Despite the fact that specialist model makers solders have been readily available for years some people still persist in using Electricians 60/40 multicore solder for etched kit building.

  I think that there is something of the attitude that they bought a big reel of it for twelve shillings and sixpence in 1968 and they will be dammed if they are going to buy any more solder until they use it all up.

  Multicore 60/40 solder is designed for electrical joints where the flux is required to be passive and non-corrosive after the joint is made because you cant really dunk your television into the sink and give it a good scrub to kill the flux. Because of this it is not very powerful.

  To achieve a good joint the electrical components are pre tined (that is they are already coated with bright clean solder by the manufacturer).

  If you think about soldering a wire to the solder tag of a small on/off switch on your layout control panel. The tag on the switch is bright silver even though it is made of brass because it has been pre tined. When you strip the insulation from the wire the copper conductors are silver in colour because they have been tined.

  You will hook the wire through the solder tag to mechanically secure it and then place the dry soldering iron tip (no molten solder bubbling away on it creating oxide) into the joint and feed the solder wire into the joint, normally on the opposite side of the tag to the iron tip (note the big difference of solder being fed into the joint with electrical soldering and not carried into the joint on the iron tip for etched kit soldering).

  A good electrical joint is achieved because the surfaces of the parts to be joined are already wetted with solder by being pre tined. But ask any electrician about dry joints and the problems they cause.

  Even with electrical work a separate rosin based flux is sometimes used when soldering heavy terminal lugs to cables or soldering to plain brass terminals. So for soldering plain metals a separate flux must be used!

  If you use an active separate flux you can successfully build etched models using only 60/40 multicore solder but because of its higher melting point you will have to use bigger soldering irons. In my experience a job that can be successfully completed with a 40 watt iron and 145º solder will require a 80 watt iron and you cant hold the parts together without burning your fingers.

  I would wager that even the most experienced modeller who builds only with 60/40 solder would find something close to a 50% improvement in the quality of their work if they switched to 145º solder. Keep your 60/40 solder for keeping your iron bits in good condition and the occasional small job like reinforcing lamp irons and loco steps.

  As my miserable old master electrician used to constantly shout at me when I was an apprentice “don’t make hard work for your self use the right materials and tools for the job”. You know he was right about that one.