Soldering

[Deleted member 5496]

For model making you do not need the old fashioned soldering technique & solder.
You are far better off with the low heat soldering.



The Dremel as has been mentioned above gives the heat. uses lighter fuel to top up. The picture shows the low heat soldering part on the end.

The low heat solder is just squeezed out in the joint & then heated by the Dremel gun until it fizzes. Very strong joint.

Just been using it on some PE. Holds joints together far better than CA plus. Plus place some solder on the outside of the joint & it fills the joint.

Use a diamond file to smooth then a sander to give a perfectly smooth finish. The low heat is unlikely to distort thin metal but best to test.

Also sticks PE to plastic. But makes a hell of a mess of the plastic. ( do not do please just joking)



Laurie

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Brilliant Tim, thanks for that.

Laurie, I have that "nozzle" for my gas iron too, I normally use it for heat shrink. I can't quite make out the soldering product though, would you have a link or product name please?

 

[boatman]

HI Mark I use a normal soldering iron an normal solder for my jobs but if tryin to solder something like brass which requires a high heat then I use a pencil gas torch a pic of it below which I bought from my local model shop an it soon solderd my A frames for my tiger an as the guys have said put on safety glasses an a mask
chris

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Brilliant Tim, thanks for that.

Laurie, I have that "nozzle" for my gas iron too, I normally use it for heat shrink. I can't quite make out the soldering product though, would you have a link or product name please?

Hi Andy

A number out there but this is the one I use
SOLDER PASTE, SN, BI, AG, 138DEG C, 15G SMDLTLFP By CHIP QUIK

Obtainable on Amazon & no doubt Ebay. I first have a small bottle of
another manufacturer but difficult to dispense.

With the one above with the nozzles you can get the paste where it is needed quite accurately.

Cannot give you any tips as I have only used in anger over the past week. Must try & find a demonstration how to use.

One tip is if it is PE give a good sand with a fine sander to remove the junk they spray on to the metal.

Laurie

 

[Tim Marlow]

Best thing I found for treating etch before soldering is a glass fibre scratch brush used wet with a dilute solution of water and dish soap. Do the whole fret before cutting parts out. Don’t be tempted to use the brush dry, the fibres are irritating....
the most flexible approach is to use both mine and Laurie’s suggestions.....there are many tips and tricks to soldering, and not all work with both methods......if you want to know how to approach a difficult joint, sing out and I’ll help if I can.....

 

[Deleted member 5496]

Best thing I found for treating etch before soldering is a glass fibre scratch brush used wet with a dilute solution of water and dish soap. Do the whole fret before cutting parts out. Don’t be tempted to use the brush dry, the fibres are irritating....
the most flexible approach is to use both mine and Laurie’s suggestions.....there are many tips and tricks to soldering, and not all work with both methods......if you want to know how to approach a difficult joint, sing out and I’ll help if I can.....

Like that not thought of sanding the whole fret. Must be right stupid. Thanks Tim.

Laurie

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thank you both.

I have been cleaning and sanding/scratching the PE before cutting from the fret but having recently obtained a glass fibre pencil I'll give that a go.

Will probably give both types of soldering a shot and see which I prefer.