Good "training" brass kit

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've got a bunch of etched brass signal and signal equipment kits for use on the NCR.

I've never done an etched brass kit, and I don't want to practice on the good stuff.

Are there good "training" kits out there that can help me build those skills before I clobber the etched unobtanium ones?

[jargonlet]

So they include parts that have to be bent? If you’ve ever built a wood kit that you have to bend parts to make angles then it’s the same concept. As for building techniques, sometimes I’ve soldered brass kits and some times I’ve used ca. then there’s the case that I used ca to hold parts together while soldering. I don’t know if any starter kits but I hope this info helps.

[mu26aeh]

Maybe the Metal Earth kits would help ?  A lot of bending practice putting them together

[TrainCat2]

I've got a bunch of etched brass signal and signal equipment kits for use on the NCR.

I've never done an etched brass kit, and I don't want to practice on the good stuff.

Are there good "training" kits out there that can help me build those skills before I clobber the etched unobtanium ones?

PM me with your addy and I'll send you a bunch of stuff to practice on Ed.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

PM me with your addy and I'll send you a bunch of stuff to practice on Ed.

Sweet! Nothing you can sell, I hope.

You're a gentleman and a scholar, no matter what they say about ya. lol

[Lemosteam]

In lieu of difficult soldering techniques, I am becoming quite fond of UV activated resin glue. 

Unlike CA, it remains fluid until you hit it with the UV light, allowing for much more control while positioning parts.  It has good wicking ability into joints, and once you lock in one spot, you then can rotate the part around to allow the UV light to set the rest of the joint without fear of disturbing the original positioning.

A plus to the resin is that excess can be wiped away prior to setting the glue, unlike CA which will immediately stick to everything, including your fingers.

It also works REALLY well on FUD/FXD printed Shapeways parts.

I have not tried to disassemble a joint on a metal part yet to see if heat will break down the joint as it does with CA.

I really like the applicator on the J-B Weld product, but sometimes the black squeeze area does not fully collapse the tube inside and I have to disassemble the applicator to use all of the product.  I like to squeeze some out on a card and use an old white micro brush stem with the bristles removed for a fine tip.



https://www.homedepot.com/p/0-18-oz-SuperWeld-Light-Activated-Glue-33301SRP-6/308683595?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-LIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_LIA&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-BF-CDP-GGL-D24-024_004_ADHESIVES-NA-Multi-NA-LIA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-FY21_Sundries_LIA-71700000075826943-58700006496586416-92700058691145229&gclid=CjwKCAiAoL6eBhA3EiwAXDom5rhbmQiQ72iPoN8dCfVkjZ5FzzA2LUkdCKvTH066EyClaskBcdR8HBoCs4AQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh damn, that looks cool! Gonna try it out.

What do you use as a light source to set it?

[C855B]

Oh damn, that looks cool! Gonna try it out.

Yeah. Same here. Since I'm working on signals again, CA is proving to be... uh... "challenging" when trying to keep tiny parts in alignment while the glue sets, fingers notwithstanding.

I'll get some provided I can get out of the house. Damn rescue dog who can't be left alone is running our life these days. [...sigh...]

[Lemosteam]

Oh damn, that looks cool! Gonna try it out.

What do you use as a light source to set it?

The light is included, you can see the LED protruding out the bottom in the pic just below the black switch.  When I disassemble the squeezer, I save the light.  it like a mini FOB inside the red housing the snaps off. 

DO NOT use the applicator to apply the resin- put it on a card first.  It has a shelf life on the card and it will eventually harden under bright light of a workbench, so dump just what you need at a time and reclose the tube.  I store the tube vertically like the picture to prevent the resin from leaking into the cap.

One additional tip, wipe off the applicator tip using a piece of a mylar grocery bag before putting the lid on.  Tissues tend to gum up the works. 

[ednadolski]

... it remains fluid until you hit it with the UV light, allowing for much more control while positioning parts.  It has good wicking ability into joints ....

@Lemosteam if it wicks into joints, then what if there are some parts of it that won't be reachable by the UV (even if you move the UV source around)?    So those parts would remain uncured, no?

Ed

[Lemosteam]

@Lemosteam if it wicks into joints, then what if there are some parts of it that won't be reachable by the UV (even if you move the UV source around)?    So those parts would remain uncured, no?

Ed

Well, since the glue is translucent, the UV light follows the path of the glue, kinda like fiber optics.  As I mentioned earlier, the resin can harden over time so any resin that does not feel the UV will still harden.

You are not dealing with gobs here; thin, small applications are more what you want.

One thing I noticed is a very short burst of heat, because I used it on a small finger cut (yes I use super glue a lot for this so I tried the resin glue) and when I applied the UV, as the resin hardened I felt a quick, hot, targeted burn sensation, almost like a sting, so I wonder if the UV cases a chain reaction through the entire amount applied, not sure.

I also tried the glue on a cool application on Fiber optics.  I have an Anycubic wash and cure machine in my printing cabinet on an extension tray about 3 inches off the floor.  Sitting in a chair I could not see the LED indicators for WASH or CURE, so I never knew what was going to happen then I started the thing.  Anyway I bent and mushroomed the end of some 1.5mm fiber optic and applied this glue to the flat that would mount to the led through a hole inside the machine housing.  I flashed the UV on the exposed end of the Fiber Optic L shape and bam- solid as a rock.

I really like the stuff.  there are other brands, but I like the applicator on this one and I dont think it will disappear from the market anytime soon!

I actually wonder if I could use some printing resin to fix just-printed parts broken during the support removal, and use the light to fuse them together- I have not tried this yet.

[Lemosteam]

Yeah. Same here. Since I'm working on signals again, CA is proving to be... uh... "challenging" when trying to keep tiny parts in alignment while the glue sets, fingers notwithstanding.

I'll get some provided I can get out of the house. Damn rescue dog who can't be left alone is running our life these days. [...sigh...]

I wonder if a small dot on the led could be used to hold it to a desk while soldering leads.

Hi have used it to repair broken printings to really good success, in places where I have failed with CA, in small surface area breaks.

[TrainCat2]

I never had ANY issues using Pacer Zap-A-Gap on all of my models. Every one but Canyon Diablo was CA'd. Look back over all the years that I have posted pics to see was is possible. It was just recently that I started soldering some other kits.

[peteski]

John,  how different is the UV glue you are using from Bondic?  In my experience Bondic (and any of the UV curable resins from craft stores or eBay) produce extremely weak bonds (on non-porous materials like metal or styrene. When hardened, you can easily peel them off.  I would never consider those as adhesives.  I also have doubts if the stuff will ever fully cure when it is not directly hit with UV light.

Have you done any experiments which test the glue's bond strength?  Like putting a bead of it on a metal surface, curing it, and trying to peel/scrape it off? Going by my experience with the ones I mentioned I don't see it being anything even close to CA glue (and no contest when to comes to soldering).

[Lemosteam]

John,  how different is the UV glue you are using from Bondic?  In my experience Bondic (and any of the UV curable resins from craft stores or eBay) produce extremely weak bonds (on non-porous materials like metal or styrene. When hardened, you can easily peel them off.  I would never consider those as adhesives.  I also have doubts if the stuff will ever fully cure when it is not directly hit with UV light.

Have you done any experiments which test the glue's bond strength?  Like putting a bead of it on a metal surface, curing it, and trying to peel/scrape it off? Going by my experience with the ones I mentioned I don't see it being anything even close to CA glue (and no contest when to comes to soldering).

No but I can try!  It did take several days of showers for my "bandage" to fall off of my skin!