Soldering

[Lee]

I see a couple of members talking about soldering. What are you using for a soldering iron? Do you use any controls such as a variac? In other words, how are you controling the temperature of your iron?

[cfesmire]

I use a couple of different irons ranging from 25w to 140w depending on the usage. If I'm doing something really delicate, like fine brass wire, I use an alligator clip as a heat sink to dissipate. As with many things, I've found the prep work the most important aspect of soldering. Cleaned parts are essential, as is the use of a good paste flux. If the items to be soldered are copper or brass, tinning helps in the assembly process. In some cases such as one where I soldered small 1/8" sq. plates on the end of wire for boat bunks on a trailer, I actually used a torch and simply soldered the small pieces of wire to a large sheet of brass and cut the sheet into the size of the pieces I wanted with the wire already attached, eliminating the need to solder very small pieces.
One more tip: use adequate ventilation! The stuff coming off of the soldering tip will make the devil gag.

[Eric]

I use a 12w iron originally meant to be used for soldering electronical components. It takes a bit longer before the solder flows but the iron doesn't get as hot as the bigger ones thus reducing the chance of damaging anything.

[cfesmire]

In an attempt to salvage an On-Track piece that I have waited 9 months for and paid too much for, I have decided to fill some joints that were quite unsightly in spite of careful filing and fitting before assembly. I decided to solder the joints and file them smooth. I believe they came out OK but there are several warnings I would like to post regarding the process.
The melting point of the white metal is almost that of solder. Apply the solder to the joint but do not allow the iron to touch the model itself. No flux is necessary. It is better to put more than necessary to fill the joint and sand or file down to the desired finish. Panel lines can be (and were) rescribed after the sanding has been done.
One of the joints is still fairly visible.
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stryper50/detail?.dir=/d798&.dnm=5d39.jpg&.src=ph
pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stryper50/detail?.dir=/d798&.dnm=845a.jpg&.src=ph

This has been a major sticking point with me on white metal models, I hope you can find this info useful.

[DavidJohnson]

My soldering methods are basic, some may say crude.

Most important are cleaning, flux ( not an acid flux ) , and holding the workpiece.

I use a scrap of Homasote board, pins, small nails, and masking tape to hold the work piece. If a heat sink is needed wet paper toweling does the job. My soldering iron is a 30 watt pencil style with two tips; a small point and a wedge shaped blade.

Dave