Scared of soldering

[Guest]

I bought a solderer(?) that looks like a screwdriver about a couple of years ago.

Im not keen on soldering as I know one day Im gona a burn myself or accidently set fire to something(i just melted a metal tray I was resting it on).

I just tried to solder a wire mesh to a small craft metal frame.But it didnt join together.

Do I have to heat up both metal bits first then apply the solder?

Solder had accumalated on the end of the screwdriver bit, it was moving(as in liquid)but it wasnt coming off and applying intself to the metal.

What did I do wrong?

[John]

First of all welcome to the forum, you will need to heat up the soldering iron then wipe the end on a damp sponge to remove the excess solder that will give you a clean tip.

You don't have to heat up the metal first just make sure they are in the right place and clamped together then rest your solder where you want to apply it and touch it with the iron, that should melt it and hopefully leave it where you want it

You can also buy a holder for your soldering iron and they usually have a sponge in then, if you plan to do a lot you might also want to buy a solder sucker, it's like a pen and when you heat up the solder it will suck it up for you so you can remove what you don't need.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

As John says a bit of preparation goes a long way with soldering but there are some very basic things that should be understood.

Clamping the work is an excellent idea to prevent the parts from moving as the solder cools but the focus of your attention should be on the heat flow.

If the solder doesn't flow (remains as a blob on the iron) it could be due to the metal not being at a temperature higher than the solders melting point, the metal surafce hasn't been prepared with flux or it is the wrong type of metal in the first place.

Assuming that the metal is compatable (you can't solder aluminium, cast iron or most stainless steels) and that you have cleaned the surface to be soldered and either wiped flux on the surface or are using a multui-core solder with flux included then you have to get the temperature up to a level above the melting point of the solder.

Clamps or a vice, whilst very usefull should be positioned so that they are not removing heat (conduction) from the joint. This can even apply to using pliers which, if positioned too close to the joint will rob the heat. The problem with meshes and frames are that they will try to conduct heat away from the joint so you have to think about how you can keep it there.

If you have all these things in place you shouldn't have too much trouble.

If it is an old iron then the tip may need cleaning and re-tinning but if the solder is melting on the iron than you are getting close.

Have another go and let us know how you do.

All the best

[Guest]

If you are soldering fine stuff, like brass etchings etc, then solder can be a bit messy cause it apt to flow into lumps.

An alterative is to use solder paste, on the downside this is expensive, about £26 for a 125 ml tub; but on the upside the tub lasts forever as you only need to apply a little of the grey paste to both sufaces, bring them togrther and apply the heat. Just a thin layer of solder results as the paste melts.

The paste is not easy to obtain, only a biggish old-fashioned hardware shop seems to stock it ( not B&Q ).

The supplier of the paste is Alpha-Fry Technologies

Tandem House

Marlowe Way

Beddington Farm Road

Croydon

CR0 4XS Phone 01208 665 4695

[Guest]

go to maplins they sell small tubes for a couple of quid also make sure you use flux and tin the head !! another problem can be that the wattage of the iron is too low if your trying to join fairly large sheets

[Guest]

Soldering

One of those 'Helping Hands' thingys with the clamps etc are ok for most soldering jobs, you then being able to hold both parts and the required solder and iron without the addition of several new arms of your own.

However on an american site I saw a while back, some guy suggested sticking the 'hands' thing onto a much bigger/heavier wieght, this giving more stability....I did this and it transforms the tool no end, I opted to use the base of an old anglepoise lamp but anything heavy will do.