Bridlington & Wolds Scale Model Club Forum

Help => Help => Topic started by: bridlufc on September 24, 2012, 04:44:38 PM

Title: Using brass wire on models
Post by: bridlufc on September 24, 2012, 04:44:38 PM

Hi all, on one of my builds it calls for using stretched sprue, I have never had much success with stretched sprue so I have used brass wire instead glued in place with super glue. I would prefer to solder more brass wire to use as a hand rail rather than thread bearing in mind what I want to solder to is attached to the model. Would the heat from my soldering iron affect the plastic around the brass wire already stuck to the model?

Regards Tony

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: zak on September 25, 2012, 08:35:15 AM

Yes, you wpould need to have some sort of heat sink between the brass and the plastic. take care the heat seems to build up pretty quickly in brass and then - oops you have a lump of melted plastic. You used to be able to get some sort of liquid metal?
Heat sink - a large pair of pliers etc.
Dave

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: bridlufc on September 25, 2012, 12:06:07 PM

Thanks for that Dave. Before I go ahead I think I will do a test run on a piece of spare plastic from my spares box.

Regards Tony

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: driffowl on September 27, 2012, 07:56:36 PM

just had a sprue stretching session myself tony before realising life is far too short and raided my spares

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: zak on September 28, 2012, 08:16:57 AM

Feeling much the same myself, used some premade plastic rod from Slaters!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: bridlufc on September 28, 2012, 03:14:28 PM

I always end up with some wonderful shapes when I try to stretch sprue. None of them are what I intended.

Tony

Title: Re: Using brass wire on models
Post by: bridlufc on January 14, 2013, 09:10:10 PM

Hi all, I used a heat sink and everything seemed to be fine but the thickness of copper wire I was using didn't like the heat from the soldering iron and kept snapping under tension, so I resorted to plan b which was good old superglue and accelerator........works everytime lol.