If you have a copper rod - say 1/4" or 3/8" - put a wood handle on a length.
Then file a flat on one side and a steeper flat on the other - like a screw
driver, but 'thin' on the top side' and thicker on the bottom...

Clean up the sides with a slight taper - and this is your new soldering iron.
You can Tin plate or such - but the solder will do that.

With a torch - heat the rod until it starts getting red - that is hot.
Then:

On the upper part - and back side - you want to melt some rubber on it to prevent
solder from attaching. If you have an old boot - or someone isn't looking -
roll it around on the heal...

If you get some on the top - just use the file. Works faster when the copper is hot!

Now to tin the top and use it.
Using rosin flux solder - NEVER acid for electronics - Acid is for pipe and sheet metal....
Heat the iron and move the tip of the solder around the iron tip - let the flux flow out -
then add more pressure and get more metal to the copper.

If you have a plummer friend - he might have an iron he wants to get rid of -
and maybe a lead pot as well... their irons are much larger. (more wattage).

A Rough rule is have an iron 4x the size of the work. It has to store high temp
in a quantity to sink it to the work. Larger tips have more heat storage and last longer.

You could make a head out of 1/2" or 3/4" square stock as an example.

Martin

Martin Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
NRA LOH & Endowment Member
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder



Grant Erwin wrote:
B.B. wrote:

These will be used separately.
I've decided that I'm going to try making solder connections since
at work we can't seem to keep he crip-on connecters in stock. But
I've never done any soldering before. If I'm going to be soldering 14
and 16 gage wires together (either end to end, or splicing in a
branch) what solder, what technique, and what soldering tool? Can I
solder the ends using a small butane torch or will this require a real
soldering iron? I'll never be soldering a wire directly to a
component, but I may need to solder on a terminal.


Soldering electrical wires is easy. However, it may be easier to get
your work to buy more crimp-on connectors than to buy a bunch of
soldering supplies, which themselves will also go out of stock. Your call.

Start with the end in mind. Once you have your gorg-ass solder joint,
how are you going to insulate it? Many of us use heatshrink tubing, but
you have to remember to slip that on BEFORE you solder the joint. Other
options are electrical tape (don't cheap out here, get the good stuff,
cheap electrical tape is a misery) or that goop-on stuff.

To make a midair butt joint, I strip the ends of both wires the same
length, slip on a length of appropriately-sized heatshrink tube cut
about 3X the length of the wire strip, then overlap the wires axially so
the stripped ends are next to each other, and carefully twist them
together axially. When you're done, the twist should look like the
splice on a cheap coathanger, NOT like a stub sticking out the side.
Then heat the joint with your soldering tool until the joint, not the
tool, is hot enough to melt the solder, and immediately touch the solder
to the joint. You don't need a boatload of solder, many newbies try to
run on way way too much. Keep the joint mechanically supported until the
joint cools, then slide the heatshrink over the joint and apply heat to
shrink it in place.

If you use a soldering iron, I recommend you learn about keeping your
tip clean, tinned, and after it gets up to heat, wet it slightly by
melting a bit of solder with it. The molten solder will help the heat
transfer from the tip to the wires.

If you use a small torch (I haven't done this much) you have to
stabilize your joint in midair, apply the torch flame, then lift the
flame and INSTANTLY apply the solder before the joint cools. It's easy
to goop on a blob of solder with a flame, but it will most likely be a
cold solder joint and this is a bad thing.

There are excellent Web pages on the fundamentals of soldering. GTA.

And the grease gun: anyone know how to locate a grease gun (manual,
preferably pistol-grip) that won't leak and dribble when the grease
starts to separate?


I suggest you buy a small one, and buy good quality grease. The good
grease will be much less likely to separate, and the small gun will make
it much more likely you'll use the grease up before the end of its (now
much longer) shelf life.

GWE

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