Soldering advice...

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clive0r
GNR J52 0-6-0T
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:31 pm

Soldering advice...

Post by clive0r »

I had a bash at making some metal steps for an old, plastic brake van kit missing them. The steps themselves I formed from tinplate and the supports from brass lace pins. I had to heat the pins before being able to bend them and then filed off the nickel plating.

On attempting to solder the supports to the steps (145 degree solder with liquid flux) the solder literally shrank away frm the brass, despite repeated cleaning up and renewal of flux. Not even a weak bond resulted.

In the end I used ordinary steel pins instead of the brass and achieved good, strong joints.

Any suggestions as to what I was doing wrong?
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greenglade
GCR O4 2-8-0 'ROD'
Posts: 510
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:59 pm

Re: Soldering advice...

Post by greenglade »

use bakers fluid on the joint first, pick up solder with the iron and run along the joint...try a higher heat too...

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John Palmer
GNSR D40 4-4-0
Posts: 249
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:27 pm
Location: Somerset

Re: Soldering advice...

Post by John Palmer »

The fact that you had to heat the lace pins before you could bend them leads me to wonder whether they were not, in fact, made of brass but of some other alloy that doesn't lend itself to soldering. Were you able to tin the pins with a layer of solder before attempting to attach them to the tinplate steps? Tinning both the items to be joined can make easier the formation of a strong joint between them.

Alternatively, if you can fix both items in the correct final position, pare off a tiny fragment of solder and lay it adjacent to the joint. Apply flux then heat. Provided the solder fragment doesn't get displaced as the flux boils, it should flash into the joint. Sometimes you can wedge your solder fragment so that it doesn't get displaced, but if that's not possible I have on occasions held the fragment in situ with a pin or some other solder resistant implement.

I would only use Bakers Fluid as a last resort to flux the joint, given the need to remove every remaining trace of it in order to inhibit its formidable corrosive powers. My usual source of flux is a litre bottle of Jenolite rust treatment - the liquid variety, not the jelly - which I 'dilute to taste' , as they used to say on the soft drink bottles.
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