Solder, flux and other supplies by Steve Okeefe
Solder & Flux:
Shown above are two types of flux and three types of solder.
The container on the left is paste flux, relatively inexpensive and appropriate for most types of
soldering, including electrical wiring. The container on the right is liquid acid flux, which
should NEVER be used for electrical wiring. With acid flux, you can solder almost any metal
except aluminum. Acid flux is dangerous stuff; follow the manufacturer's directions carefully!
Anything soldered with acid flux must be cleaned thoroughly afterwards to neutralize the acid,
including the chassis, all the tools and the metal parts of the soldering block. The shot glass
is used to hold small quantities of acid flux safely during soldering operations.
The three types of solder in the photo are common 60/40 rosin core, low temperature silver solder,
and 95/5. The 60/40 (or similar alloy) is excellent for most applications, including chassis building,
is easy to use and forms reasonably strong joints. Low temperature silver solder is stronger
still, but more expensive, and slightly more difficult to use. 95/5 is not very common in
slot racing anymore, being 95% tin, and 5% antimony, it has a higher melting point of 464
degrees fahrenheit, and conducts electricity a little better than ordinary 60/40 solder.
It was widely used years ago to solder armature windings to the commutator tabs.
Solder wick and tip cleaner: Solder wick is normally used to remove solder from a printed
circuit board joint, in preparation to removing the component, but we can use it as necessary
to remove excess solder from a chassis joint, such as the point where the half rails and main
rails join. Just place the wick between the heated tip of the iron and the offending solder
joint, and presto, the melted solder is soaked up into the wick!
The tip cleaner is from Radio Shack, and is simply a container of Sal Ammoniac.
Rub the heated tip of the iron (medium heat please, 350 to 450 degrees, not 1000 degrees!)
against the cleaner, and like magic the shiny bright tinned tip is restored. Be sure to
brush off the debris with the copper wool after cleaning, or it will burn
and stick to the iron.
--Steve Okeefe, March 2003
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