electrical adhesive

Ummmm..........solder?

Soldering is the only sure way of getting a good, permanent electrical joint.

If you do not know how to solder, get a small 60-70 watt soldering iron and some electrical solder and practice on some scrap wires. There are many videos available online that will help you through the basics.

There was a thread last week about conductive adhesives. The consensus was...use solder.

As others have said, practice on scrap first.

Take it a step further.  Get decent with soldering and viola,  you start wiring buildings, accessories and a ton more.  LED work with solder and shrink tube will save you $ also.  Just my 2 cents.

I learned how to solder here on the forum.  I learned when I would pinch wires putting shells on.  That gauge wire can’t use wire nuts.

Instead of soldering try solder-seal connectors - easy to use without a soldering iron.  For securing wires use hot glue or double sided tape.

Solder seals may be good for joining two wire ends, but it sounds like Joe needs to solder a wire to a lamp terminal. That needs a soldering iron and solder.

Larry

Soldering REALLY is not that difficult a skill to master, and IMO it's an essential skill for anyone working on model train equipment!  I can't even imagine not being able to solder and fixing this stuff!

If you're going wire-to-wire, you may be able to braid the two wires together, first covering one wire with shrink tubing, and then move the tubing over the connection and heat with  a heat gun, hair dryer or soldering iron.

Wire-to-wire you could also try a simple butt connector, wire nut or the solder-seal connectors Jim suggested.

If you're talking about wire to a post or fitting, you could try taping the wire in place without covering up the connection area and then cover the connection with liquid electrical tape and let dry. No guarantees and, as everyone has stated, soldering is still your best bet and not that difficult to get proficient at.

@Richie C. posted:

If you're talking about wire to a post or fitting, you could try taping the wire in place without covering up the connection area and then cover the connection with liquid electrical tape and let dry. No guarantees and, as everyone has stated, soldering is still your best bet and not that difficult to get proficient at.

This also gives you a chance to do this over in a few months!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

This also gives you a chance to do this over in a few months!

@Richie C. posted:

If you're going wire-to-wire, you may be able to braid the two wires together, first covering one wire with shrink tubing, and then move the tubing over the connection and heat with  a heat gun, hair dryer or soldering iron.

Wire-to-wire you could also try a simple butt connector, wire nut or the solder-seal connectors Jim suggested.

If you're talking about wire to a post or fitting, you could try taping the wire in place without covering up the connection area and then cover the connection with liquid electrical tape and let dry. No guarantees and, as everyone has stated, soldering is still your best bet and not that difficult to get proficient at.

Hah ! But think of how much faster he could do it the next time around !  

@Bryant Dunivan 111417 posted:

Take it a step further.  Get decent with soldering and viola,  

Viola?

Frankly, for this old phart a glass of merlot is sufficient to steady hands and nerves.

But, hey,.....TEHO.

@dkdkrd posted:

Viola?

Frankly, for this old phart a glass of merlot is sufficient to steady hands and nerves.

But, hey,.....TEHO.

I think phonetically it is pronounced wa la.  I think I spelled it properly... I know where your going next👍

Now I'm wondering if the photo is indeed a viola or is it actually a violin?  Scale wise it looks closer to violin.

To the topic, soldering is a great skill to learn.  Been doing it since I was 16 and doing it well does take practice.  I typically use a 75 watt iron, but for more precise work a 25 watt one may work for your needs.  For the serious work a resistance solderer is a nice tool as well. 

The biggest challenge I have is always making sure to keep your solder tip clean from dirt.  Nothing creates a cold joint quite like debris in the actual solder.  Good luck and have fun!

If you're going to do any quantity of finer soldering, a good temperature controlled soldering station is a must IMO.  There are many choices, but my pick is the Hakko FX-888D, they can be had for less than $100.  This is a top of the line soldering station that is widely used in industry, and is an excellent performer.  One of the key attributes for me is I can also calibrate the tip temperatures, many lower cost soldering stations just approximate what the tip temperature is.