Model Railway Forum

Any advice to which soldering iron should be used for soldering brass and also which solder?
Many thanks
Zeb

Brass soldering.. A lot will depend on the thickness of the brass to be soldered? Very thin you could use a 25watt iron, but at the other end of the spectrum you could need a gas powered micro flame to ensure a good solid joint in very thick brass.

Generally, I would use a 60 Watt temperature controlled iron. Thereby, you can set the irons tip temperature as required. This is a typical example... Link to Item This of course is just an example and there are many other available.

Solder will be something like 60/40 with the use of a acid based flux. Have a look at the Carrs range here... Link 2 to Chronos

Strongly recommend Antex irons over Weller - the tip on an Antex iron fits around the shaft whereas on a Weller the tip fits in the shaft; this means all heat dissipating form the shaft of the Antex iron has a role in heating the tip whereas on a Weller iron it merely warms the surrounding air. Practically this means Antex irons are hotter than Weller irons; I had a 15W Weller iron that frankly had difficulty melting butter whereas I have never had to use an Antex iron bigger than 25W and in many cases the 25W is too hot and I use a 18W instead. Obviously for heating big chunks of metal you need a bigger iron but I would still go for an Antex.

Get an Antex 25w and a full selection of bits, from fine point up and it will do almost everything you could want.

Remember it's not the heat that matters it's the abbility to hold the heat that matters, fine tip for fine electrical work like SMD soldering to a big 8mm for heavy work.

Had mine for years and its never let me down.

Paul