I am connecting my RCS track to my TIU and am finding that I need to do a lot of soldering to connect the wires to the track. The tip I am using is too large and the old soldering gun I have isn't the best. So, I was wondering what brand or type of soldering tool you would recommend.
Thanks in advance!
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This subject popped up just a few weeks ago. I would do a search of the forum. But Hakko are the best.
This is an updated one of the solder kit I use - my older unit temp control is a rotary knob, but the temp is steady and reliable. Soft heat tolerant cord and light and easy handling for the delicate work, but strong enough to heat up a stamped metal choo-choo frame that needs a ground/neutral wire.
For soldering wire to my track, I used my Weller 100/140W gun.
I prefer the older Weller 100/140W gun with the tip nuts, the newer one with the setscrews is a PITA, they're always coming loose.
For all my other soldering work, I use my Hakko FX-888D. I got my Hakko on Amazon a few years back, it replaced my old Weller soldering station.
I have the old standby Weller just like John’s. It has the tip nuts that make it easy to change tips. I found the Hakko that John showed on Amazon. It looks great
I'd retract my recommendation for the Weller gun if you can't find a used one with the tip nuts. I'm sure Weller saved at least a dime going to the crappy set-screws! 
John and Mark have a point - and I am still fond of my old weller pistol/gun - it has a little more power for soldering wire to track, and the tip contact surface is ideal for track wiring 
My Weller pistol style is going on 7 years old from True Value. I can always find the replacement tips at the store, like last week.
I am thankful for the LED light which projects on the soldering subject. Under the layout jobs the LED is a must. A great attribute.
I didn't do much soldering under the layout, I used lever-nuts and the DZ Breakout Boards, that covered most of the wiring.
Yep... We did just do this from 11/29 - 12/1
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ecommendation?page=1
But as stated above Hakko.
This dinosaur has a Weller gun with nuts that's probably 50 years old and still going strong (no styrofoam in my case). It's great for small work: heats fast, has lights, and readily available replacement tips at the local hardware. For soldering to track or my 12 gauge bus wires, I prefer my even more ancient American Beauty true iron with thermostatic controlled rest. Tons of heat, takes time to heat up, but can stay hot for hours. I bought mine used about 20 years ago, and it was probably more than 30 years old then. If any of my grandchildren had interest, it would likely outlive them. Too much for soldering leads to DZ1000 switch machines, DZ1008 switch controllers, or even old Radio Shack pushbuttons, but best for soldering direct to rail or large conductors. Only a torch has more heat.
@Ken Wing posted:This dinosaur has a Weller gun with nuts that's probably 50 years old and still going strong (no styrofoam in my case). It's great for small work: heats fast, has lights, and readily available replacement tips at the local hardware. For soldering to track or my 12 gauge bus wires, I prefer my even more ancient American Beauty true iron with thermostatic controlled rest. Tons of heat, takes time to heat up, but can stay hot for hours. I bought mine used about 20 years ago, and it was probably more than 30 years old then. If any of my grandchildren had interest, it would likely outlive them. Too much for soldering leads to DZ1000 switch machines, DZ1008 switch controllers, or even old Radio Shack pushbuttons, but best for soldering direct to rail or large conductors. Only a torch has more heat.
I was thinking my Weller has to be 50 years old too
Unfortunately my 45 year old Weller 100/140 Watt Soldering Gun I got as a high school graduate gift from my parents in 1976 fried itself in 2021. I probably had hundreds of hours on it and never a problem until the transformer caught fire. Well obviously it went out in a blaze of glory that day. I bought a New Weller 100/140 Watt Soldering Gun Model 9200. They certainly don't make the Guns and Tips like they used to. Very disappointed in both. Soldering Gun overheats and shuts down if you use it more than 5 minutes, and tips burn up and break like crazy. I have the brass ball container, I clean up and retin tip before and after each use. Been using solid copper wire and having better luck than factory wire tips, they always break on the bottom side of the wire tips, obviously a design flaw, but they don't bother to correct the problem. 7135w Tips and Gun made in Mexico and obviously no quality control like when they used to be made to last in the USA. Sad isn't it? Keep the old ones and old tips if you have them. I have tried contacting Weller (now owned by another company) and that company repeatedly and they never reply. They have lost me as a customer. I'm done with them. At least I still got my old trusty over 50 year old Radio Shack 40 Watt pencil Soldering iron that still works just fine yet. Yes, that was made in the USA too. I miss the good old days.
I still using my late dad's Weller 100/140W soldering gun which he bought at Penn Jersey auto store back in 1969. I did have to replace the original power cord about 2 years ago with a repro Lionel ZW power cord which is a perfect replacement.
This one has been passed down through my dad's family. It was given to me in 1989 by my Uncle who also used it for electrical work. I love this gun.
It even says right on the box that it's for hobbies 
For anyone wanting one of these vintage babies made with with the retention nut, here's a link to where they can be purchased used for peanuts:
@SteveH posted:This one has been passed down through my dad's family. It was given to me in 1989 by my Uncle who also used it for electrical work. I love this gun.
It even says right on the box that it's for hobbies
For anyone wanting one of these vintage babies made with with the retention nut, here's a link to where they can be purchased used for peanuts:
Ok, Ok.....I know I should not have, BUT after clicking on the link you supplied, I clicked on the first link on that page that caught my eye! I know.....bad boy, bad boy! Sorry,
Thanks for all the recommendations. I will try to remember to use the search function in this forum before posting in the future.
As always, this forum is a wealth of knowledge! Thanks!
That cardboard box reminds me my late father's Weller gun is probably still on the shelf above his workbench. I guess I have a backup in case anything ever happens to mine.
Also, love the line on the box about "one year guarantee" when so many of us have used them for decades.
I've broken several of the newer tips, but I always have had only myself to blame: banged the tip into something, or snagged the cord knocking the gun to the floor. Can't pin any of mine on Mexican labor. I always keep at least one spare tip on hand.
Who knew a soldering gun could be so sentimental?
I forgot to say in my post last night that I also have a little battery powered Weller soldering iron that works perfect for light quick jobs and the two Energizer AA Lithium batteries I'm using are about a year old and it still worked fine this morning when I converted a Williams loco to series.
I have had great luck with this little ECG soldering Iron. It has an on-off switch that is very handy and heats up very quickly. Its small tip makes it easy to use with track.
To deepen our appreciation of our vintage Weller guns, here is my Grandpa Wing's iron for fine work. The business end was heated in an open flame. I have not tried to use it, so can only imagine how much practice was required to use this with skill.
@Ken Wing posted:To deepen our appreciation of our vintage Weller guns, here is my Grandpa Wing's iron for fine work. The business end was heated in an open flame. I have not tried to use it, so can only imagine how much practice was required to use this with skill.
My dad taught me about soldering with something similar. It had been grandpa’s, so probably dated back to the 1920s
@Mark Boyce posted:My dad taught me about soldering with something similar. It had been grandpa’s, so probably dated back to the 1920s
I've seen those, but I wasn't crazy enough to try soldering anything with them! 
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I've seen those, but I wasn't crazy enough to try soldering anything with them!
You won't use it on your tiny circuit boards with surface mount components, that’s for sure! 😄😄
@Mark Boyce posted:My dad taught me about soldering with something similar. It had been grandpa’s, so probably dated back to the 1920s
There were so many cool items I could have brought home since I grew up in the same house Dad and Grandpa grew up in, but why? My sister and I sold so much stuff with the homestead, it just made sense. We each brought home a few great things though.
@Ken Wing posted:To deepen our appreciation of our vintage Weller guns, here is my Grandpa Wing's iron for fine work. The business end was heated in an open flame. I have not tried to use it, so can only imagine how much practice was required to use this with skill.
I've used them. They are for sheet metal.
John
@Craftech posted:I've used them. They are for sheet metal.
John
I think I could come up with something a little less unwieldy for any soldering job!
@gunrunnerjohn posted:I think I could come up with something a little less unwieldy for any soldering job!
It was around fifty years ago.
John
With some skill and plumber soldering past, you can use a propane, or map gas torch. The Weller, trigger style, soldering gun may date to the 1950's, when it was still common to solder all electrical splices. Note: very close look at the picture, 100/140 watt, the red trigger has two heat positions. These soldering guns can easily melt plastic railroad ties.
@Craftech posted:It was around fifty years ago.
John
More than 50 years ago, I had a Weller soldering gun, actually close to 60 years ago.
@Mike CT posted:With some skill and plumber soldering past, you can use a propane, or map gas torch. The Weller, trigger style, soldering gun may date to the 1950's, when it was still common to solder all electrical splices. Note: very close look at the picture, 100/140 watt, the red trigger has two heat positions. These soldering guns can easily melt plastic railroad ties.
All of the Weller guns have two heat positions AFAIK. FWIW, I've soldered a ton of Atlas track with my gun, never melted any ties.
Anyone have a Saker Soldering Gun? It is a self - feeding solder type of gun.
Looks pretty neat if it works as they say.
Sorry I could steal a pic of one - Ebay and Amazon sell them.
IMO, that's a gimmick, and in practice would be a major PITA! When I'm soldering, it's very common to feed the solder in at different angles, not to mention I change the solder based on the job, .020" for PCB work and .031" for general soldering.
@Craftech posted:I've used them. They are for sheet metal.
That is called a "soldering copper" due to the end being...copper- which holds and also transfers heat well. Heat in a forge or torch, tin it and go to town. As John said, great for sheet metal....not so much for electrical connections, unless you have a deft touch.
Same soldering rules apply: clean your metal (maybe apply paste flux) heat the copper, tin it, apply copper to to metal, and put enough heat into the metal so that IT melts the solder, not the copper melting it. Done properly, solder will flow freely into the sheet joint. I taught kids how to do it back in the '70's. Greg
@cngw posted:That is called a "soldering copper" due to the end being...copper- which holds and also transfers heat well. Heat in a forge or torch, tin it and go to town. As John said, great for sheet metal....not so much for electrical connections, unless you have a deft touch.
Same soldering rules apply: clean your metal (maybe apply paste flux) heat the copper, tin it, apply copper to to metal, and put enough heat into the metal so that IT melts the solder, not the copper melting it. Done properly, solder will flow freely into the sheet joint. I taught kids how to do it back in the '70's. Greg
Exactly and apparently they still sell them. I can't imagine using my old Weller gun for that. Maybe a torch.
http://www.johnsonmfg.com/2015/300-00.HTM
John
@cngw posted:I taught kids how to do it back in the '70's. Greg
I did the same. Went to SUNY, Oswego
Retired in 2000
John
@Craftech posted:I did the same. Went to SUNY, Oswego
Retired in 2000
John
UofMD, retired 2000 after 31 years. It was always fun to put two coppers in a furnace, and heat them, then take one out and give it to a kid and tell him to flow solder on the sheet metal....and when he laid it on the metal and touched solder to the copper - nothing melted! Then I would take the other copper out, wipe it on steel wool or abrasive, and tin it....then get a good flow. It was about then, they understood what a good insulator the exterior oxide on the copper was, and it had to come off to transfer heat. You probably did something similar.
Today, I hardly see anyone doing it anymore. Greg
I got the Saker soldering gun at xmas. Only used it a few times and found that you still have to line it up with the tip because the solder bends a little and it has a tendency to not be where you want it. I do think that it helps and makes certain jobs easier. So I think that since I got it as a gift it's OK
@cngw posted:UofMD, retired 2000 after 31 years. It was always fun to put two coppers in a furnace, and heat them, then take one out and give it to a kid and tell him to flow solder on the sheet metal....and when he laid it on the metal and touched solder to the copper - nothing melted! Then I would take the other copper out, wipe it on steel wool or abrasive, and tin it....then get a good flow. It was about then, they understood what a good insulator the exterior oxide on the copper was, and it had to come off to transfer heat. You probably did something similar.
Today, I hardly see anyone doing it anymore. Greg
The biggest problem was trying them to pronounce Sal-Ammoniac 
John
What's the topic of this post again?
@John H posted:What's the topic of this post again?
"Recommendations for Soldering iron" I believe, asked by Chessie....though I am not sure that I have ever seen a soldering iron!
That probably goes back to olden days when one might have been made from iron, instead of copper. Today, you would be hard pressed to actually buy one....though almost every web search will show/sell/provide sellers of such an item. Even most of today's tools, use a copper filament as the heat transfer source...witness the statements about replacement tips.
I guess any item that can provide enough heat to melt the combinations of alloys that we call solder, can be called an iron today. I would not try to press pants or shirts with such an "iron." And, as the other John wrote, sal ammoniac is another sign of changing times! It is rarely seen, and probably not used by many on this forum...if many have EVER used it.
I am guessing that many new users to the act of soldering, assume that all solder is alike, and may need some information on the differences in them. But that is another topic, though new users should be advised not to grab dad's or granddad's roll of just any cored, fluxed solder and use it on their expensive electronic items! If they grab a roll of acid cored, vs. a roll of rosin cored, unless they wash/clean off the residue after soldering, they will be in for a shock sometime in the future.
Likewise with rolls of solder. While the lead and tin alloy works well, it can also work like "black magic" when the % of each is altered. A mix of 60/40% tin/lead, with have different melting temperature and flow rate that a mix of 40/60% tin/lead. While both work, it is good to know when to use each. But, again, a topic for another thread.
And, a recommendation against one type of heat source to solder, can often, be just as valuable as one for a type of heat source....or at least I am thinking so. Like so many topics on this forum, I always seem to inadvertently learn as much, or more, from reading them - than I ever thought I would when I began one of them! I hope Chessie has benefited from the discourse here in these replies from all who sought fit to write, I hope he gets what he needs to know from replies.
Now, if someone would just start a topic about the proper procedure for soldering, we might not see a reply like I saw on an amplifier repair thread the other day....."Well, I botched the solder job. Did not get the joint hot enough, but the tip was melting the solder plenty good...I guess the tip was too big. Ruined the board and some traces, and had to through it away. Guess I need some lessons in soldering" - this from a newbie on that forum.
I am sure something like that would NOT happen to anyone on this forum!? GRJ....want to start that topic?
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