Soldering iron

“ Touch the tip of the iron to some solder until the solder is picked up on the iron, and then place this solder, which was just picked up, around the edge of the hole. It will leave the soldering iron and stick to the metal. Keep adding solder in this way until the hole has been closed up by working from the edges and building toward the center. After the hole is closed, apply more flux to the job and smooth over with the hot iron until there are no rough spots. Should the solder refuse to flow smoothly, the iron is not hot enough. ”

“ Soft solders are used for soldering easily fusible metals such as Britannia metal, etc., also for soldering tin plate. To prepare solder, the metals are melted together in a graphite crucible at as low a temperature as possible, well stirred with an iron rod, and cast into ingots in an iron mold. To melt the solder when required for soldering, the soldering iron is used ”

“ Solder will not adhere to oxidized metal. The metal must be protected with a coating called a flux while being soldered. Soldering paste, soldering fluid or “killed acid,” resin, paraffin, heavy oils, and vaseline all serve as fluxes, some better than others. The soldering paste is by far the best, as will be shown later.
Soft solder is applied to the tin, on the point of a hot soldering copper, often wrongly called a “soldering iron.” A soldering copper consists of a pointed bar of copper suitably fixed to an iron shank which is firmly set in a wooden handle. ”

“ The use of all zinc preparations for soldering presents the drawback that vapors of a strongly acid odor are generated by the heat of the soldering iron, but this evil is offset by the extraordinary convenience afforded when working with these preparations. It is not necessary to subject the places to be soldered to any special cleaning or preparation. All that is required is to coat them with the soldering medium, to apply the solder to the seam, etc., and to wipe the places with a sponge or moistened rag after the solder has cooled. ”

“ Hard solder gives better results than half and half, but is more difficult to work. It is very important that the soldering iron be kept at a high heat during all work, otherwise the solder will only stick to the surfaces and will not join with them. ”

“ When screwed up, the contact between the rod and the copper tape is perfect. It is, of course, a very simple thing, but it overcomes the difficulty of soldering, which is always more or less uncertain, and rivetting up aloft is apt to be scamped.
And as to soldered connections, apart from the uncertainty of permanent contact, it is very important to keep the soldering iron (217) away from roofs, it often damages the lead, and (as at Canterbury) the fire-pot is a source of great danger to buildings. ”

“ Grease or oil will prevent solder from sticking.
Some good soldering fluid should be used. A very good fluid is made by dissolving granulated zinc in muriatic acid. Dissolve as much zinc as possible in the acid. The gas given off will explode if ignited. To granulate the zinc, melt it in a ladle, and pour it slowly into a barrel of water. A brush or swab should be used to spread the fluid on the surfaces to be soldered. If the point of the soldering iron becomes dirty, it should be wiped on a cloth or piece of waste that has been dampened with the soldering fluid. ”

“ Steel that is left as hard as a file is very brittle, and soft solder can hold as much on a steady pull if it has a new surface to work from. Take a file, as soon as it is broken, and wet the break with zinc dissolved in muriatic acid, and then tin over with the soldering iron. ”

“ When the iron is thus coppered, proceed to silver it in the manner recommended for silvering according to receipt No. 9; or if you want to put a very heavy coating of silver on it, make use of a strong battery.
21. SOLDERING FLUID For mending articles of tin, iron, zinc, copper, and almost all other metals. Take 2 fl. ounces of muriatic acid, add zinc till bubbles cease to rise, add 1/2 a teaspoonful of sal-ammoniac and 2 ounces of water. Damp the part you wish to solder with this fluid, lay on a small piece of lead, and with a piece of hot iron or soldering iron solder the part. ”

“ The cans are then taken to the soldering-bench for sealing up. There systematic labor is noticeable, as every detail of canning must be carried on systematically to make it profitable. The soldering-irons used are hollow and the exact size of the caps, which fit perfectly the grooves made for them. A single turn of the iron finishes the work. Before the caps are put in their places a small hole is made in each to allow the gas, which is generated by the heat from the soldering, to escape. ”

“ After cutting off the edges to be welded so that they make a small V, and supporting them within the fraction of an inch apart in the exact position and shape that they are to be repaired, the workman selects a rod of steel or iron, to use in somewhat the same way the tinker uses a strip of solder when he wants to repair a break in a kettle with solder and soldering iron. ”

“ The loss of strength is the greatest evil in this case; for cast iron, though made for this purpose more tough than usual by careful annealing, is still much weaker than wrought iron, and serious accidents often arise from harness giving way. In plating with soft solder, a very thin plate of silver is made to cover the iron, but it is easily detached, particularly by a low degree of heat. Hard soldering gives a better coat of silver, which is very firmly attached, and is not easily injured unless by a very high degree of heat. ”

“ If the iron is anything like clean it will tin at once and exhibit a very bright surface, but quite dirty copper may be tinned by dipping it for a moment in the liquid in the pot and then working it about over the solder. An iron so tinned remains covered with chloride of zinc, and this must be carefully wiped off if it is intended to use the iron with a resin or tallow flux in lead soldering. ”

“ Recipes for Plumbers.—Chloride of zinc, so much used in soldering iron, has, besides its corrosive qualities, the drawback of being unwholesome when used for soldering [pg 145] the iron tins employed to can fruit, vegetables and other foods. A soldering mixture has been found which is free from these defects. It is made by mixing one pound of lactic acid with one pound of glycerine and eight pounds of water. A wooden tank may be rendered capable of withstanding the effects of nitric or sulphuric acids by the following methods:—Cover the inside with paraffin ”

“ If soldering solution is not used the joint cannot be soldered, and if the wire is not hot enough the solder will not melt. If the wire should be too hot the solder will melt and fall off from the joint like a drop of [128] water. A little experience will soon enable one to become an expert solderer, and the process should be employed wherever possible, as it strengthens the joints and unions, and holds them rigidly in place. Galvanized or tinned iron wire can be soldered in the same manner. ”

“ With several lamps to mend wet enough plaster for one at a time. It takes less than 5 minutes to set, and is utterly worthless if one tries working it over. Metal work apart from the glass needs the soldering iron. Dust the break well with powdered rosin, tie the parts firmly together, lay the stick of solder above the break, and fetch the iron down on it lightly but firmly. When the solder cools, remove the melted rosin with a cloth dipped in alcohol. ”

“ The melted mass is run out upon a cold plate of sheet iron, and when it is completely chilled it is broken into small bits or finely powdered. To solder, it is necessary to sprinkle the powder on the surfaces to be joined several minutes before bringing them together.
Soldering Solution For Steel.—A soldering solution for steel that will not rust or blacken the work is made of 6 ounces alcohol, 2 ounces glycerine, and 1 ounce oxide of zinc. ”

“ Soldering is a method that has borne the test of experience, and its success as a means of securing perfect joints leaves no excuse for its omission. The fewer joints the better, but where there are joints they can only be made electrically secure by careful soldering.
PROTECTION OF ROD.—The lower part of copper rods is sometimes stolen for the sake of the metal. This can be guarded against by putting it inside a length of iron gas-barrel, extending from some distance below ground to 10 ft. ”

“ For most of the work from 18 to 24 gauge is used, while metal from 12 to 18 gauge is used occasionally.
Copper wire is used in several sizes for making rivets.
No. 22 and 28 iron wire is indispensable for binding when soldering.
Easy running silver solder may be made by the user, but as a small piece will solder many joints, and as it is not practical to make it in small quantities, it is better to buy it ready made as desired.
Powdered or lump borax is used as a flux in soldering. Charcoal or asbestos blocks are used when soldering small work. ”

“ If the heat is sufficient, the iron will get coated, and be ready for use. The oxide has to be removed also from the surface of the material that is to be united; it is the chief obstacle to successful soldering, as the solder refuses to unite with anything but pure metal. Sal ammoniac dissolved in water is good to cleanse off the oxide; better still is muriatic acid, with a little zinc and sal ammoniac added. This is known as the soldering mixture.
One of the most convenient materials for use is common tin, which can be obtained almost everywhere. ”

“ An important part of all metal-mending is soldering. This is based on the principle that certain 181 metallic compounds which fuse at a very low heat can, however, be so brought into union with others which have an affinity for them as by melting to unite the harder objects. Thus bismuth, which will melt in hot water, has an affinity for lead, which combines easily with tin and brass, &c.; as, in like manner, borax and resin with iron.
Newton’s solder (Lehner) :—
This melts at 94.5° Celsius. ”

“ When this happens, the shortest way out of the difficulty is the application of the old file so as to obtain a perfectly fresh surface. No one who knows his business ever uses an iron that is not perfectly clean and well tinned.
The iron may be cleaned from time to time by heating it red hot and quenching it in water to get rid of the oxide, which scales off in the process.
§ 95. Soft Soldering. —
In the laboratory the chief application of the process is to copper soldering during the construction of electrical apparatus and to zinc soldering for general purposes. ”

“ This kind of a soldering fluid is a good flux for tin, iron, steel, brass and copper. It is good for all ordinary work but it must be washed off from iron or steel as it will rust them very quickly. To solder copper sal ammoniac can be used.
The only kind of a flux to solder zinc with is a solution made of 10 per cent. of muriatic acid and 90 per cent. of water. For lead, pewter and any alloy with lead in it use tallow, Gallipoli oil or Venice turpentine. Resin can be used successfully for all metals provided they are scraped bright and clean before they are soldered. ”

“ To this end the zinc surfaces are cleaned by means of a little hydrochloric acid, which is painted on instead of chloride of zinc. Plenty of solder is melted on to the work, and is drawn along over the joint by a single slow motion of the soldering bit. The iron must be just hot enough to make the solder flow freely, and it must never be rubbed violently on the zinc or allowed to linger in one spot; the result of the latter action will be to melt a hole through the zinc, owing to the tendency of this metal to form an easily fusible alloy with the solder. ”

“ Some merely spit on the whiting instead of dampening it with the alcohol, but it is not so speedy a method. A friend of mine prefers heating the iron, then applying the soldering fluid, then the coat of solder, and then laying on the silver foil, and pressing on by means of a cloth, which he does by taking a piece of cloth about four inches wide and eight or ten inches long, catching one end in each hand and pressing and rubbing it from side to side, and round the article until the silver foil is firmly united, and then polishing as mentioned above. ”

“ C is the exterior shell or body proper, made of galvanized sheet-steel, as may also be the end-caps, B, B', which are soldered to or over the extremities of the same, and constitute, as it were, parts of said body, C, that [closely] surrounds or fits over the tin lining A. The end-caps, B, B', are united to the body, C, without flanges or projections, by tin joints, as at f, f, made by soldering with pure tin, which, being a ringing metal, unites closely with the steel exterior to make a firm and durable joint, as other solders having lead in them will not do. ”

“ Boxes containing goods will be doubly strong when protected by strips of iron nailed round them. Hoop-iron is generally used for this purpose.
Soldering is, however, the best and most usual means of repairing all kinds of metal-work, and this is very far from being so difficult as is generally supposed; indeed, a lady-writer on metal-work goes so far as to declare that it is fascinating. ”

“ Having decided which is to be the top and which the bottom of the box, file the bottom edges level and at right angles to the sides. A piece of metal is then cut for the bottom large enough to allow about 1/16" to project on all four sides.
It is then prepared for soldering and bound together with iron wire, Figure 20. The solder should be cut in small pieces and placed about the inside edges. In soldering the bottom, care must be taken not to unsolder the corner. ”