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Soldering stainless steel

Kashirigi
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 Joined: 2008-01-04
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No votes yet

While I was making a chain-link fence, I came across an annoying problem.  My plan was to use stainless steel wire (or pins) as posts and cross-members. I didn't think superglue would be an effective adhesive, so I was going to solder the whole works together.

Unfortunately, my attempts at soldering resulted in an epic fail. I'd heat the steel, apply the solder, whereupon it would bead up and fall off. I've never had any problems like this before. Can anyone suggest a solution?

 In case you're wondering, I then created the fence by lashing the members together with thin thread and securing the works with superglue. Not an ideal solution, but it turned out fairly well. When my mini-diorama is complete I plan on posting pictures.

 

 


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Japanese N-scale trains in a very tight space: http://yamanotesen.thruhere.net

Submitted by Kashirigi on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 13:44.

philhendry
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Posts: 50
 Joined: 2007-03-15
Hi there,The problem with

Hi there,

The problem with soft-soldering stainless steel is the oxide layer on the surface (which is what stops it corroding - it's impervious to practically anything and everything - including soft solder and the usual sorts of flux).  You can soft solder it, but you need to use a very corrosive flux (usually phophoric acid) to remove the oxide so that the solder can 'wet' the surface of the metal.  There are special (expensive) solders too.  But it doesn't soft-solder well - I've always regarded soft-soldering it as a sort of last resort.

It silver-solders very nicely, but that probably isn't relevant to you.  If you need more information, feel free to ask.

If I was making a fence, I'd use brass wire.  It solders beautifully, providing it's clean and shiny. 

Phil


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Fri, 04/04/2008 - 17:08

buzzrexx
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Posts: 111
 Joined: 2007-11-01
I concur.The composition of

I concur.

The composition of stainless steel makes it very hard to work with period. I'm no metals expert, but I believe that it's durability and hardness would mean you have to heat it up hotter than normal metal such as copper or brass; and you'd definately need the specific solders that Phil mentioned.

Not meaning to be discouraging, though. Just might save yourself some grief. 



Fri, 04/04/2008 - 18:44

Bryan
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 Joined: 2004-02-29
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I feel heat is going to be
I feel heat is going to be your enemy on this one... whilst you can solder SS with the correct preparation, it generally takes more heat, which no doubt will melt the other item you're trying to solder to the SS (considering the small size of 'N' items).
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Bryan



Fri, 04/04/2008 - 18:55

Kashirigi
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Posts: 110
 Joined: 2008-01-04
nScale.net Site Supporter
Thanks for the advice. I've

Thanks for the advice. I've got some brass wire which i didn't use simply because the stainless steel wire was a little more rigid. I'm glad there was a reason for my problem, and not just my poor technique.

 I suspect I won't be getting any highly corrosive flux in the future. I already have enough problems super-gluing my fingers together. I can't imagine having phosphoric acid floating around my apartment.


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Japanese N-scale trains in a very tight space: http://yamanotesen.thruhere.net

Sun, 04/06/2008 - 00:44

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