Any recommendations for the best soldering iron to make up cables?

I've been struggling with a gas torch which is just simply to hot.

Also any hints on the best solder to use?

I use a GB2001 from this lot; http://www.butanetorches.com/

Got mine off the Snap On van,excellent bit of kit,good for heatshrinking and lighting the workshop woodburner... Ordinary fluxed solder works fine for me.

Enjoy the Perce Simon ? You had gone by the time me and Steve finished.

Very well thanks, not sure about some of the marks though. Saw that Steve was down as DNF what happened there?

Will call you......

Best tip i can give you is dont use a soldering iron and NEVER EVER use a blowtorch !!!

What you should be using is a solder pot. Whats a solder pot ? Kids today OK find a bit of old copper pipe, i use 1" dia, and flatten one end and bend so that the remaining bit will stand upright on the bench. Melt a stick of solder into the pot and leave to cool. You now have a solder pot

When making a cable fit the nipple to the cable after cutting to length and make a cats a*** out of the cable end. Heat the solder pot with the blowtorch or similar till the solder in it is molten. Dip the cable end and nipple into the flux then into the molten solder. Make sure the nipple is covered too. After a few seconds remove and leave to cool. Once cool you can then dress the nipple and the cable is done. This is how we always used to make cables and i have used them on my bikes for years. Using a blowtorch on a cable overheats it and causes the end to break off. The solder in the pot lasts for ages as you only use very little each time and it penetrates the nipple and cable strands without heat stressing them.

sounds like a plan, although not 100% sure about what a cats a*** is?

Well obviously I know what one is, cos they use it in my garden and then Maggie eats what come out of it, but hey don't get me going on that topic :-(

LOL Cats a*** ? well you could have a look and that might explain but if you are squeamish basically splay the strands of the cable where they exit the nipple. Most nipples are countersunk on the exit side if not i just countersink is slightly anyway. The idea is that the solder not only penetrates the nipple and cable but forms a secure "blob" because you have splayed out the strands making it impossible to pull through the nipple even if the bond within the nipple fails. I have never had a cable failure since i began making cables this way. There thats tempted fate i said almost the same thing about punctures last Sunday and guess what

I've always used 'bakers fluid'...its a preparation fluid for soldering. Most ironmongers stock it... it's a clear liquid (looks like water)..just dip the prepared cable into the bakers fluid, heat the cable and nipple and flow the solder. As in previous posting...impairative to 'splay' the cable and it's in it's recess within the nipple and that solder flows to the reverse side.

Just been informed that if you arent a tight git like me there electric solder pots available on flea bay for around £12 oh and agree bakers fluid is the stuff to use

Thanks OTF....Forgot to add...it's imperative not to get the job to hot, a naked flame and the job glowing red, would be a no no, this would change the structure of the cable(weaken it) the correct heat would possible be a soldering iron or a solder pot, i'd give a direct flame a miss. Just use normal 60/40 tin/lead (or is it lead/tin !), don't use inviromentally friendly solder, it don't seem to flow and grip, like the older stuff.

Edited November 17, 201411 yr by ask greeves

Agreed thats why you use a solder pot as the only heat that comes into contact with the cable and nipple is from the molten solder. We used to do all this stuff at school along with annealing, brazing, planishing, wrought iron work etc it was called metalwork. Doesn't anybody do metalwork nowadays ? We even did soldering in art along with enamelling and fabrication. I dont know what the worlds coming to most of the people i meet cant even use a lathe something else we did at secondary school. No wonder the countrys in a mess. Too many keyboards and not enough hands on stuff. I'll go and take my tablets now Oh as for solder i just used some of my old grandads stick solder left over from when he was a plumber. I bet people cant wipe a joint between copper and lead piping nowadays either

Edited November 17, 201411 yr by old trials fanatic

Sorry got distracted from the point in the last post and went off on one a bit. Sorry

Sorry to hijack the topic but doesanyone know if there are any butane blow torches that will heat 1/4" mild steel to cherry red. Trying to avoid using seperate oxy/gas botles. Thanks in advance.

Sorry to hijack the topic but doesanyone know if there are any butane blow torches that will heat 1/4" mild steel to cherry red. Trying to avoid using seperate oxy/gas botles. Thanks in advance.

Hi Dabalot, Think you'll have to be slightly more specific, how big is the 1/4 thick plate, if it were an 8by4 sheet you'd be hard pressed to get it cherry red, if it were 1/2ins strip you might be lucky. You might have better luck, if you used 6mm !. Best blow lamp on the market (in my opinion, which is worth 'diddly-6mm-squat') is a Benz-o-Matic (ideal for boiling water, during an electricity cut) and use the yellow gas. But anything other than a small piece of 1/4 plate and you'll be struggling. Just wondered why you should be using 1/4 thick plate !

For soldering cables I use a 2300W hot air gun. Try to keep the airstream concentrated at the nipple and avoid heating the wire. So far this is the best method I´ve been using. 60/40 led and correct flux is a must.

Ta for the advice Ask Greeves. I should have been more specific on the size of plate which will be a maximum of 1/4" x 1" flat bar. This would be the largest used for fabrication/repair of motorcycle or van parts. Also, in the past I have had access to oxy/gas for use with my exhaust blow out kit. I recently tried to repair a damaged expansion chamber using my butane torch which didnt even make the steel sweat.

Please excuse my use of imperial measurements. This is due to my (poor) education at the time of the metric changeover, hence my vocabulary in metrinch. Its always mph, never kph, but degrees C° not degrees F°, its the goverments fault you know.