Olive_Green1923 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Appreciate that this has likely been covered in other threads, but couldn’t find anything… Would greatly appreciate any tips for how to solder a joint when building a metal coach/wagon kit i.e. if I’m trying to solder an end or side to the chassis/frame - and I only have one pair of hands - how do I bond the two together whilst keeping them straight and square etc? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chas Levin Posted July 30, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 30, 2022 Hello, the best way I'd suggest is to construct a frame or jig out of pieces of wood, that holds the two pieces absolutely square, before applying the iron. Or, if you want a handy gadget - but not a cheap one - have a look at these: https://www.coffmaneng.com/ The ones with the orange coloured pads are heat resistant and can be used to hold two pieces at a right angle while you solder - like this one: https://www.coffmaneng.com/product-page/long-combo-right-clamp I use these and they're brilliant, a great help! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpgibbons Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 (edited) At the other end of the sophistication scale, Blu-tac is a simple and very versatile way to hold parts for soldering. In this case use it to hold the two pieces edge-on, and then nudge them into an exact right angle using a set square. Edited July 30, 2022 by dpgibbons 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 If you make a jig, well and good. The real trick to making a joint, I have found, is to tack solder. If the joint isn't perfect, you can easily break it and try again. When you like the joint, complete the bead. CRT 7mm kit of a BR 6 wheeled brake. A good idea is to vigorously clean any errant solder blobs. These can be remelted and rubbed down with a fiberglass pen. Really large blobs can be scraped off with an old curved exacto blade and then rubbed down. Washing the work with a greaseless detergent (NOT Fairy Liquid) such as that used for bathrooms is also good. John 5 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Pulham Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 It's also worth investing in some cheapo self locking tweezers from pound shops. I bend them into all sorts of shapes to get them to hold things. At £1/1.50 for four you don’t need to worry too much about spoiling them. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olive_Green1923 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 On 30/07/2022 at 21:35, Chas Levin said: Hello, the best way I'd suggest is to construct a frame or jig out of pieces of wood, that holds the two pieces absolutely square, before applying the iron. Or, if you want a handy gadget - but not a cheap one - have a look at these: https://www.coffmaneng.com/ The ones with the orange coloured pads are heat resistant and can be used to hold two pieces at a right angle while you solder - like this one: https://www.coffmaneng.com/product-page/long-combo-right-clamp I use these and they're brilliant, a great help! On 30/07/2022 at 22:26, dpgibbons said: At the other end of the sophistication scale, Blu-tac is a simple and very versatile way to hold parts for soldering. In this case use it to hold the two pieces edge-on, and then nudge them into an exact right angle using a set square. On 31/07/2022 at 00:57, brossard said: If you make a jig, well and good. The real trick to making a joint, I have found, is to tack solder. If the joint isn't perfect, you can easily break it and try again. When you like the joint, complete the bead. CRT 7mm kit of a BR 6 wheeled brake. A good idea is to vigorously clean any errant solder blobs. These can be remelted and rubbed down with a fiberglass pen. Really large blobs can be scraped off with an old curved exacto blade and then rubbed down. Washing the work with a greaseless detergent (NOT Fairy Liquid) such as that used for bathrooms is also good. John On 31/07/2022 at 08:16, Rob Pulham said: It's also worth investing in some cheapo self locking tweezers from pound shops. I bend them into all sorts of shapes to get them to hold things. At £1/1.50 for four you don’t need to worry too much about spoiling them. Thanks very much gents! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Bucoops Posted August 1, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 1, 2022 One tip from me - don't even bother tried lead free solder. Go for the good stuff straight away. 2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, Bucoops said: One tip from me - don't even bother tried lead free solder. Go for the good stuff straight away. Absolutely right. Horrible stuff. Go for lead every time. John 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
41516 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 On 30/07/2022 at 21:35, Chas Levin said: https://www.coffmaneng.com/ Available in the UK from Branchlines - Drop them an email at sales@branchlines.com for the latest pricelist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chas Levin Posted August 1, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 1, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, 41516 said: Available in the UK from Branchlines - Drop them an email at sales@branchlines.com for the latest pricelist. Wish I'd known that - I bought one years ago direct from the USA (perhaps before Branchlines did them though?) but recently bought a second one - of a slightly differnet type - and got stung for VAT etc... Still worth it though, to be able to glue / solder really accurate right-angles, which used to drive me crazy! Edited August 1, 2022 by Chas Levin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 5 hours ago, Bucoops said: One tip from me - don't even bother tried lead free solder. Go for the good stuff straight away. Oh, so, so true. I took the precaution of picking up enough leaded solder to keep me going for a few years once an impending phasing out of the 'good stuff' was announced, just in case it proved difficult to obtain in the future. Happily you can still get it from some retailers, but for how much longer? Lead free solder - yuk... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Lots of good advice on jigs. Drawing pins can be used to secure one part of the assembly. Be on the look out for miniature g clamps and use a bit of card or lolly stick to insulate against heat sink. 145 degree solder is more than adequate for loco building. Tin lightly the sharp edge of the joint. Apply generous amount of flux to the other. Finally, remember that in the world of solder, cleanliness IS godliness. Use an abrasive tool immediately before tinning and fluxing and don't forget to wash all traces of flux after each modelling session. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 My workbench is littered with small chunks of planed timber - offcuts of 2 x 1 or 3 x 1/2 and I find them invaluable for both soldering small items on, and using their planed edges to set things at right angles. They are blackened and full of holes, but still work fine ! You can also use one, as here, to sit a loco. on with the buffer beams hanging over the edges so you have a solid platform to work on. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chas Levin Posted August 2, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 2, 2022 9 hours ago, Barclay said: My workbench is littered with small chunks of planed timber - offcuts of 2 x 1 or 3 x 1/2 and I find them invaluable for both soldering small items on, and using their planed edges to set things at right angles. They are blackened and full of holes, but still work fine ! You can also use one, as here, to sit a loco. on with the buffer beams hanging over the edges so you have a solid platform to work on. Snap - no photos right now, but similar profusion of scarred wood pieces. It becomes a sort of badge of honour, to see how burnt, pitted and scarred a piece of wood becomes before you have to abandon it...! 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Looking at the photo, when you get to this stage of construction find a scrap of plywood thicker than the depth of the buffer beams. Cut it to fit inside the valances and fix it to a slightly larger offcut. This will give you a base to support the footplate as you build the boiler ad firebox keeping everything straight. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peppercorn Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 I was glad to see that others have found lead-free solder useless - I thought, as usual, it was just me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chas Levin Posted September 9, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 9, 2022 3 hours ago, Peppercorn said: I was glad to see that others have found lead-free solder useless - I thought, as usual, it was just me! Yes, the audio service dept where I work has huge problems with it too. It needs far higher temperatures than lead-based and still doesn't flow or wet with the same ease. Neither does it mix with lead-based so when you're replacing individual discrete components to repair a board you have to strip out any lead-based around where you're putting in the new component. Definitely not good for modelling either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Bucoops Posted September 9, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 9, 2022 In a previous job leadfree solder was approaching fast. Our business was soldering equipment. Our clients were automotive etc. who had to follow the changes. Universally hated - we had baths of the stuff melted trying to find a way of getting it to work. Fortunately I got made redundant soon after so not my problem any more! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now