KenP

I don't know if many of you have tried soldering brass etched "bits" together to make something up. It's easy to finish up with a great blob of solder.

I have recently taken to using solder paste. Just apply it with the tip of a screwdriver ( or old brush) and the grey gunk turns into a thin film of solder as you apply the iron.

The drawback is that it is not cheap, about £20-£25 for a 125mL pot. The good news is the pot will last a long, long time.

The stuff I am using is Fryolux Solder Paint, manufactured by Alpha-Fry Technologies, and should be available at a good specialist hardware shop. Not your B&Q or a pots & pans hardware shop

wonwinglo

Useful tip that Ken,sounds a little similar to the older Flux pastes,dont forget to neutralise the acid content of these solder pastes,to do this mix up some bicarbonate of soda and apply with a stiff brush,then flush the joint with running water,this will get rid of the harmful corrosive qualities of all these types of fluxes,otherwise suddenly one day you could find the joint badly corroded.
Someone once did a field solder paste,all that you did was light a match and offer to the joint for a swift temporary repair.Hobbies of London used to sell the stuff.

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

George

I still have a card of Multicore Emergency Solder [melts with a match] in my work box

BigJBB

On the topic of Solder. I have a question for all of the learned fraternity. About 20 years ago i bought a 500g reel of flux cored solder. Can anyone tell me the shelf life I should have expected please? When I went to use it on Thursday, when making a joint (silicon wire/solder tag on a motor) there was a black gungy residue left and no solder = no joint Changed the solder for a 25g new packet Result The joint was sound. Unfortunately me being an Aberdonian I do not want to just throw out this old ree. So if anyone can give mae a little advice I would really appreciate it.

thanks

Jim

wonwinglo

***Well Jim in my toolbox is a very old tin of Fluxite ! the contents are discoloured and gungy,but the paste still seems to work,however who knows the shelf life of some of this material as you say ? it could be that there has been some reaction within the solder to make it do that ? as these things are acetic/acid/caustic based products that work chemically when heat is applied it could be that those qualities have been destroyed with time,try using a piece further on within the coil to see if that does the same ? just a thought.
Failing that it will make some useful ballast weight !

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

George

I am using a solder flux which looks like axel grease in colour but there are no problems with the joints other than my own.

BigJBB

Thanks for the input so far. Ballast.......hmmm now there is an option. I'll let you know how the inner part of the reel fares. if no bettere then ballast it will be.

cheers

Jim

BigJBB

Good new, I cut the first foot off of the reel and it workrd soooooooooooo..... much better. Still a little gunge and once again I cut off another foot and this time no gunge. I guess I'll be looking for ballast elsewhere

cheers

Jim

wonwinglo

*** I think that we will put this one down to 'Deterioration of the extreme sections of material caused through exposure to climatic and molecular changes in the physical & chemical properties of soft metals' !!!

__________________
'And there I was oil on my goggles from a broken pipe,then I looked at the altimeter,all I could see was the makers name !'
www.wonwinglo.scale-models.net/

duncan

...or in the same language for an aeroplane crash "a rapid energetic disassembly".