tools, materials & knowledge for model makers
Initial Seekone heat gun review looking at what comes in the package, specification and initial switch on and testing. My Black & Decker hot air gun finally gave up after 27 years. Over that time it has been used in a number of house renovations and for soft soldering. The heat gun soft soldering for … Read more
I acquired a very old tin of Fry’s Fluxite flux paste, it must be around 40 years old. Well beyond the 5 year shelf life recommended by the manufacturers. However, I used it and it worked really well, but now makes me wonder how good a fresh tin of it would be? “Cleanliness is most … Read more
Beading the edge of the tender has been something I’ve been looking forward to and not. A great step in the look of the tender, but bending the profile brass around accurately is not the easiest thing to do. At the 1/20th scale of the Burrell the 2mm wide half round brass is probably too … Read more
A friend mentioned soldering with hot air to me and that this is quite normal in the electronics industry. Must admit that I had not thought of it before. The hornplates and tub for my Burrell traction engine needed soldering together. I tried with a large 75W soldering iron and it was ok, but I … Read more
A review of the Antex XS25 Soldering Iron. I′ve had a 15W Weller soldering iron for around 15 years and up until last weekend was no trouble. Then it just stopped. So time to look for a new soldering iron – turn to the internet and reviews. The most favoured make appears to be Antex. … Read more
A review of the simple Glass Alcohol Burner. I’ve had this glass methylated spirits burner for around 10 years and I use it regularly when I need to heat a larger than normal part for soldering. The body and top is made from moulded glass with a ground interface between the two parts. A very … Read more