Date   : Wed, 29 Feb 1984 00:57:00 cst
From   : Eaton.HFED@hi-multics
Subject: re:desoldering

Some desoldering techniques that I have heard of or used:

1. Hand held solder sucker ball and soldering iron. (pros are good with these)
2. Vaccuum pump with desoldering iron. (excellent and expensive)
3. Propane torch and chip puller. (used on surplus boards only)
4. Special multiprong tips which desolder all pins simultaneously.
5. Solder wick and soldering iron. (I always blow etches)
6. Clip pins off chip using GA54-2 cutters from Diamond Tools then
     trim leads on new chip and solder them to stubs from old chip.
     The cutters have carbide steel tips which actually crush the
     pins across their widest points.  A cheap tool will not hold
     up in repeated use.  As you can tell by the length of this entry
     this is my method of choice for replacing bad chips.  With the
     other methods that I can afford, there always seems to
     be some type of plated through hole damage.
7. One of my fellow technical types uses a variation of no. 6.  He takes a
     hammer and screwdriver, puts the board on a sturdy flat surface
     and smashes the little buggers to smithereens (the chips that is)
     then reuses the old leads just as before.  That always makes me
     nervous but he does it with high density memory boards with no
     ill effects.
8. Spring loaded vaccuum plungers and iron. (so-so)



That's all I can think of at the moment.  Bon Apetit.


       Jesse Eaton @ HI-MULTICS