Solder type for making iAtty coils?

[Repent]

I went to Home Depot and picked up a BernzOmatic micro torch gas powered soldering iron and some solder. The best solder they had was the "Speciality Solder Kit" which includes 1 oz silver bearing solder (lead free) and .5 oz of flux. Package says it's good for circuit boards, eyeglasses and jewelry repair. It is in a green and black package.

My question is if the solder is the right type but more importantly it says the melt temp is 430 degrees. Is this OK to use to solder NR/R wires for iAtty coils? Is the melt temp too low?

 

[Valsacar]

Why solder?

 

[Para]

Why solder?

Small, strong, and clean connection between the wires; not to mention the connectivity silver provides.

 

[Rick.45cal]

Para, could you give me a brief rundown of how you solder the wires together. I'm having some difficulty being that they are so tiny... I know there is a secret

 

[Para]

Para, could you give me a brief rundown of how you solder the wires together. I'm having some difficulty being that they are so tiny... I know there is a secret

clean wires
hold NR wire in tweezers in "3rd hand"

put dark paper as background so the wires are easier to see
melt small ball of solder on the tip of the R wire
hold R wire with solder against tip of NR wire
apply torch
solder will flow from R to NR wire

Use a very small amount of solder; whatever think you need and cut that by 1/2. The hardest part is not using too much solder. The ideal weld is when the two wires look like one continuous wire

 

[Rick.45cal]

I think I might be better off twisting... Or crimping, if my crimps ever show up

 

[Rick.45cal]

I just found out they cancelled my order for the crimp tubes It would have been nice to know that 4 weeks ago LOL

 

[Poppa D]

Twist the 2 wires as usual, dip the twist in the flux.
Melt a small bead of solder on to a flat surface, leave it balled up, while its hot dip your fluxed twisted wire into the solder bead and remove. The two wires should be soldered together, trim off any extra that you dont need.

I hope this helps.

 

[Para]

I think I might be better off twisting... Or crimping, if my crimps ever show up

If I'm making one, I'll twist. But, once I have everything ready for soldering, I can do 5 in the time it takes me to twist one. Both work well; I just like solder for the reasons I listed earlier.

I can send you a bunch of crimp tubes if you want to give it a try and then decide whether you want to re-order. Let me know and I'll toss them in an envelope

 

[Rick.45cal]

Thanks Para, I actually just reordered some, we will see if they send them or cancel the order again. I appreciate the offer. I will probably do some practice soldering until I get it down. I'd much rather be able to make a bunch of coils at the same time

A little practice never hurt anyone

 

[Repent]

Bumping this to the top. Never got an answer to my original question.

 

[Para]

I use Silver Solder....1200f melting point. I don't use any non lead solder from HD so I can't help with that portion of the question

 

[Repent]

Para where did you get your silver solder? The solder I got said it was silver solder as well just that the melting point is like 430 degrees which now seems to me to be maybe too low?

I use Silver Solder....1200f melting point. I don't use any non lead solder from HD so I can't help with that portion of the question

 

[pwyll]

Silver-bearing lead-free solder usually has a melting point of 430 to 480 degrees F, depending on the amount of silver.

Anything that requires a temp higher than 800 degrees F (here in the States) is technically brazing. Not sure exactly what Para is using, but the melting point for silver is just over 1700 degrees--based on the quality of his work (what I've seen of it anyway) I would expect he's using solder (or brazing material) intended for making jewelry.

The end results look better than jewelry, anyway...

 

[Rick.45cal]

Repent, I went and got the same thing that you have, it works. I figured out how to do it pretty quickly, thanks for the explanation Para.

 

[Repent]

OK cool Rick thanks. Just didn't want to get it all put together then have a meltdown.....

Repent, I went and got the same thing that you have, it works. I figured out how to do it pretty quickly, thanks for the explanation Para.