A few months ago, I posted a thread on soldering and certainly appreciated (and used) the feedback that was offered.
Well, I bought a soldering "iron" last week, and my father-in-law has given me a crash course in soldering. (I bought the soldering iron from George's Tains, a well-known Toronto LHS.) Soldering really isn't that difficult -- but it is a little messy & finnicky!
So far, we've soldered a section of track where there were some fairly large gaps and the current would cut out (FYI, I'm using DC). I've tested this with a couple locos and, while I certainly now have current running through that section, the locos jiggle or shake as they travel through the joins. The soldered sections are (obviously) not as smooth as they should be and I'm either going to have to sand them down with emory cloth or file them.
I had another section of track where the current occasionally cut out, but in this section, the track joined up nicely together (i.e., there were no gaps as there were in the other section). Here, I tried soldering the fishplates onto the track. I think this section is working better but need to test it more.
Overall, this is working well, but I think I just need to practice more so that my work will be a little more neat. It's great to learn a new skill and see results.
Rob
Well, I bought a soldering "iron" last week, and my father-in-law has given me a crash course in soldering. (I bought the soldering iron from George's Tains, a well-known Toronto LHS.) Soldering really isn't that difficult -- but it is a little messy & finnicky!
So far, we've soldered a section of track where there were some fairly large gaps and the current would cut out (FYI, I'm using DC). I've tested this with a couple locos and, while I certainly now have current running through that section, the locos jiggle or shake as they travel through the joins. The soldered sections are (obviously) not as smooth as they should be and I'm either going to have to sand them down with emory cloth or file them.
I had another section of track where the current occasionally cut out, but in this section, the track joined up nicely together (i.e., there were no gaps as there were in the other section). Here, I tried soldering the fishplates onto the track. I think this section is working better but need to test it more.
Overall, this is working well, but I think I just need to practice more so that my work will be a little more neat. It's great to learn a new skill and see results.
Rob