The question of how to solder for modern home masters and technicians is not worth it today. But when it comes down to business, it turns out like in that joke about Leo Tolstoy, who adored playing the balalaika, but, unfortunately, did not know how.
Since the craftsmen learned to melt lead and tin, tinkers appeared who were engaged in soldering metal billets.
The connected ones were cleaned and degreased with gasoline before soldering. The tip of a heated soldering iron is dipped in rosin or ammonia. If a faint smoke appears, then the soldering iron is ready for use.
Rosin cleans the soldering iron tip from metal oxides. A cleaned soldering iron tip is dipped in solder (usually tin) and held there until covered with a film. This film is leveled on the surface of the junction, i.e. "Tin" it. Then the bulk of the solder, which is necessary to connect the workpieces, is transferred to the junction.
How to solder without using a soldering iron? You can use chemical compounds that can release “solder” when their temperature rises. These are solder pastes. They are indispensable for soldering in hard to reach places. The paste is applied to the junction and heated.
Now let's see how to solder aluminum. This is not easy to do, since when cleaning the surface of aluminum, an oxide film forms again. The presence of such a film reduces the strength of the connection. Therefore, immediately after cleaning the junction surface, a passive flux is poured onto the aluminum billet. It can be rosin, glycerin and any of the fatty acids.
Soldering aluminum is a powerful soldering iron. If the flux is chosen correctly, then aluminum is easily sealed. A copper wire can be soldered to its tinned surface without any problems.
There is another way: the surface layer of the aluminum billet is cleaned, smeared with rosin, and sprinkled with copper powder. After this operation, the soldering of parts can be carried out with ordinary tin solder.
Not so long ago, plastic pipes came to replace metal pipes. How to solder plastic pipes? This is not at all difficult to do if there is the necessary tool for welding them.
Nozzles of the required size are mounted on the heating apparatus. The controller sets the temperature not higher than 2700 Celsius.
While nozzles are heated on the welding machine, pipes of the desired length are prepared and cut. Burrs and irregularities are necessarily removed, then a mark is placed on the pipe equal to the depth of the fitting. After warming up, the pipe will enter the fitting to the length you measured. Welded surfaces are degreased. Now the time has come for heating and soldering.
The fitting is first put on the heated nozzle located on one side of the welding machine, since it has thicker walls, and this requires prolonged heating. The fitting should fit snugly on the nozzle. On the other side of the welding machine, a plastic pipe "sits" on the second nozzle.
The heating times of the pipe and fitting are indicated in the instructions for the welding machine. When heating the parts to be joined, try not to turn them, as this may cause plastic to compress.
The heating time is maintained, then the parts are removed from the nozzles, and the pipe is slowly introduced into the fitting to the mark made earlier. It is impossible to twist the connected details.
Now you know how to solder plastic pipes.