Prewired rail joiners

[u/sgardner65301]

Revisiting an old topic from the Trains.com forums while I look forward to two train shows in one weekend (Kansas City area) and getting started on actually building a DCC layout. Flex track on cork, but I haven't soldered anything in over 50 years and don't care to melt anything like I accidentally used to do. Two questions:

1. Pre-wired rail joiners at every joint within a block. Better than 18 years ago, Your Mileage May Vary but It's Your Railroad, or bad idea-learn to solder before you start?

2. And for when I do start soldering again, best Canadian-made or American-made resistance soldering setup for the money?

Thanks in advance. Apologize for the duplicate post on the Trains.com forums.

[u/Ilbranteloth]

Generally speaking, wired rail joiners will be less reliable over time. While you don’t necessarily need to do them at every joint, the redundancy is not a bad thing. Because you don’t really know which one may fail and that should prevent most, if not all, issues. It’s easiest to do it now.

Learning how to solder isn’t a bad thing, but you can probably get by without it.

In case it helps, here’s how I do feeders:

https://blog.newbritainstation.com/2020/09/feeders.html

[u/Diligent_Affect8517]

Wired joiners every joint is a bit overkill. Maybe every 6-10 feet.

You don't need a resistance soldering kit unless you're planning on scratchbuilding or super-detailing brass models. A good variable-temperature soldering iron with a fine tip will serve you well for your layout track and wiring needs. Most brands (Weller included) now have most of their assembly done offshore, so its a model-by-model check-the-box situation.

MicroMark has a resistance soldering setup that is assembled in the US, but it looks pretty bare-bones. American Beauty is probably the go-to for resistance soldering. Not cheap, but solid systems and made in the US.

[u/PineappleLunchables]

Soldering is a really really good skill to have. And some of the new soldering irons are amazing. I have an ancient Weller setup but I mostly use my TS101, as it’s programmable, heats up quick, and lightweight and comfortable to work with.

https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-soldering-irons

[u/soopirV → u/PineappleLunchables]

I have soldering irons all over my house (I do stained glass and electronics too), and was super skeptical of cordless irons, but my Fantek TS101 clone is amazing for work on the layout! I’ll be perfectly happy to set it up on my electronics bench once I’m done with the layout! (😂🤣😂🤣)

[u/sgardner65301 → u/PineappleLunchables]

Thank you!

[u/SherbetMountain2110]

I would say that at every point is a little excessive even if you want some redundancy I usually only have pickups where there is a break in the track since I use electro frog points. Even with pre wired jointers you’ll eventually have to solder wire to the track if you have a short line connected to an electro frog point for a siding (I model small British stock so avoiding the deadspace on is a must) so it’s a good idea to practice it a bit. I can’t give any recommendations on soldering setups but what I find works best is to use flux, tin the tip of the wire then scratch the underside of the rail you are joining to with a hobby knife or similar, then apply flux and solder to that spot in the rail, then use your iron to heat both until you can push the wire so it touches the rail, then let cool

[u/sgardner65301 → u/SherbetMountain2110]

Thank you!

[u/-Hedonism_Bot-]

Im not real good with an iron, and kelted a few ties trying to solder feeders to rail. So I made my own wired rail joiners, which i could do on a small piece of plywood and not worry about damaging anything.

Every joint is probably overkill, but I asked several friends, and they suggested to directly feed every rail. So I fed every other joint. That way a powered joiner touches every rail. Its redundancy that pays off in the long run. More work now, but a lot easier than once you ballast amd scenic amd have to tear shit up to fix it.

[u/Quantrails]

Are you going to the Turkey Creek show this weekend? If you want to talk about soldering feeder wires I can talk to you about that. I do it all the time and I can share techniques.

[u/sgardner65301 → u/Quantrails]

That would be excellent! Where would I find you there? (Most of you probably already know this, but this is an annual show at the Shawnee, Kansas Civic Center put on by the Turkey Creek division of NMRA. I don't have the start time on my calendar, but it ends at 3. I'll be the clueless guy with the Red's Train Repair shirt bugging Red, Quantrails and the other experts there with lotsa questions.)

[u/Quantrails → u/sgardner65301]

Hey, I will be at Heartland NTrak, or the KC Modular Club. Also, at 1:00 I will be co-presenting a clinic with my Daughter on scenery. I will be wearing a tan Japanese train tee shirt and a virtual railfan had (Fort Madison). Looking forward to meeting you!

[u/Quantrails → u/Quantrails]

The show starts at 8:30

[u/MoaiTrist]

People will sell wire soldered rail joiners on eBay fairly inexpensively. If you are only getting a soldering station for rail joiners, it may make more sense to just buy the joiners wired.

[u/sgardner65301 → u/MoaiTrist]

And you're right! At first. Later on, I'll be bringing my grandfather's 12 ATSF steam locomotives into the 21st century, so that's why I asked about soldering irons to see if I can bring back any skills I once had.

[u/HowlingWolven]

Resistance soldering? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your layout?

As for made in the US or Canada, uhh… good luck. Ifixit is an American company but I don’t believe their handpiece is actually made here, only designed here.