Model Forum / General / Railroads / June 2004

Suggest you get an Antex 25W conventional iron as an interim measure - less
than 20 pounds.  They are a lot better than many other irons. And get a
selection of bit shapes - smaller ones are very useful for most jobs.
I prefer the 18W, but as I'm doing 2mm scale, the smaller size is
appropriate.

This is my own experience, and I know lots of others like them.

I own most forms of soldering;  3 small conventional irons (12,18,25W), one
100W iron, two gas-powered, a RSU (from London Road Models, but typical of
those on sale). The only one I've not got is temperature controlled, though
I have used the swish electronics one in the technician's lab at work. I'll
be purchasing a temperature controlled one at some point, probably when I
need more than 18W of power as my old 25W iron is not very good.

I've tried using the RSU to assemble various 2mm items, and a 4mm Comet
coach as specific projects - gone through the project building everything
with the RSU unless I got stuck.

I found the RSU probes to be somewhat of a problem - they are quite fat
(even the extra one with the extra-flexible leads).  The probes also get
quite hot in use, so you need to back-off and do something else whilst
things cool down. Compared to a soldering iron, they are quite clumsy to
hold.

Judging the correct current can be difficult, though you learn which
combination works for which piece of work.
Needing to have a good earth path for everything can be a problem.  I
routinely use it ontop of a sheet of aluminium which is earthed to the RSU
return lead.
The earth block can be a heat sink which doesn't help the job. This depends
on what you are doing.

The claimed "it only delivers heat when you want it" is no more true than
for a conventional iron.

For most work, I find it to be slower and a bit harder than a conventional
iron. I don't find it easy to "push" a solder puddle around with an RSU,
which is a key benefit of a conventional iron.

Where the RSU scores is fitting some types of detail.  eg. the sand boxes on
the footplate of my DY1 :
http://www.nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/p1123214.html  (it looks better now
its got glazing, numbers, BR totem, etc).
Those are lumps of brass round, with an angled filed on them. The RSU was
ideal to zap them onto the footplate. The tip of the probe can hold the work
in place, then the current applied, joint form, then remove the current.
That said, I fitted the two on a second body with a conventional iron.

The RSU is good for some sheet-work - notably the underframe of the Comet
coach, though the claims for their use when fixing large over-lays didn't
work out for me - its still as easy to get a buckle or a bubble on the
sheet.

I built quite complex items, with multiple over-lays, such as a rake of GE
four wheelers, with only the Antex 18W:
http://www.nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/c83431.html

Overall, if I want to build something, I reach for the 18W Antex. Only if
that doesn't do the job do I reach for another soldering tool.  The other
soldering tools (bigger, gas or RSU) get used in about equal measures for
the 10% of jobs where the Antex doesn't do the job.

Having used a temperature controlled iron, I can see the value.  They have a
much better ability to store heat and deliver it when you need it without
the temperature of the iron plummeting when placed on the job, and because
the temperature is controlled, they make using multi-temperature solder a
bit more sense than just selecting the solder with the appropriate gap/flow
properties (eg. do some work with 220+ solder, then drop to 180, etc.).
I'm inclined to purchase an Antex 660TC system, with the addition of the
smaller 25W iron - probably about the same price as a RSU.

- Nigel

Jim

Do you find "the RSU probes to be somewhat of a problem - they are quite
fat (even the extra one with the extra-flexible leads). The probes also
get quite hot in use, so you need to back-off and do something else
whilst things cool down. Compared to a soldering iron, they are quite
clumsy to hold." ?

I think other tools would be a better first choice for most people.

There is also a tendency I've observed to purchase tools in the hope that it
will make better models. It doesn't. Its application of tools to a job with
skill which produces a better model, and practising is what improves skill.
That said, there is a point where inappropriate and poor quality tools make
the job down-right difficult to impossible.

Of course it depends what you want to make and the individual relative
priority between using commercially available parts and making ones own
parts.
I've seen people spend £1000+ on a lathe with tooling and wonder why it
doesn't instantly improve their models. Ownership of a lathe won't make good
models. Knowing how and when to use it might.

- Nigel