1. Do not buy small and cheap soldering irons, as they are not made of copper, but worthless compositions. Get an ordinary iron weighing about 3 or 4 pounds.

2. The whole pointed end of the iron must be tinned, and kept so, as no soldering can be done without it.

3. Always clean the iron after each heating before any attempt to solder is made.

4. Never make the iron "red hot," or so hot that the solder burns off.

5. Always clean the surfaces to be soldered, and put on flux.

6. Never remove the iron from the parts to be soldered until the solder runs like mercury and fairly boils.

7. Large and solid pieces to be soldered should first be heated, and kept hot while soldering.

8. Always pick up the solder from the bar with the iron; that is to say, touch the bar of solder with the hot and clean iron; a certain' amount will adhere thereto.

9. Cast iron should first be filed or cleaned with emery cloth, then rubbed with a soft piece of brass. The brass will adhere to the cast iron, and the solder will stick to same very readily.

10. Always remember that solder will only adhere to clean metals coated with flux.

Use any kind of solder, preferably half and half, on almost any kind of work, either in bars or in strings.

The flux used may be of any kind on the market, but an old and reliable one that the writer has used for many years is made as follows: into an earthenware cup pour some commercial muriatic acid, into which put small pieces of scrap zinc. Let one piece dissolve or nearly so before another is put in. as otherwise the acid gets very hot. and is liable to break the jar. Always put more in than the acid will dissolve. Then let it stand for twenty-four hours. Now pour half of this into a small bottle with a wide month, and dilute with some water. Use this as a flux. to be applied with a stick or small brush. What remains in the jar is used to clean the iron, after each heating, by dipping the whole pointed end thereof into the liquid. This flux may be used on almost any metal except aluminium, zinc or galvanized iron. For the two last named the commercial acid should be used.

The tinning of the iron is done as follows: Heat the iron to a dark brown color. Then file the point on all four sides and dip the same into the jar. Then on a small piece of wood or tin melt some solder from the bar. and rub all sides of the pointed iron. Then dip again into the flux, and it will be noticed that if the iron was clean the solder will adhere to the same, "tinning" the iron. This operation should be done very quickly, so that the iron does not cool oft. The iron should be treated like this from time to time, as the copper deteriorates and the tin burns off. but should not be heated to this high temperature unless it is to be retinned.

The solder is picked up by the iron by simply touching the bar of solder, holding the iron in an inclined position, so that the lower side of the tinned end of the iron will be horizontal. Remove the iron in this position to the object to be soldered, and then incline the handle a little more to let the solder run to the point and drop off.

A good way to ascertain if the iron is hot enough for solder-ing is to take it off the stand and place it about two inches from the face. In this manner the amateur will soon be able to tell whether it is hot enough to begin soldering.

Now take a piece of tin (iron or steel base tinned on each side) with a small boh- in it and try to solder it. We will assume that the amateur has complied with all the foregoing rules; that is to say, that the piece of tin is cleaned and flux put on where the soldering is to take place, the iron cleaned, and a sufficient quantity of solder picked up and transferred to the tin. The iron is now-elevated, causing the solder to drop on the tin; then touch the same with the iron. If the iron is hot enough it will melt the solder, causing it to run through the hole, no matter how small, and form a lump on the other side of the tin. If the iron is not hot enough, the solder will only stick a little to the surface, and may easily be picked off. Now, to make a good job, try to strike a happy medium. Let some of the solder run through the hole and mix with the tin. The remaining solder on top may be left there, or wiped off with cotton waste or a greasy rag.

Therefore, always have the iron as hot as possible, and keep it on the object to be soldered long enough to thoroughly heat it to the same temperature as the iron, so that the solder will run like mercury; and if the object is thoroughly clean, the solder will stick. Rosin as a flux is used extensively on tin.

A granite pan with a hole in it can be soldered in the same way. First remove the granite or agate around the hole, about 1/8 inch all around, either on one or both sides. This is best done with the end of a small file. The iron or steel base should be scraped until a metallic surface appears. Put flux on both sides, and hold a greased rag on one side to prevent the solder from running off. Then proceed as before described.

If pewter, tin, or other soft metals are to be soldered, it requires a little more practice, when sometimes only a touch of the iron will destroy the article.

In soldering large flat or round pieces together, the surfaces should always be tinned first. This can be done either with the iron or by heating over the Bunsen burner until the solder, dipped in flux, melts; then wipe off with a rag. The pieces are now held or clamped together and heated again, so that the solder melts and runs. More solder may be added as before described. This is generally called "sweating."

After the soldering is done the flux should be wiped off with a rag and then washed off with some soda water, to prevent the corrosion of the metal.