Soldering - Plain and Simple


McLeod

McLeod

Forest Lurker
Thought I'd share a basic rundown on how to solder, or more precisely, how I solder. Being it right or wrong, the technique described here seems to work very well.

Soldering is simply the melting in of an alloy in order to join metal surfaces. Nothing to be afraid of.
In this case, I'm going to describe how to solder track feeder wires. So here is the process:

First, I drill holes where I want the feeder wires to come up and be soldered onto the outside of a track rail. I drill very close to the rail; right beside it. The drilled hole should be very near the size of the insulated wire you are using, but, not less than the wire size.
In my case, I've used #18 AWG wire, black and white, because I have lots of it in stock. The drill bit required for my choice of wire is a 5/64" bit.
TrackSolder_2.jpg

TrackSolder_1.jpg

Be very careful as you are drilling, that you don't damage the rail.

Once the holes are drilled, I prepare the wire.
The wire end is stripped to the copper. Then I use a common hammer on an anvil to tap the wire end and make the tip flat.
TrackSolder_10.jpg


The wire is formed and cut into a small L-shaped hook using the tools as shown. When the wire is pushed down through the hole I drilled, the little hook will latch onto the outside bottom edge of the rail, and I can solder it in place.
TrackSolder_11.jpg

TrackSolder_12.jpg


Here is a photo of the track feeder in place on the outside bottom of a rail, ready for solder:
TrackSolder_4.jpg


Let's call this part 1, because I'm afraid the forum won't let me load so many photos as it will take to finish the article.
Part 2, the actual soldering, is coming right up.
 
Back again to do some soldering, so lets get on with it:

The fact is, you don't require a-lot of fancy equipment to do a good job in soldering. That's my opinion only, but, my soldering iron is a cheapo 25watt pencil iron that was purchased on sale at the big box store.
The flux I prefer is an acid based, gel type that I can apply with a small brush.

The last photo I posted showed a wire in position on the outside bottom rail of a track, ready to be soldered.
Here is a photo of a wire that has been fluxed by painting the flux wax on with a brush; a hot iron is at the ready, and a short length of thin solder is on standby. The photo shows all you need to solder up the joint:
TrackSolder_5.jpg


Here is a soldered track feeder:
TrackSolder_9.jpg


Repeat the process on the other rail, and it's nearly done:
TrackSolder_6.jpg


After I'm done soldering the track feeders on, I like to take an ohm meter between the far end of the rail I've just soldered and the other end of the wire. This to make sure I've got good continuity through that section of track.
TrackSolder_7.jpg


Soldering really is plain and simple once you try it.

Have a good day.
 
Since you opt'd for using an acid based flux, I would probably attempt to neutralize the acid with a weak baking soda solution. The residue wouldn't affect the N/S rail so much, but it's hell on copper.
 
ShermanHill said:
Since you opt'd for using an acid based flux, I would probably attempt to neutralize the acid with a weak baking soda solution. The residue wouldn't affect the N/S rail so much, but it's hell on copper.
Click to expand...
Admittedly, I don't know much about the science behind the chemicals and metal reactions. I was going to clean the joints up with a Dawn/water mixture before painting the rails. After your input, though, I suppose I'll try the baking soda solution. Thanks.
 
Admittedly I am the worlds worst at soldering, but I might just have to give this a go. I like the idea of flattening the wire.
 
I do sorta the same thing. The white wire in the 4th pic in the OP. I solder the foot of the "L" to the outside of the rail, them push/pull the wire through the hole. Yours makes a much less noticeable connection.
 
Good tutorial! I would recommend using rosin flux rather than acid flux, though. If not cleaned thoroughly, the acid can eventually cause a failure of the joint. I clean off rosin flux with some denatured alcohol on a toothbrush.
 
flyboy2610 said:
Good tutorial! I would recommend using rosin flux rather than acid flux, though. If not cleaned thoroughly, the acid can eventually cause a failure of the joint. I clean off rosin flux with some denatured alcohol on a toothbrush.
Click to expand...

I believe I will pick up a rosin flux the next time I'm in the hardware. - Suppose the only reason I use an acid flux is due to an old-school belief that acid is more adept at cleaning off any oxidized material that may form on a metals surface. I do know you must try and clean off any acid flux remains, or it may well corrode the solder joint.
Remember, though, rosin is an acid in liquid form. As a solid, it's inert, but, if it melts due to some heat it is in fact an acid. I believe that using a rosin flux dosen't save you from having to clean the soldered joints off.

I might try some aerosol electrical contact cleaner; see if that works.
 
Guy: As I mentioned in the Coffee Shop, you have demonstrated a technique that is better than what i have been doing. I do have rosin core flux, and use electrical grade solder. I like the use of solid thermostat wire, a major improvement over the stranded wire I use which makes for a sloppy, at best connection. Again, thanks for sharing.
 
Rosin core all the time for any electronics (which this is for the purposes of construction). I was using thinner feeders, but I like the flattening idea so much, I think I'll use it. Thanks...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top