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Soldering...for beginners - please keep it simple


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Most places will sell an 80watt iron for stained glass work. Mine cost $34 Cdn. They come with two large mass chisel tips, 3/8" and 1/4". The beauty of this is you have instant melting and the iron is on the work for a second or so. I don't burn insulation any more and the wires do not become over heated. I use the 1/4" for most jobs and the big one for battery work.
 
I know this is sacrilege but I use acid flux on heavy battery wires before I tin them. This helps the solder flow throughout the wiring. I figure that the model will be long gone before any corrosion has a chance to set in. It reduces my frustration trying to get a good tinning before I join the pieces, that's my rationalization anyway.
 
Jack..
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No one has mentioned FLUX. There are times when this is useful, even with cored solder. IT helps the solder really flow.
 
I use Bakers fluid but this should never be used for electrical work. There are other fluxes but I never got on with them so well.
 
I have three irons, a 12 watt for soldering servo leads etc, a 24 watt for medium work and a 40 watt for piano wire. I also have a 75 Watt Henley Solon that is nearly 60 years  old and still going strong.
 
TIP: when connecting up servo leads make a groove in some scrap balsa the same size as the wire  with a small screwdriver.  Press the two ends to be joined into the groove and apply the solder, you will have a very neat joint that will accept the heat shrink tube easily.....You did slide the heat shrink on before you soldered, didn't you?
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Posted by Papa on 11/06/2010 03:15:33:
Most places will sell an 80watt iron for stained glass work. Mine cost $34 Cdn. They come with two large mass chisel tips, 3/8" and 1/4". The beauty of this is you have instant melting and the iron is on the work for a second or so. I don't burn insulation any more and the wires do not become over heated. I use the 1/4" for most jobs and the big one for battery work.
 
I know this is sacrilege but I use acid flux on heavy battery wires before I tin them. This helps the solder flow throughout the wiring. I figure that the model will be long gone before any corrosion has a chance to set in. It reduces my frustration trying to get a good tinning before I join the pieces, that's my rationalization anyway.
 
Jack..
 Were did you get it from I notice it was not in £'s
Peter
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All good stuff here. I was lucky enough to learn soldering from Dad when I was very little I never knew how useful it would be to me at the time!
 
Very cheap soldering forceps or clamps can be bought for a few pennies and come in handy for a job that always seems to require a third hand.
 
But my top tip is artery forceps. I always had the problem that when soldering battery connectors/ESCs/Motors that I had to put the heat shrink on the wire first. The heat would often transfer up the wire and shrink the stuff just enough to make life difficult before I was done working.
 
I then found if I clamped an artery forcep between my intended joint and the the heat shrink it acted as a good heat sink and solved the problem. Because they are quite heavy they can also help to hold everything in position whilst the soldering is done.
 
Once you have artery forceps you will find at least 10 million other uses for them when modelling so will never regret the purchase.
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And if you cant get artery forceps, flatten out the jaws of a small crocodile clip and use that.
I also recommend a simple "jig"made from wooden clothes pegs and scrap of plywood or similar. These can be used to hold cables and plugs etc inline whilst soldering, and with a few small holes drilled, 2 and 4mm gold corolly style plugs and sockets etc can be inserted and held steady whilst working on them too.
 
The pictures of my rather rough and well used version should show the idea
 



Edited By Timbo - Administrator on 11/06/2010 13:43:06

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Hi all
 
this isn't meant to be a commercial plug, but can I recommend the small handheld gas torches sold by a reputable high street electronics store (and others) that are fuelled with a simple gas cigarette lighter.
 
These make very short work of soldering bullet connectors, and are capable of heating smaller jobs (e.g. silencers) to temperatures high enough for "cold" aluminium welding, using commercial welding rods available from all over the place.
 
As the heat is delivered by flame, rather than physical contact, you don't end up chasing the job round the bench or the vice as the lightweight connector obligingly moves out of your way when you push the soldering iron against it....
 
These can also easily fit in a flight box with a twist of solder.
 
AlistairT
 
 
 
 
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Hi Timbo, I have a similar soldering station but I used the mica element forms from an old toaster and it avoids burning the plywood. You can screw them to the plywood and solder directly on the mica.
 
An old trick from old school plumbers is to keep a piece of heavy canvas such as denim and keep it saturated in one spot with flux paste. Use that spot to clean the tips of the soldering iron or to rub down a solder joint when using a torch.
 
Jack.
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Totally agree that lead-free solders can be difficult to use and in most conditions do not seem to produce as good a quality joint. But, don't despair! The restriction on the use of leaded solder only applies to industry - private individuals can still buy and use leaded solder perfectly legally.
 
A good source for solder is C&L Finescale - a railway modellers supplier. See their website here full of a huge range of solders of different melting points and make-up including leaded (most of their solders are leaded because no one wants to buy unleaded solder!) and silver solder (good for structural soldering on undercarriages etc.) They also sell solder pastes - really handy sometimes - and a wide selection of fluxs, irons etc. etc.
 
BEB
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For some time I've used a copy of Timbo's soldering 'jig' and it is excellent for the job of holding the little bit and pieces to be soldered.  Other pegs can be added to suit the task in hand.  Well worth the small amount of time required to make it,
 
Well done Timbo.
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  • 9 months later...
  • 2 years later...

CPC do a range of thermostatically controlled low voltage irons at reasonable prices.

If your iron doesn't have a thermostat it isn't worth a "breach of the code of conduct" sorry wink.

The iron needs enough power and sufficient stored thermal energy to raise the joint to soldering temperature promptly, this minimises the risk of damage to electronic components and reduces the time for oxidation of the surfaces before the flux becomes effective.

I use a flux pen from RS components, I'll post the stock number in the week, it often helps when the surface may be a little bit difficult to make the solder take.

You may need both types of solder. It is not possible to convert from one type (leaded or lead free) to the other. Use the solder appropriate to that already in use.

Shaunie.

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Hi Chuck,

Not sure about that one either, without testing one it's hard to be sure but I've an idea it's not thermostatically controlled but just temperature controlled, i.e. it's just got a lamp dimmer type controller on it and they are not the same believe me. I could be wrong but at that price...

This one however would be ok **LINK** I know it's twice as much but you get what you pay for.

Another little thing, people watching me solder often remark about how large a tip I use for a job but I find a large tip stores more heat energy and delivers it more quickly. Yes it does have to be used with care as it is easy to bridge pins etc. but I get better results especially with many modern SMD circuit boards that suck heat like you wouldn't believe.

When I need to rework a circuit board that is difficult to get hot enough I use one of these **LINK** which is basically just a vertical heat gun in a square box. It just occurred to me that undercarriage wires could be preheated before soldering which would help the solder wet out. I might do some tests if I get time.

Shaunie.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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