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Thread: Soldering question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    Brighton, United Kingdom
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    Default Soldering question

    Hey there all.

    I'm having a lot of trouble with melting wires in a design. It is a multipole soldering job (maybe 8 solder joins) and so far I have only used hard solder, to be honest I can't remember the last time I used easy solder and I'm not experienced with it at all but I'm having trouble with the last two or three joins adding decorative elements rather than structural. Can you use easy a couple of times in a job? If it helps they are two different parts although one wire might touch two parts I could use tweezers inbetween to try and draw away heart.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Banbury
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    Hi Kathryn, Multiple soldering is always a bit tricky. Ive done a couple of wire cuffs with about 30-40 joins and used hard throughout. The spots where I had trouble were always spots I hadn't cleaned properly. Towards the end of one I used extra easy on the last few joints and it seemed to hold up ok with a couple of solderings. I think it worked best whenI was really careful bout where I targeted the flame.
    Check out the Tallulah cuff on my blog.
    Hope this is helpful and good luck.
    Didi

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Staffordshire
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    Your Tallulah cuff is gorgeous Didi.

    I start with hard solder and (this is going to sound very vague I think, sorry) depending on how many joins I have, I use that for a number of joins. Then, I will work down the solders from hard to extra easy (but rarely using medium......doesn't flow so well). It also depends on the comparative weights of the parts being joined as to when I move from one to the other. Bear in mind too that if you have a number of joins, you may join a number of them together with hard solder to make component parts which are then joined together with a different solder, e.g. easy solder.........if this doesn't make sense, just say and I'll try to explain what I mean again!!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Banbury
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    Hi Jill, joining components together and then soldering sounds like a really good plan but I can see how it would create one bigger piece that needed more heat to get the solder flowing. I tried using medium solder once - never again! Extra easy solder is so incredibly fast that I have to look at it twice to check it's run and not just evaporated. Haven't used easy as I ordered exam easy by mistake and am using it up - slowly.
    Does anyone know if easy and/or extra easy create a less solid joint that hard?
    Jill, would love to see what you're making.
    Didi

  5. #5
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    Aug 2009
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    It does make the 'component parts' larger, but they are also more robust for being so and more manageable than many 'mini parts' joined at the same time......soldered joints when heated again, will hold to slightly higher temperatures than the original soldered joint, so you can solder a neighbouring part on without 'melting' the original join........whichever solder you use..

    I have a number of pieces I am working on.....I'll try and take some pics, at the moment though, many of them are at final and setting stage....may wait and do a few start to finish.....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Central London
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    Easy solder is what it says: easy in all respects. You begin to use it when you feel scared of overheating your piece by continuing with hard. Again it can be used sequentially two or three times.

    Very easy solder flows at marginally lower temperatures, but the greyer colour can begin to show. I have never found the strength of these solders to be a problem when a piece is in use.

    As mentioned above it is preferable not to build up a piece stage by stage so that it grows bigger and needs more heat. It is better to complete smaller components with hard solder and then join them with easy.

    I have also found that if you have a larger torch where the flame can be adjusted to bushy (no fierce blue cone), then by careful heating to below soldering temperature in a darkened room (hardly glowing at all), the solder can be made to flow locally with a second hand held mini torch directed where needed.
    This allows very convenient multi-soldering with the same grade of solder and less overall heat.

    For examples see my album in the link below. Dennis.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
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    England
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    Kathryn, soldering multiple joints can be made easier by using a protection layer on early solder joints. I use a paste made up of rouge powder and water as a solder protection, I mix the paste up in a small plastic lidded container and paint the rouge paste on previous solder joints and heat gently to dry it out, and this prevents the earlier solder joints flowing when the job is re heated. This is an old trade way of preventing older solder joints from re flowing when attempting new solder joints nearby. After soldering wash the rouge powder off the piece before pickling otherwise you will get red pickle. Using a solder protection means you can do multiple soldering with the same grade of solder.

    James

  8. #8
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    Jul 2009
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    Or Tippex does the same job but it slightly less messy.

  9. #9
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    England
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    Quote Originally Posted by caroleallen View Post
    Or Tippex does the same job but it slightly less messy.
    I was told that heating Tippex with a torch gives off toxic fumes.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    Brighton, United Kingdom
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    Thanks for the advice. My piece is multiple wires crossing at different points then some beads of granulation added at the end I think I will switch to easy for the last couple of granulation and use the rouge solution on any nearby ones (because I have that and not tipex!) I don't know why I didn't think you could use easy more than once.

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