[TheForge] ..., soldering .. questions

[Bruce Freeman]

As I suspected, folks are focusing on your welding questions.

I have only so-so experience with soldering, but don't have a problem
with it, for what that's worth.

I take it this butane soldering iron has a solid tip, so the flame
merely heats the tip.  That should make it work like any soldering
iron.

The keys to all soldering:
(1) Clean the surfaces thoroughly.  They should be bright, but a rough
texture is fine.  Pickling in muriatic is a quick way to accomplish
this, but mechanical means work too.
(2) Use an appropriate flux if necessary to maintain surface brightness.
(3) Solder by heating the metal, not the solder, until the solder
melts on contact with the metal - then STOP heating.
(4) "Tin" both surfaces before bringing them together.  (You CAN skip
this step, but it makes soldering MUCH more sure.)
(5)  Hold the parts together, by clamping if possible.
(6) Repeat No. 3 for the assembly.
(7) Allow the solder to solidify fully without moving the parts AT
ALL.  (This is especially important for electrical soldering.)  If the
joint is moved too soon, you can usually tell  by the grainy
appearance of the solder joint, but you'll have to see a lot of them
before you'll learn that.

Now the difference between using a torch and using a soldering iron
(or copper) is that the torch takes less preparation, but is more
likely to overheat and oxidize the work.  The iron has less heat
capacity so generally won't oxidize work much, and so is better for
smaller items. (Your flame-heated iron may be intermediate between
these extremes.)  Also the iron must be tinned before use.  Do this by
following steps 1-4 above for the tip of the iron.  You can wipe the
hot, tinned iron on a dry cellulose sponge (or a very slightly damp
one) to maintain the bright tip, free of flux and crap.

Remember, though, that you can solder with ANY torch - propane,
butane, MAPP gas, or one of those vortexting torches that mix the fuel
and air extra well and thus get hotter flame with propane than a
normal propane torch.  If you're comfortable soldering with a torch,
maybe you could just use torch soldering without the acetylene-oxygen.

As always, remember that lead is very toxic, especially the oxide
which can come off easily on your fingers.  Wash you hands before
eating, etc.  Or avoid lead with lead-free solder - but don't assume
those are entirely harmless.

These are just the tips I can give you off the top of my head.  I am
by no means an expert on soldering, and someone out there might be
able to do better.  But it would help if you could give us a sense of
what sort of items you plan to solder.

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 10:55 PM, Saint Phlip <phlip at 99main.com> wrote:
> Well, guys, my local flea market came through for me ;-) <snip>
>
> Second, I picked up a butane soldering iron for $2, and I'm wondering
> if anyone can tell me how soldering with a solid tip is different from
> soldering with oxy-acet, that being the only equipment I've ever used
> for soldering up until now. I picked up the iron, figuring it would be
> a small but useful item for our events, which tend to be held in the
> middle of hayfields, and having electricity available is usually not
> an option, and throwing a small bit of something into my forge to heat
> up would likely be rather counter-productive.
>
> And, third, the guy I got the Lincoln from has recently acquired what
<snip>
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> Saint Phlip
>

-- 
Bruce
NJ