USE/CARE OF HANDTOOLS & MEASURING TOOLS - OD1621 - LESSON 2/TASK 1
(4) Using Solder. There are two types of soldering, soft and hard.
Soft soldering uses solder which melts at temperatures under 700F.
Soft
solders are alloys of lead and tin.
Hard solders melt at higher
temperatures and are mechanically stronger than soft solders.
Solder is
made in bar, ribbon, and wire form.
Wire solders may be either solid or
cored. Cored solder is a hollow tube containing a core of flux. The flux
is usually either rosin or an acid substance. Ribbon and wire solder are
used with small irons on small work. Bar solder is used with large irons on
heavy work.
(5) Using a Soldering Iron. There are many rules to follow in order
to perform a successful soldering job, but the six most important are
described in (a) through (f) below.
(a) The work which is to be soldered must be perfectly clean. All
oxide, corrosion, paint, grease, dust, and foreign matter must be scraped
off or the solder will not stick. A steel scratch brush, emery paper, steel
wool, file, knife, emery wheel, or scraper may be used, whichever works best
for the particular job, to clean the metals and produce the required bright
surface.
(b) The proper flux must be used; it must wet the entire surface
to which the solder is to adhere.
Too much flux will interfere with
soldering.
Rosin flux may be applied in the form of a powder which is
sprinkled on, or it may be dissolved in alcohol and applied with a brush.
In soldering small work of brass, copper, and tin-plated items, rosin core
solder can be used.
In heavy work, it is necessary to apply flux
separately. Zinc chloride, or any fluid flux, should be swabbed on. After
soldering, all traces of acid and zinc chloride fluxes should be removed by
washing with a solution of soap and washing soda in water.
(c) The work must be properly and rigidly supported so that it
does not move while the solder is setting. If a joint is moved while the
solder is cooling and setting, the solder will be broken or weakened. When
holding work in clamps or vises, make sure that the heat is not conducted to
the jaws of these holding devices.
In most cases, several layers of
newspaper or asbestos paper placed between the jaws and the work will
provide
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