Holding parts for soldering

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

I want to hold some parts for silver soldering and have seen people use soft iron wire.

My question is does it have to be soft iron wire or could I use stainless wire, I know I can use something with a fine point on it to hold the parts down so as not to take the heat away from the part.

The parts that need to be held together are a little awkward to clamp so I think wire would be the best option.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

The main thing with the soft iron wire is it has no real spring to it so is easier to wind tightly around parts than stainless wire which may want to spring back. But if you have some stainless wire to hand then give it a go. Don’t go too thin with the wire as it will get hotter faster than what you are soldering and may melt.

I use florists wire which has a thing coat of green paint on it which seems to form enough of a barrier to stop the solder from sticking to it, you may want to coat the stainless with solvent based Tippex if it is going to be close to a joint.

[JAParticipant @ja]

The only comment to add is that small countersunk brass screws into prepared tapped holes work a real treat. This may not be as quick as wire but may be more positive at holding everything together. Obviously the screws should be swamped with flux so that they are lost in the final assembly.

Have fun silver soldering!

JA

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

Thank you, Jason and JA

@JA unfortunately, one part is just too small for screws to hold it.

I will try the stainless wire I have, if it fails I will order some of the soft iron wire

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

I use 0.3mm soft stainless wire, or 0.5mm black soft iron wire.

[bernard towersParticipant @bernardtowers37738]

You can get soft stainless locking wire, I have never used it as I have a plentiful supply of the soft iron type and if you paint with snopake where it touches the part you will not have problems with the wire being soldered saving clean up.

[Dalboy]

On Dalboy Said:

Thank you, Jason and JA

@JA unfortunately, one part is just too small for screws to hold it.

I will try the stainless wire I have, if it fails I will order some of the soft iron wire

I find thin fuse wire does a good job.

[Anonymous]

In general I prefer mechanical fixtures for holding parts for silver soldering:

I have tried soft iron wire but didn’t get on with it. If need to use wire I use stainless steel locking wire intended for locking bolt heads and turnbuckles on aircraft. It is soft and has no springback. I have the proper wire locking pliers, so can get a tight twist right up to the work.

Andrew

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I think a lot comes down to the job in hand as to what way you hold the parts together. Take that frame I showed above,  there is a lot of mechanical location going on as well as wiring. The two round bosses are screwed on. The sides are longer than the front & back so they drop a specific amount down into the rectangular cut out in the base plate. The vertical plate has pockets milled into it to mate with tabs on the side plates and the 4 main plates all have tabs and pockets to keep them in place. It almost holds itself together and the wire just holds it tight enough to stay in place with out risking distortion from clamps or them slipping as the whole thing is tapered.

All critical surfaces which are the base, the vertical plate, round bosses and the pads that the bearing pedestals will sit on are over thickness so the whole thing can be finish machined after soldering.

 

[john fletcher 1Participant @johnfletcher1]

Prior to Tippex what did modellers use ? Plumber used some “Plumbers Black” when wiping a lead water pipe preventing the migration of the solder, making a very tidy job. Under ground electric cable jointer had similar material, used for the same reason as the plumbers. Does a reader know where to obtain/buy some. John

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