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Meat trains on the GWR?


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Hi OTBL,

 

Yes, you can glue whitemetal but it's MUCH stronger if you solder it. Low melt solder is made out to be a black art but it really isn't.. A decent temperature controlled iron and some good flux and solder and you will be well away! Don't forget that Parkside do a plastic kit of a MICA in 4mm scale too!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

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I set a temperature controlled iron on a piece of casting runner, it. off cut so that it's not quite melting it and then it's just like any other soldering. As with all soldering cleanliness is next to godliness, I use fibreglass brushes and Carrs green label fluxes in the absence of EAMES flux.

 

You can always use epoxy resin, if you're not brave enough to try soldering.

 

Edit for predictive text, that I have just noticed.

Edited by Siberian Snooper
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I set a temperature controlled iron on a piece of casting runner, it. off cut so that it's not quite melting it and then it's just like any other soldering. As with all soldering cleanliness is next to godliness, I use fibreglass brushes and Carrier green label fluxes in the absence of EAMES flux.

 

You can always use epoxy resin, if you're not brave enough to try soldering.

 

You can get flux to Eames' recipe from Modeller's Mate - seems to be just as good as the original and he sells it at shows without shouting too much about it.

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Hi OTBL,

 

Yes, you can glue whitemetal but it's MUCH stronger if you solder it. Low melt solder is made out to be a black art but it really isn't.. A decent temperature controlled iron and some good flux and solder and you will be well away! Don't forget that Parkside do a plastic kit of a MICA in 4mm scale too!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

 

Sorry, Castle, but I've been listening to people telling me that soldering is not a black art for years, and I still can't do it without making a mess of it and/or making what looks like a join but isn't, especially electrically.  So far as I'm concerned, if it isn't a black art then the only explanation is that solder is a sentient material that just doesn't like me.

 

My current blt has been built and wired without the use of solder, as have the few whitemetal items of stock that I posses, and all work fine.  I do own a soldering iron, but it is safely put away in the back of a very inaccessible cupboard, where I hope it will remain so I cannot do any damage with it!

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Sorry, Castle, but I've been listening to people telling me that soldering is not a black art for years, and I still can't do it without making a mess of it and/or making what looks like a join but isn't, especially electrically. So far as I'm concerned, if it isn't a black art then the only explanation is that solder is a sentient material that just doesn't like me.

 

My current blt has been built and wired without the use of solder, as have the few whitemetal items of stock that I posses, and all work fine. I do own a soldering iron, but it is safely put away in the back of a very inaccessible cupboard, where I hope it will remain so I cannot do any damage with it!

If your not making a proper joint, I suspect that you have not cleaned the joint sufficiently. For track wiring, I tin the end of the cable and apply a drop of flux to the rail, hold the wire to the web of the rail and apply the iron.

 

Try practicing on some scrap brass.

 

Edit for predictive text.

Edited by Siberian Snooper
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Going back to the meat transported by railway.

 

In the late 50s/early 60s a lot of frozen/chilled mutton came into Bristol Temple Meads cartage in AF containers 

 

They were loaded on to drop frame  trailers hauled by Thornycroft  Nippys or Bedfords and taken to the various cold stores in the Bristol area.

 

Keith.

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Sorry, Castle, but I've been listening to people telling me that soldering is not a black art for years, and I still can't do it without making a mess of it and/or making what looks like a join but isn't, especially electrically.  So far as I'm concerned, if it isn't a black art then the only explanation is that solder is a sentient material that just doesn't like me.

 

My current blt has been built and wired without the use of solder, as have the few whitemetal items of stock that I posses, and all work fine.  I do own a soldering iron, but it is safely put away in the back of a very inaccessible cupboard, where I hope it will remain so I cannot do any damage with it!

I had a demonstration of soldering at a exhibition, the 20 minutes or so were much more worthwhile than hours of magazine articles and online descriptions tried before to try and master it. I then bought a couple of diy electrical kits from maplin to consolidate the knowledge.

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Sorry, Castle, but I've been listening to people telling me that soldering is not a black art for years, and I still can't do it without making a mess of it and/or making what looks like a join but isn't, especially electrically.  So far as I'm concerned, if it isn't a black art then the only explanation is that solder is a sentient material that just doesn't like me.

 

My current blt has been built and wired without the use of solder, as have the few whitemetal items of stock that I posses, and all work fine.  I do own a soldering iron, but it is safely put away in the back of a very inaccessible cupboard, where I hope it will remain so I cannot do any damage with it!

Hi Johnster,

 

It really isn't that difficult but it does require care and confidence to do well. Seem like you have had a few failures and that is just natural and, with a bit of practice, you WILL get better. As Jonboy says however, you can write thousands of words on this topic (and goodness knows there have been thousands spent on this forum telling people that they are doing it wrong!), but having somebody show you in the flesh so to speak is much better. Get to a show and get someone to show you. It will revolutionise your attitude to it I assure you and open a great many more doors for your modelling. The suggestion that the Snooper makes about trying it on something that doesn't matter is also a great one. That way there is no pressure to get it right first time. There is no black art, just careful preparation and careful execution. We are now seriously off topic here and I don't want to spark another 'how to solder debate' so back to meat on the rails.

 

All the best and good luck!

 

Castle

 

PS: Like I said, there is the Parkside version of the MICA in lovely injection moulded plastic for you too! Conversions to other diagrams with a change of brake gear is easily done for a bit of variety and a little light kit abuse will result in the TEVAN...

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Hi OTBL,

 

Yes, you can glue whitemetal but it's MUCH stronger if you solder it. Low melt solder is made out to be a black art but it really isn't.. A decent temperature controlled iron and some good flux and solder and you will be well away! Don't forget that Parkside do a plastic kit of a MICA in 4mm scale too!

 

All the best,

 

Castle

 

I have two Parkside MICAs and I hope to get more in the future.

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