Beardie Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 I wonder if anyone has tried using a soldering bath for doing their PE. The reason I ask is that I used to use one years ago for tinning stuff and joining wires and it occured to me while reading a thread about soldering PE that it might be a good way of getting a lovely smoothe finish for PE without the lumpy bumpy finish that can occur when using an iron plus it is quick, just hold the parts together, dip and your done. I see that you can get solder baths for as little as about £12 on ebay. I don't know how good they are as the industrial ones are into the hundreds but might be worth a pop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Beardie Not come across that before. How does it work exactly you are speaking to a dunce here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardie Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 It is basically a little cooker. You put a lump of solder in the pot and an element inside the unit heats it up until it melts and you then have a pot of molten solder the item to be soldered is dipped into the pot and is almost instantly given a thin coating of solder. It gives a nice even solder without wrestling with a soldering iron, solder and item to be soldered. It isn't suitable for items that have paint on them or attached to plastic parts but I think for brass or steel PE it would work a treat giving the whole item a fine plating of tin while bonding the edges together 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 The trouble I can see with that is that you run the risk of filling in all the details on the p/e with solder when you dip it in the bath? Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardie Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 It is possible that this would happen. That is why I asked if anyone had tried it before now. I would hope that it would basically take like a coat of paint and the detail would be preserved but I would need to get a bath and try it out before I would have an answer to this. I think I will buy one anyway because I could see it as being very useful as a handy way melting small amounts of lead to cast as nose weights as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 The other issue I can foresee is how do you get the PE to stay together while you dunk it in the bath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 The other issue I can foresee is how do you get the PE to stay together while you dunk it in the bath? Asbestos fingers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) If this isn't an option, what other good ways are there? Is a blowtorch (I don't mean holding it on the parts) to strong for small etch parts? I need to do some PE soon but am put off as I don't want to ruin it lol Edited April 24, 2015 by Radleigh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 A blow torch would be fine on larger parts. For all round soldering a 55W iron is probably the best option. The cause of most trouble when people try to solder is that they are under gunned. With a lower wattage iron the heat will be sucked out of it quickly meaning you'll have to hold the iron against the parts to be soldered longer and if you're soldering multi joins you'll then end up with those joints parting.Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Marshall Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Best thing I ever bought for soldering was a 60w temperature controlled soldering iron from Maplins when it was on offer at £30. Made a world of difference, along with set of jewellers reverse tweezers to hold things together, and good Flux. a little gas torch is great for things like tank fenders where they are big parts, but has a tendency to get too hot for small parts. HTH Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tank152 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I think flux is something that folk don't realise how important it is for getting a good joint, apart from your iron it's the most important part of your soldering kit. Tim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley420 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 For the odd parts i use a turbo flame lighter and solder paste. The longer sessions i have a 55w iron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardie Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) I suppose it all depends on just what is being soldered. If it is a box shape or similar then the edges would just have to be close enough together and the solder will wick into the gap and join the edges, if you are joining two parts together the would need to be held with forceps or such away from the area you want joined. Alternatively you could use tweezers with silicon covers over the tips and these can go into the solder without burning up or adhereing to the metal. If using an iron silicon matting is a good idea as a surface to work on as it will resist the heat and the solder won't stick to it. Edited April 24, 2015 by Beardie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Learnt a fair bit reading this guys Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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