Soldering: what am I doing wrong?!

[Don Gibson]

Pasadena sub:

A soldered track joint had become misaligned vertically and was causing locos to stutter as they crossed it.

Since your PROBLEM was a "misaligned" joint - locked into-place by soldering - WHY did you re-solder it?

For that matter, WHY solder your joints at all? BIG layouts do better with Bus and feeders, and small layouts don't really need it - with good rail joiners.  So what have you learned?

 

[modelmaker51]

I'm glad it worked for you. As you were reheating a previously soldered joint, the use of flux may not have been critical, but I would recommend that you always use a bit flux, just to make sure you get a good joint. As to the de-soldering wick, they work best with some flux as well, after all you are trying to draw the solder from the joint to the wick, the flux helps by de-oxidizing the metals and facilitates a faster flow of the solder. I prefer the spring-loaded solder-sucker type tools over the wick; it's faster and can help prevent the joint and ties from getting overheated and melting things, but the wick will work in a pinch. Just remember, a shiny joint is a good one, a dull one is a cold one - re do it.

[CSXDixieLine]

Pasadena sub:

A soldered track joint had become misaligned vertically and was causing locos to stutter as they crossed it.

Since your PROBLEM was a "misaligned" joint - locked into-place by soldering - WHY did you re-solder it?

For that matter, WHY solder your joints at all? BIG layouts do better with Bus and feeders, and small layouts don't really need it - with good rail joiners.  So what have you learned?

I am still 50/50 on "to solder or not to solder." This layout was really just a test oval on Hoamasote, so I was pretty much experimenting with different (flawed) techniques. BTW after desoldering the rails were easily realigned. So far so good. Jamie