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Soldering advice needed please

Grandad

Aug 7, 2014
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Aug 7, 2014
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Could I ask the advice of you good folk on a soldering issue?

I am currently restoring a 1920's electric clock and I need to solder a 4mm x 4mm x 0.5mm piece of platinum to a strip of brass also 0.5mm thick to make up a switch contact handling a tiny current. What type of solder would you advise and what type of flux. Thanks in advance.
 

Alec_t

Jul 7, 2015
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Wow! Cheaper to use a gold contact and sell the platinum! Gold is easy to solder, but I don't know about platinum. I'd try ordinary resin-cored tin/lead solder first. Do you really need a precious metal contact?
 

Grandad

Aug 7, 2014
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Aug 7, 2014
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Thanks for the response. The clock was originally fitted with platinum contacts. Gold would be too soft as the contacts also act to mechanically transmit movement to the mechanism.

Incidentally, the square of platinum was only £8!
 

Anon_LG

Jun 24, 2014
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Oh, wait. Just calculated, your platinum is worth exactly $4.6622, based on 24 carat (999.5<) platinum prices quoted by this site. That is a hefty mark-up considering the basic tooling required. Though it is all relative, there could be heavy mercantilism in the country of origin, in which case the price is quite reasonable.
 

Grandad

Aug 7, 2014
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Aug 7, 2014
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Oh, wait. Just calculated, your platinum is worth exactly $4.6622, based on 24 carat (999.5<) platinum prices quoted by this site. That is a hefty mark-up considering the basic tooling required. Though it is all relative, there could be heavy mercantilism in the country of origin, in which case the price is quite reasonable.

Considering the cost of tooling, materials, cleaning equipment, chemicals, abrasives and consumables involved in clock restoration, not to mention my time, the cost of a sliver of platinum is a mere frippary.:)
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Jan 21, 2010
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you've probably seen this: http://www.eptac.com/ soldering-onto-platinum-pins/

It covers pretty much everything except a solution. I've not soldered to platinum and I can't give you any specific advice other than following the suggestions on that page.
 
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