Need Tips for Soldering on Feeders To Rail...

[Kev1340]

Cleanliness is the key. I use a liquid flux applied with a small brush to clean the area of track to be soldered. Ensure the iron tip is cleaned frequently too.

With the feeder wire pre tinned minimal heat should be necessary to make a clean joint.

For the record I hate flux core solder as is is no substitute for having the flux applied where it's needed, and always seems to leave a mess.

Cheers,

Kev

[ljudice]

Cleanliness is the key. I use a liquid flux applied with a small brush to clean the area of track to be soldered. Ensure the iron tip is cleaned frequently too.

With the feeder wire pre tinned minimal heat should be necessary to make a clean joint.

For the record I hate flux core solder as is is no substitute for having the flux applied where it's needed, and always seems to leave a mess.

Cheers,

Kev

+1

I stumbled unto that technique - a tiny brush to apply the flux and it made everything go faster and smoother...

[bill pearce]

This is one of the added uses I found for my resistance soldering rig I got to build my own turnouts. I use the tweezer tool to hold a pre-tinned wire against pre-tinned rai with just a dab of paste flux, and with just a light tap of the footwsitch I'm done. I found it was extremely helpful in soldering wires to the underside of the rail.

[eja]

You might find this link useful......   I did !

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/solder.htm

[ljudice]

You might find this link useful......   I did !

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/solder.htm

+1   thanks!!!

[Dave Schneider]

Well, we all have things in model railroading the we don't like to do. I have a new least favorite....soldering rail feeders. Thanks for the tips in this thread. I think that i am able to produce acceptable and reliable results but have a couple of questions for the group. Here is a photo showing an example of how I have soldered my feeders, 22 gauge solid wire. N scale in case it isn't obvious.



1) How do folks fill in the missing ties? Are my wires too long on the rail?
2) I am using Atlas code 55 turnouts. They have a nice lug for the frog, but where should i solder the feeders? I am worried about melting ties and/or generally ruining an expensive piece of track. Any thoughts on how best to do this?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.
Best wishes, Dave

[robert3985]

Cut the spacers between three ties on either side of where you're going to solder your feeders (six sets of tie spacers total to be cut), slide the tie away from the place you're going to solder the feeders...do exactly like you've done, except turn your feeders 90 degrees and then solder.  Slide the ties back in place and VOILA!!...soldered feeders, no melted ties, and no ties to "add" since your feeders are between the ties. 

Your method doesn't allow the ties to be slid back into place.  There's no reason I can see to solder them in the orientation you have.  Do you have a reason to solder them like you have?

Although I drill two holes adjacent to the outsides of the rails to run my 22 ga. feeders through, I believe Gary Hinshaw runs his through a single larger hole in the middle (so both feeder fit through the same hole),  with the feeders "flaring" outward to be soldered between the tracks.  I think I like Gary's method better than mine.

After I run the feeders through my splined Masonite subroadbed, I blob on some thick CA and Accelerator to immobilize them in their respective holes on the underside of my subroadbed so they don't pull off the bottoms of the rails from snagging, etc.

[conrail98]

Dave, it looks like you were following what Tim had suggested and what Jamie's shown on his layout, http://csxdixieline.blogspot.com/2009/04/howto-solder-track-feeders.html as well as what I've seen David Popp suggest as well. The difference appears to be the orientation of the wire. I think you're supposed to go perpendicular to the rail, not parallel to it. I'm not sure how you'll be able to get the ties back in place with the wire rotated that way,

Phil

[DKS]

I think you're supposed to go perpendicular to the rail, not parallel to it.

+1

Clip the webs between several ties, instead of removing any. Slide them apart from one another to create some room to solder. Afterward, slide the ties back in place.

[GaryHinshaw]

+n.  Here is a link to Jamie's blog article on the topic.  Great to see track work getting started.

-gfh

[bill pearce]

Dave,

You seem to be using a lot of solder. Much more than necessary to  make a good joint. Just a touch will work fine. Remember, Solder is used to make an electrical connection, not a mechanical one.

[Dave Schneider]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone and the link to Jamie's blog. I found that after I posted but decided against revisionist history by deleting my post. I will turn the feeders 90 degrees and give that a go. I have to admit that it was a 50/50 proposition and I chose poorly.  :face palm:

Good point on the excess solder. I think that this is due in part to a lack of flux. I couldn't find any over the weekend, even at the local Radio Shack which is staffed by a bunch of people who have no idea what a radio is. Should be able to get some today.

One the other question I had, any tips out there for soldering feeders to Atlas turnouts? Do I need six feeder plus the frog?

Best wishes, Dave

[conrail98]

One the other question I had, any tips out there for soldering feeders to Atlas turnouts? Do I need six feeder plus the frog?

What about jumpers between the rails instead of feeders? I've seen pictures from David Popp's latest book, Building a Model Railroad Step by Step, where he does that. There's only one drop per rail and one for the frog going to the controller. That would seem easier to implement, I would think,

Phil

[peteski]

A lot of good advice already give here. I've been soldering for over 30 years (both professionally and as a hobby).   I 100 percent agree that starting with clean surfaces, pre-tinned wire lead and using flux is vital for a good (and quick) solder joint.  Also, in my years of soldering, one of the best soldering fluxes I found (for electronics and hobby projects like model railroading) is the Radio Shack rosin solder paste flux (which has already been mentioned but I want to add my vote for it).  Here is a link to it: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2049774  . Every Radio Shack should carry it and have it in stock. It has a consistency of Vaseline so it can be applied with a tip of a toothpick and will not run down the rail.  Very little is needed (if the rail surface is cleaned by kissing it with a file and the wire is pre-tinned).  All you then need is some solder on the tip of the iron. The flux will aid the solder into wicking between the rail and wire.  After doing few joints you'll gauge the amount of solder you need to put on the tip of the iron.  Having the solder on the tip of the iron also improves the heat transfer to the solder joint (it will take less time to heat up the joint).

As far as Atlas switches go, here is the electric diagram of the connections which are already installed in the switch.


So, feeding the power from either of the 3 ends will power all the rails (excluding the frog).  IMO, the best way to do this is to solder the feeders to one of the tracks adjacent to the turnout then solder the rail joiners between that piece and the turnout. If done correctly, the solder will wick into the rail joiners for an invisible and solid electrical connection.

[cv_acr]

Well, not the only way to go - as it's outright impossible if the track is already laid 

More difficult, not impossible. (Although commercial track with the webs between ties will make things a lot harder.)

A soldering probe with an angled end like this is a pretty handy tool for holding the wire in place: