soldering it. Heat the spot by holding the bit
against the work. The metal to be soldered
must absorb enough heat from the bit to melt
the solder, or the solder will not adhere.
8. After the pieces have been firmly fastened
together, solder the seam. Hold the bit so that
one tapered side of the head is flat against the
seam, as shown in figure 9-27. When the solder
begins to flow freely into the seam, draw the
bit along the seam with a slow, steady motion.
Add as much solder as necessary, without
Figure 9-30.--Making solder beads.
raising the bit from the work.
9. To make the best soldered seams, solder
without lifting the bit from the work and
without tracing completed work.
10. Allow the joint to cool and the solder to set
before moving the joint.
11. If you used a corrosive flux, clean the joint by
rinsing it with water and then brushing or
wiping it with a clean, damp cloth.
Riveted seams are often soldered to make them
watertight. Figure 9-29 shows the procedure for
soldering a riveted seam.
Sometimes solder beads or solder shots are used to
solder square, rectangular, or cylindrical bottoms. To
make the solder beads, hold solder against a hot bit and
allow the beads to drop onto a clean surface, as shown
in figure 9-30.
Figure 9-31.--Soldering a bottom seam.
To solder the bottom seam with solder beads, first
flux the seam. Then drop one of the cold beads of solder
in the bottom of the container. Heat, clean, and dip the
soldering bit and place it against the seam, as shown in
figure 9-31. Hold the soldering bit in one position until
the solder starts to flow freely into the seam. Draw the
bit slowly along the seam, turning the work as you go.
Add more beads as you need them. Reheat the copper
as necessary.
Be very careful not to overheat an electric soldering
bit. Never go off and leave an electric soldering iron
plugged in. Overheating will probably bum out the
electrical element and damage the tinning.
TORCH SOLDERING
Parts to be joined may be too large to be heated by
Figure 9-29.--Soldering a riveted seam.
a soldering bit, or shaped in a way that would make rapid
9-28