December 21st 2002

Today I have been soldering the bushes into the coupling rods and the motor mounts.

The steel parts were cleaned thoroughly with a class fibre 'pencil' and wet & dry paper followed by a rub down with white spirit to remove any traces of oil & grease.

Next, I fitted the bushes and applied plenty of flux. Then gently heated up the area using a gas blowlamp. When the area is hot enough, the solder should flow around the join, if it doesn't flow, then the area isn't hot enough! I got all the bushes ready in place so I just moved on to the next area when I had finished the previous one.
When they were all finished, I left them to cool naturally. WARNING! don't be tempted to pick any of the pieces up, they will remain very hot for some time!

When cooled, I washed the pieces in warm water and detergent to remove the flux. The flux, if left on, will eventually eat away the metal. A final rub down with the white spirit and they are ready for painting, or the next stage.