For those that solder wires to their rails

Lionelski what is the name brand and wattage?

@RJT posted:

Lionelski what is the name brand and wattage?

Brand is Stanley Handyman, model 4120. Hard to read the wattage, either 250 or 150, assumed to be 150. Made (of course for the time period) in the USA

This guy is beefy, the shaft is about 1/2 inch in diameter, the tip about 5/16 - plenty of surface

Great iron!

But the Weller 260 Watt solder gun is handy for soldering track.

@cjack posted:

Great iron!

But the Weller 260 Watt solder gun is handy for soldering track.

Thanks Chuck,

FWIW, I sold off all of my soldering guns, including this model. I didn't like holding down the trigger and waiting for re-heat to temp again between usages.

I replaced them with irons of different wattages.

Different strokes for different folks - I'm glad it works for you

I picked this up at a flea market a few years ago. I think I paid ten bucks for it. 200 watts. A bit much for track as my 45 watt Ungar works for me. Track type matters. Tin plated thin wall Gargraves is pretty easy to solder.

Pete

Those are the irons I remember my dad using.

Ray

The Atlas nickel silver seems to take me a while, but the weller will do the job with a little patience.  Drilling a hole for the wire speeds up the process.  My track is already in place though to you need to be creative to get at it.  I try to solder on the back side of the track where possible.

I use my Weller 100/140, for Atlas track I hit it lightly with the Dremel wheel to scuff the surface of the rail, and they solder just fine.  I have no issues melting plastic, I'm in and out before the plastic knows the iron was there.

Fairly expensive, but you can fly with this: https://www.micromark.com/Micr...stance-Soldering-Set.  No waiting for rail to heat, it is virtually instantaneous with the advantage that it cools almost instantly.  I use a 12 gauge bare copper wire for common and you can solder the drops from the outside rail in seconds.

I would love a "hands-on" class for soldering Atlas O track...have a Weller 100/140...it surely does not work that easily for me.  I am just saying.... I cannot be the lone ranger on this one...can I??

I tin the drop wire, and bend it 90 degrees.  Then I use the Dremel cutoff wheel to just lightly "scuff" the edge of the rail on the top, then tin that spot with a blob of solder.  Drop the track wire through the hole (you do have a hole for it, right?), hook it on the blob of solder, and touch it with the gun, in a flash the drop is in place.  The key is lightly taking the anodize coating off the atlas rail and making sure the solder sticks to that spot.

I do the same thing with Ross/Gargraves, and I've just wrapped up soldering several hundred total drop wires for track, switches, non-derailing, etc.

Regardless of the soldering tool (Weller 100/140) or track involved, I always drill through the base of the rail, insert the drop, then solder.  That way you have a mechanical and solder connection.

One more suggestion:  I soldered wires to the Gargraves section on my workbench with 2-3’ drops of 16 ga stranded wire from  (12-14 ga bus).  As I installed track  I drilled benchwork  holes beneath where the wires were soldered, brought the drops out to my terminal strips ( at the front edge of the layout), cut wire to length then installed spade connectors to the terminal strip.

Wiring was like a production line—quick and accurate, with no crawling under the benchwork.  My New Haven Midland division can accommodate 1-14 operating teams on a 30x55’ railroad, built with ideas and help from friends—no paid help😉

Don

Is there an advantage when using tubular track to solder the connection vs using a lockon (other than aesthetics) ?

If I do solder would you still recommend drilling a hole in the rail?

Is the Weller 100/140 better for track and the Weller Station better for PCB?

I appreciate this forum and thank all of the members for their help.  

I soldered all my drops to the backside of my tubular track and then drilled a hole through to table top for the wire. I not only soldered the drops but soldered every joint of the track as well except for the isolated center rail sections. This made sure of continuity and also made sure the track stayed together as I don't use any screws to hold the track down to limit noise. We all know how tubular track will separate over time. I used my Weller soldering gun for all of it with home made tips.

Soldering wire to track isn't all that temperature sensitive, so more heat for less time usually results in less damage.  Given that fact, I would rate the gun more effective than the iron, it'll get the heat on and off more quickly.

@Windy City posted:

Is there an advantage when using tubular track to solder the connection vs using a lockon (other than aesthetics) ?  For short term use, probably not.  But over time, a lock-on may become less secure an electrical connection.  Besides, soldering is very simple to do and highly reliable.

If I do solder would you still recommend drilling a hole in the rail?  Using Gargraves tinplate Phantom rail track, soldering only has been bullet proof.  Some folks with Atlas track drill a hole and secure the wire with a screw.

Is the Weller 100/140 better for track and the Weller Station better for PCB?   I have both and found the gun too bulky for PCB's; the pencils used for the soldering stations work much better for PCB.

I appreciate this forum and thank all of the members for their help.  

The Hakko FX-888D for PCB and general locomotive wiring work, the Weller 100/140 gun for heavy wiring and track work.

I have used the Weller GT for years. My problem with the 550s is it is easy to bend the heating elements in tight work. The Weller GT, a single tip gun, is very strong and fast. 6 seconds to heat up and 700 watts of power.