and You have one hand free...no need to hold the solder and the iron. The paste is a little more expensive than regular solder.......But to Me, that's a moot point...because it works better.
In this pic' is an all brass rod, 1/32'' and 3/64'' soldered together using the paste, along with the 1/16'' tip. It is a Truck tire rack......not commercially made anywhere. You can get plastic car tire racks...but not for truck tires so I made My own.
Take Care!
Frank
Edit: Didn't mention it in My post....but I totally agree with Randy....every joint in that little tire rack, before touching the solder paste, I run through the damp sponge that is built into the solder iron stand so it has a shiny tip without any black oxidation on it.
By the way, I have probably 3 of those blue tubey, solder sucker-upper thingies and I have no idea how to use them. Probably tomorrow I am going to desolder the feeders from my Fastrack turnouts, and I figure this might be a good time to learn what they are for.
It always seemed like they took more hands to use than I had.
richg1998 BONUS. Parts need a home. Three sets of trucks and three frames heading out Monday. Slowly giving away stuff to new homes. Rich Rich
BONUS. Parts need a home. Three sets of trucks and three frames heading out Monday.
Slowly giving away stuff to new homes.
Rich
Very cool.
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
richg1998I just looked at the ones I an sending you and I can see the challenge. The metal side frame is just inside the plastic sideframe.
Thanks again Rich. I just wish I could have picked up the challenge before I jumped in.
I just looked at the ones I an sending you and I can see the challenge. The metal side frame is just inside the plastic sideframe.
Some years ago you could buy the truck from Athearn along with the tender frames and pickups for the DCC locos including the windows. I had a couple MDC, Roundhouse 2-6-0 with Wild West livery that I wanted to upgrade to DCC sound.
If I find anything more, I will include it.
Southgatelook here.
I don't want it unless I can melt a tender with it.
Space Mouse <-- iron envy.
I'm getting some insurance money soon. Maybe they will still be around.
PS I saw a video today where these were rated the #2 best iron in 2017. Only a similar type Weller fared better.
doctorwayne it wasn't clear to me why you would be soldering something on the plastic part of the truck.
Okay, my camera will actually pick up the detail. The one on the right is the one i diddn't touch. The one on the left is toast.
I'm not sure if the little metal post is slid into place, pressed, or glued, but it definately contacts the plastic. This picture is better than I can see it with reading glasses. Top notch work as only an 8 year-old Chinese worker can do.
As I said before, I only touched the metal with the iron.
doctorwayne I could have melted that whole tender for you.
This is good to know. I may have a couple to send you. I invited Randy to come over and help with my wiring.
look here.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Soldering-Iron-Station-X-Tronic-Model-4010-XR3-75-Watt-Digital-LED-Display/112629323482?epid=28011992070&hash=item1a393b16da:g:fHoAAOSwhDBZ~env
Something I like to do when soldering and want a quick cool down after the joint has been made:
Have a small wet sponge or piece of paper towell very wet near by, and quench the joint the instant you're done making it. PSHHT!
Dan
Even from your original post of the screw-up with the tender truck, it wasn't clear to me why you would be soldering something on the plastic part of the truck.
Most tender-mounted pick-ups are attached to a washer-like item held in place with the same screw that holds the truck in place, and that screw is usually capped by a nut, which keeps everything in-place and together. If you needed to re-solder something onto the washer-like thingy, the proper procedure would be to disassemble things so that the parts to be soldered could be apart from the plastic stuff. If you'd had the parts separate, it would've been much easier to do. Cleaning the surfaces to be soldered, and using a separate solering paste definitely do make the whole process easier. If you want more heat faster, use a larger iron. I used a 200watt iron to do most of my rail joiners, but heat sinks were a must. I could have melted that whole tender for you.
I have a few MDC Roundhouse tender trucks with all wheel pickup I do not need. PM me with address. I can send one out Monday.
When Athearn bought the line, they went to all wheel pickup on the tender. I bought a few trucks, frames a few years ago from Athearn and do not do model railroading anymore eyes and hands shake a little. I just noticed a couple sitting near me.
I had their new 4-4-0, 2-6-0 and 2-8-0 and some pre Athearn 2-6-0 and a 2-8-0 that is now a 1855 Winans 0-8-0.
richg1998Or get a new truck from Bachmann.
Actually, the truck is off an MDC Roundhouse 2-6-0 tender. I'll definately need a new truck no matter what.
JWhitehen I found a video that was just about soldering, not just soldering track feeders. Starting with the basics I learned to prepare the tip and coat it with solder first.
I'm watching a vintage (non-eBayers this means old but not necessarily valuable) video series by Pace intending to instruct future electronic engineers how to solder. It is heavy on theory.