On Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:55:12 -0700 (PDT), "Mr. INTJ" <mr.intj@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>I started doing hobby electronics again fairly recently, and recycling/
>scavenging is a big draw for me. As it happens, my company throws away
>lots of useful stuff, and over the past year I've brought home lots of
>circuit boards with various useful parts on them.
>
>I've got a solder sucker and solder wick/braid, but components with
>more than two or three leads continue to be a problem for me. I have a
>little soldering station with a soldering iron, but I've been thinking
>that I probably need some hot tweezers or a heat gun of some kind.
>Most of the stuff that I'm recovering from these boards are through-
>hole components ... I haven't graduated to SMT-at-home just yet.
>
>I don't mind springing for the right tools, but I don't want to buy
>something only to find that it still isn't very effective.
>
>I'd like to hear from the folks that do a significant amount of this
>kind of thing (desoldering), and which tools/methods they favor.
If only the components are im****tant, and not the board itself, then a
propane torch with a fan head can work. Wave the flame over the back
until the solder liquefies, whack the board on the workbench, then chase
after all the parts that just popped out. Beware of flying molten
solder. Whacking the board inside a (non-flammable) box helps to keep
the parts and the solder drops corralled, of course.
If both the components and the board are im****tant (or you want to
practice for when they may be), you will find that, after you've wicked
or sucked all easily accessible solder from a multi-pin object, it's
still held fast to the board by the multiple tiny solder points. What
can be helpful is to briefly reheat each pin with a clean iron and then
****ge the pin with a dental probe or knife blade towards the center of
the hole as the iron is removed and the solder cools. Often a brief
touch with the iron is all that's needed and you can go down a row of
pins very quickly,
As regards SMT, it's really not that difficult (often easier than
through hole); it just looks intimidating, at first. There are several
tutorials on the web. A good place to start is the tutorial section over
at http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php
--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
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