Would Like advice on a good Soldering Iron & accessories.

[Robertj668]

Good Morning everyone.

I would love to get advice on a good soldering Iron and what accessories I would need.
I have a basic one from home Depot it was about $20. But I know there are better ones out there.

What I am using it for.
Primarily it will be used for soldering wires together for Sound boards and DCC install on engines.

I will eventually need it for soldering track wires and so forth.

What type of solder is the best? Where to get it? Radio shack?
What accessories?  Like holders for the solder it self.  or wire holder to help me when I need and extra hand.

Thanks for the help!

Robert

[ebtbob]

Robert,

      I have a nice unit from Weller.   It has a master base with an iron holder and a sponge to wipe of the iron's tip.   The base has a rotary switch which allows you to use of one of any five heat levels available.  I love the thing and found it a great unit especially if you are new to soldering.   BTW....there are also replacement tips of different styles,  one of which is a "needle"  point,  good for the small areas.

[Tim]

Robert

The soldering station Bob is talking about is the Weller "WLC100" it is an excellent
piece of equipment, it can do very fine work and with the change of a tip can solder
rail or parts onto a brass model.  Price is about $50.00 .

Tim Anders
Souderton, PA

[Robertj668]

ebtbob & Tim

I found it on Amazon for $50 to where I have a gift card.  I also saw the WES51 for $90  I may need to do some research on the brand to learn more.

BTW what solder do you recommend for my work in wiring?

Robert

[rich1998]

i have been using the weller wlc100 for a few years. i set the heat control halfway for most soldering.
i use radio shack solder which is sometimes called electrical solder. i like to use a dab of rosin flux also.
stay away from hardware store solder which is usually acid based soldering for soldering copper pipes in homes.
lowes and home depot will most probably have electrical solder. i use the smallest size solder.
practice on scrap wire/track. good soldering is an art that develops with practice and experience. You might say, it is not plug and play for most people.
makes sure the spot you are soldering is clean. when soldering to track, I uses a scratch brush to brighten up the metal.

links about the weller with prices. migth help to get extra sponges or rob one from the kitchen sink.

http://tinyurl.com/yes3m3j

scratch brush

http://tinyurl.com/ydazvhx

lex

[Robertj668]

Lex
Thanks I like that brush. Now there are 2 things I want from that store.

[rich1998]

Lex
Thanks I like that brush. Now there are 2 things I want from that store.

micro mark has a pretty good selection of tools. get an extra brush refill.

some links to soldering.

part of andy sperandeo book.

http://tinyurl.com/yelm74l

http://tinyurl.com/yfvghkm

in my local club before i joined, the hand laid track was installed using acid core solder. the expert who did it said the solder was ok if cleaned with alcohol after soldering. he said the acid based stuff made it easier to solder. he did do excellent track and turnout work. that was done around 1984. i have even found a forum where someone said acid based makes soldering track easier and just clean it up with alcohol.

years later, 1990s we started to have occasional poor connections where the feeder wires have come loose because of residual acid in the solder joint. even an occasional track joint.
i found back then he was using acid paste also. since he was gone, i threw out all the old solder and paste.

lex

[Robertj668]

Lex

That is a great book. I need to get that too!
Below I post some of the Weller Tips  which ones are good for my application?  I heard needle but I am guessing that is ST7 or ST6



I am going to order the Soldering iron today and maybee a few tips on eBay! too!
I need to figure out the with of the solder as well.

Thank you everyone in taking an interest in this!

Robert

[rich1998]

i have the st7 along with the tip the station comes with. sometimes i do pc board work and the st7 is good for that kind of work.

i also use the below item that helps keep the tip clean. you will find some nay sayers say you don't need extra flux or tip cleaner but after soldering for nearly 40 years, those items still are an advantage to me.

http://tinyurl.com/ykjjx5q

no doubt there are people who can solder with a simple pencil iron. more power to them but i like the extra helps.
don't forget the practice part. for some difficult jobs, i even practce a little. never know what you will run into.
a suggestion, copy all the text from messages in the forums that interest  you and paste them into a word document for future reference.
i must have nearly 2 gb of documents, photos, videos for model railroad reference.

i have about fifty links in favorites for different model railroad subjects for myself and to help others.

fun hobby.

lex

[Robertj668]

I just ordered the following;

"Easy Model Railroad Wiring, Second Edition (Model Railroader)"
"Weller WLC100 Soldering Station for Hobbyist and Do-It-Yourselfer"

Thank you for the advice. 

I am going to order a few tips from another web site as Amazon was a bit confusing on that part.

AS for the old I think I am getting the 60/40 Non acid solder for electric.

Is the rosin core good? 

What size.

Sorry for all of the extra quesitons but this is definitely not my specialty.

Robert

PS Lex Thanks for all the help!

[rich1998]

i forgot about the solder size. the size i use is 0.032" OD with rosin core, 60/40 which many use.
there is larger diameter but many years ago i got away from soldering in tube circuits and settled on this size solder for solid state circuit use. i bought a 1 lb roll some years ago.
an example below.
for soldering feeders to track, you might kick up the control to maybe 3/4. been a while since i did any track soldering and what i did had wood ties.

another thought, many people cut a couple plastic ties out from track joints, solder, trim the tie and slide it back in place. usually will not be noticed that the tie plate on the tie has been trimmed away. you can do that where a feeder is attached also. tricks you will figure out as you learn.
http://tinyurl.com/yjm9lzx

Just in case, you cannot solder to aluminum or stainless steel with this stuff.
you can solder to brass but clean it good with the scratch brush and use extra flux.
just some added thoughts.

Lex

[glennk28]

All I can do is ssecond what has already been recommended.  A good thermostaticaly-controlled pencil iron for work on the bench, I like a heavy-duty Weller D-550 gun for track wiring,  the small-diameter 60/40 solder--and I use No-Ko-Rode paste flux.   

For work on brass models, I have a heavy-duty HoTip resistance unit, and a Blazer butane torch. 

gj

[jward]

it is a little more expensive, but silver bearing solder has a stronger bond than standard solder.

what you don't want to use is the standard acid core solder as used by plumbers. it is not good for electrical connections as the acid causes corrosion. stick with rosin core solder, and only use a rosin based flux.

[Robertj668]

Thanks Jeff and GJ for the info
I cannot wait for Amazon to ship my Soldering Iron!

I just need to get the solder.

GJ - Where can I get the Silver bearing solder?

Robert

[rich1998]

again, radio shack.
http://tinyurl.com/ykwef26

maybe home depot of lowes. i have never check there though.

i bought a 1 lb roll of silver bearing solder about ten years ago but it cost $38.00 a 1 lb roll. great stuff.
it cost about $44 a roll now. it is used in high end audio circuit pc boards.
forgot to mention, i put my 60/40 solder aside some time ago and forget i am even using the silver solder now.

lex