Soldering? Information needed.

czechsonofagun · Jul 10, 2012

Good Morning,

I will be doing some heavy soldering soon. I learned that skill in high school, we were using electrical soldering irons to join sheet metal, build drawers and such. I have done it at home too - my dad had two irons, three including the pistol for electrical connections, and it was quite common to use solder to patch up tin buckets, make small home projects such as lanterns and scoops.

I am pretty sure I can still do it, but I have problems finding the right tool. I would like to go electrical again, probably Weller, but as far as what power I need, I am lost.

Please, advice

Thank you

wrooster · Jul 10, 2012

czechsonofagun said:
I will be doing some heavy soldering soon.... but as far as what power I need, I am lost.

What will you be soldering? The iron you need for soldering tiny surface mount components and the iron you need for soldering pails are two COMPLETELY different tools. The only thing they have in common is that one end is hot.

Wrooster

wrooster · Jul 10, 2012

czechsonofagun said:
I will be doing some heavy soldering soon.... but as far as what power I need, I am lost.

What will you be soldering? The iron you need for soldering tiny surface mount components and the iron you need for soldering pails are two COMPLETELY different tools. The only thing they have in common is that one end is hot.

Wrooster

czechsonofagun · Jul 10, 2012

Copper gutters.

crash325 · Jul 10, 2012

Hi Prokop,
Generally speaking the bigger the better. Unless your doing real small things like radio work.
For most work I like the chisel type as it stays hot all the time. I have a couple of the gun type as well. 1 Is an ancient old craftsman that has an adjustable heat range. Kind of nice at times, but usually just cranked up.

A propane torch is good for a lot of soldering jobs. Such as copper pipe, sheet metal and some electrical wiring.

#1 is Clean Material and the right flux. Acid core from most things except electrical. Rosin will work on most things and is used where the flux can not be cleaned off.

Hope that helps,
Jim

crash325 · Jul 10, 2012

czechsonofagun said:
Copper gutters.

For copper gutters I would use a torch and acid core solder. Wire brush even if it looks clean.

Soundguy · Jul 10, 2012

yep.. for gutters.. I'd for sure go a propane torch, and paste flux... and yep.. sand or brush...

forget the iron or soldering 'copper' that you heat in a fire. the torch is the way to go.

MapleLeafFarmer · Jul 10, 2012

so many tools... so little time.

the guys that did mine used a propane solder iron. Looked something like this one.

Soldering Irons/Tools - Basic Soldering Iron Kits - Gutter Supply

MapleLeafFarmer · Jul 10, 2012

so many tools... so little time.

the guys that did mine used a propane solder iron. Looked something like this one.

Soldering Irons/Tools - Basic Soldering Iron Kits - Gutter Supply

czechsonofagun · Jul 10, 2012

I remember using HCl to clean up the metal before soldering. We call it the chlorid acid. I hope the gutter supplier will carry at least some of the stuff I need.

Anyway, we put new shingles on the house addition and I want to make the little woman (hmm, she is 6'

) happy by using copper gutters on it to go with the attempted cottage look. The siding is coming down in the next phase and stucco all the way. This is major effort to make the house more comfortable and up to date after my two unemployment periods when only the most critical maintenance was performed.

Thanks for the input, guys.