I am looking at Walthers etched brass ladder and platform kits. I have never worked with this material. The instructions say to glue them together with CA.
Is that the best way to put them together?
Rick
hbgatsfIs that the best way to put them together?
I built an etched brass yard light tower from Alkem Models a while back. I soldered all the joints using Tix solder and their flux. It was pretty easy to work with and made a good, solid model. I would consider solder the 'best' method.
Light_tower by Edmund, on Flickr
However —
Recently I put together the Walthers elevated walkways (they call them conveyors?) and I used CA for these. It worked out OK and they seem to hold together pretty well. I used strands of copper wire to twist around some of the joints and tacked the pieces together allowing tiny amounts of CA to work into the joint by capillary action.
Pipe_Span-brass-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Pipe_Span-brass by Edmund, on Flickr
I also built an etched stainless signal bridge from Showcase Miniatures and used the CA cement with success. I don't know how well solder would flow with the stainless so CA was my first choice and recommended by the manufacturer.
Signal_11-21 by Edmund, on Flickr
Again it helps to tie the pieces together with fine wire or careful clamping. Once the cement sets you can clip the wire away and sand any glue marks off.
Good Luck, Ed
Thanks, Ed. Since you have used both solder and CA, if you were to build another, which method would you pick?
Began assembling the Gold Metal Models etched brass fire escape by soldering, didn't go well, but then my soldering skills are not tip-top. Finished it up using CA glue as per the Mfg recommendations, like the way it looks, yet was still more than a fair challenge.
Regards, Peter
hbgatsfif you were to build another, which method would you pick?
While I encourage 'traditional' methods, the light tower that I soldered wasn't too difficult for me but I had a nice butane torch and the Tix solder was a joy to work with. It did require some skills that not everyone may have.
The CA cemented models I made are every bit as strong and with careful application, meaning get the joints tight and allow the capillary action to draw the CA into the joint, I will probably use the CA method without hesitation.
Once they're painted you wouldn't be able to see the difference.
I have heard of guys tacking a piece together with ca. then using solder paste to solder it together. I just got solder paste and already see why it makes a much better solder joint. Some much controllable. I haven't used that on etched pieces yet Myself. Anybody else do that? Loooks like a good aide for those having solder skills with such a thing as etched parts
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The point of Tix solder (and its special flux) is that it melts at a much lower temperature than 'normal' solders. There are solders that melt at even lower temperatures, but they start to get expensive.
Solder paste combines small, easy-to-melt granules of solder alloy with flux, so you can position small amounts in the same way you'd position small slivers of solder for fine work, without the careful flux control that would otherwise be nearly essential.
Both for solder and for CA, very careful fitting of each joint and then holding it in alignment while the joint is made are both important. The joints should be square, slightly rough in surface finish, with as large a mutual close-fitting contact area as you can provide.
It follows that clamping or even jigging a joint is an important step. I find it difficult to tighten wire loops to get the right 'intimate contact' without misalgning -- that may just be me not knowing how to work the needlenose pliers. Filing the nose of very small alligator clips and using a thin heat-tolerant elastomer layer to cushion the contact might be a better solution for large joints, like the ones in the etched-brass power tower I assembled a couple of decades ago.
Resistance soldering, if you're set up to have it, may be a boon to this kind of work.
Thanks for the replies. I think I will pass on the etched brass kits and just stick with plastic.
HO-VeloBegan assembling the Gold Metal Models etched brass fire escape by soldering, didn't go well, but then my soldering skills are not tip-top. Finished it up using CA glue as per the Mfg recommendations, like the way it looks, yet was still more than a fair challenge.
I built a couple of GMM fire escapes in N scale a couple of decades ago.
I would not attempt that again.
-Kevin
Living the dream.