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masonamerican
Crew Chief
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 Posted - 07/02/2012 : 4:28:26 PM
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Hello All,
I’m fairly new to this forum and perhaps some of you have seen the thread on my HO model railroad set in in the 1890s California. I thought it would be time to share a building thread with you. Please have some patience with my spelling as English is not my native language.
As I’m in much need of horsedrawn vehicles to help my little HO people in their daily business, building model wagons is constant chore on my worktable. In my search for kits I have found the etched brass kits from Micron-Art:
http://www.micronart.com/
The particular one I’m building in this thread is their no 3023 Buckboard kit which is very nice little kit with good detailing. It even comes with some small red pearls with which one can make a load of apples.
The way I’m going to assemble this kit is by soldering the model together. The instructions specify CA and epoxy glue but I feel the model would be easier to assemble and be a lot sturdier delicate as it is by soldering it together.
The equipment I use for assembling it is:
-A soldering iron, in my case a Weller station PU81 with one little larger tip and one more pointy tip for delicate soldering. Temperature when soldering is set to 350degC.
-Solder from Carr’s melting point 145degC. See link http://www.finescale.org.uk/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=56#i
-Flux, in my case a liquid one found in the local hardware store.
-Glass-fiber brush and some fine sandpaper for cleaning the brass
-A Xacto to cut out the parts with
-A needle file
-Pliers
-A work surface in my case a piece of plywood
There are probably many of you who know soldering much better than I do but the methods described works very well for me.
When I solder I always have a clean tip on the iron. I have small wetted sponge nearby that I clean the tip with. When I solder I always prepare the joints before by sandpapering or scrubbing it with the Glass-fiber brush to get rid of surface contaminations. I then put the parts together and brush on a lot of flux which helps distribute the heat and let the solder flow. I then take a very very small amount of solder on the tip of the iron. I then apply the iron to the joint and if the tip is clean and there is plenty of flux the solder flows immediately from the tip to the joint. The key is not to linger with the iron but as the solder has flowed out immediately remove it. One should not under any circumstances hold the iron to long at the joint as the joints nearby then can get unsoldered.
One key to success is also to use a low melt solder. I have had very bad experiences before with soldering but have learned from modelers here in Sweden who build etched brass kits that a low melt solder is the best to use. In particular Carr’s 145 solder.
There are some pictures below of the equipment I use and on the assembly of the seat.
I hope so far some of you have found the thread interesting. I’ll continue with the thread and assembly shortly.
Thanks,
Håkan
The tip of the soldering iron with a tiny amount of solder.
The glass-fiber brush and solder
The parts of the seat layed out and cleaned
The side of the seat bent together using a plier
The sides soldered together
The shoulder rest soldered on
The arm rests bent forward and soldered
The parts for the spring assembly cleaned ready to be soldered
The spring assembly soldered
The seat and spring assembly soldered together
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Country: Sweden
| Posts: 529 |
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kc5gxl
New Hire
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 4:39:21 PM
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Awesome! I am looking forward to more installments of this build!
GT Dan
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Country: USA
| Posts: 45 |
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railman28
Fireman
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 5:29:24 PM
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You are brave.
Good results though.
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It's Only Make Believe
Bob Harris |
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Country: USA
| Posts: 1720 |
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Ensign
Fireman
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 5:29:55 PM
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Håkan,excellent photo's & explanations!
I am definitely going to give this a whirl.
That Carr's 145 solder sounds & looks like the perfect solder for this kind of work.
Thanks for sharing these techniques with us!
Greg Shinnie
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Country: Canada
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visman48
Fireman
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 5:37:45 PM
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Really cool, watching your project get assembled. Your english and descriptions are really good. You might want to find some small alligator type clamps to hold things together while you solder. I assume the solder is a low melting point solder, it seems pretty large.
This appears to be a neat kit, keep up the tutorial.
Les
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Country: USA
| Posts: 4480 |
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milocomarty
Fireman
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George D
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 8:27:02 PM
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This is a very interesting thread, Håkan. I always found the challenge in soldering is figuring how to hold the pieces together. I never thought of using masking tape. I'll be using that idea on my next soldering project.
George
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Country: USA
| Posts: 9904 |
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jbvb
Fireman
Premium Member
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Posted - 07/03/2012 : 09:07:34 AM
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Nice work. It's got me thinking about trying one of Micron Art's Model Ts. I learned about using different melting point solders in long-ago MR articles; Walthers has a Tix low-melting-point solder in hobby quantities. I also like Tix's liquid flux.
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Country: USA
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masonamerican
Crew Chief
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Posted - 07/03/2012 : 09:43:35 AM
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Thank you all for the kind reception of the thread. A little story on holding the pieces together when soldering. I'm a member in a informal "brass kit soldering group" which has started in my vicinity this spring. In the group there is this guy who constantly fixates the pieces to be soldered together with his fingers. One can judge the quality of his solder joints by how high he yells after he has taken away the iron
Håkan
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Country: Sweden
| Posts: 529 |
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visman48
Fireman
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Posted - 07/03/2012 : 10:36:02 AM
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Håkan
Thanks for having this thread, I have O scale brass project to do this fall, so I am most interested. I do micro soldering with pinpoint soldering iron, but the method to hold wire, part and iron continues to plague us all. I do have a resistance solder system that I am slowly learning how to use.
Les
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Country: USA
| Posts: 4480 |
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k9wrangler
Fireman
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Posted - 07/03/2012 : 12:13:11 PM
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Excellent work.
By the way, your English is a whole lot better than my Swedish.
The only construction type soldering I've done was a set of Suydam (sp) tin mine buildings and LED lighting projects.
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Karl Scribner
H.M.F.W.B.I.C.
Kentucky Southern Rwy & Associated Lines
Sunfield Twp. Michigan
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Country: USA
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Glen Haasdyk
Crew Chief
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Posted - 07/04/2012 : 07:51:46 AM
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Very impressive. I built their Model T delivery a couple years ago but I used CA to put it together. My hats off to you for using solder.
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Country: Canada
| Posts: 774 |
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masonamerican
Crew Chief
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Posted - 07/04/2012 : 5:08:59 PM
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Hi All!
I have managed to build some more on the wagon and it is now complete ready for painting. To follow the build please see the pictures below.
One thing I forgot to mention is that after each work session I wash the model in water with some detergent to get rid of the excess flux. I also has bathed it in acetone which also worked. Otherwise the model will the next day be green and tarnished.
Happy modeling
Håkan
The bottom of the car with details bent as per the instructions
The bottom and the flatbed aligned and held together with a alligator clip waiting to be soldered. The front axle was attached with a tiny screw.
The parts has been saturated with flux and is now soldered together. The solder is wicked by the capillary action between the parts.
The parts soldered
The tiny axle bearing plates are soldered on. They must come on in a right angle to the axle otherwise the wheel will tilt in one way or another. If it doesn't come right when soldered on in the first place it is easy to just apply the iron and readjust the part.
The seat assembly soldered on
The sides are soldered on. If they is soldered on a little askew it is easy to just bend them to the right position
The wheels is placed on the axle and the bearing (a tiny piece of brass tube) is placed over it. Some flux and a quick apply of the iron fixates the bearing/tube. I was in luck and managed to get all the wheels rolling.
The finished wagon with a Noch horse. The small boxes which I also soldered together are for the apples. Next time I'll continue with painting the wagon.
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Edited by - masonamerican on 07/04/2012 5:12:59 PM |
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Country: Sweden
| Posts: 529 |
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Ensign
Fireman
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Posted - 07/04/2012 : 5:28:26 PM
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Well done Håkan! You certainly made this look very easy.
Don't let your horse get to close to those apples, he might eat them on you.
Greg Shinnie
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Country: Canada
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Graffen
Crew Chief
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George D
Moderator
Premium Member
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Posted - 07/04/2012 : 5:51:45 PM
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Nice neat soldering work, Håkan.
George
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Country: USA
| Posts: 9904 |
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