De-Soldering Trick

[surfsup]

Learned a nice little trick today thought I'd share...

I use the wick but to be honest it is a bit thick and hard to work with. Today I wanted to clean up a lug on a pp pot and it was hard to get in there with the iron and the wick. So I noticed i had some shielded coax "shield" that I cut and stripped off that was still shaped like a tube about 1 inch long.

So pinched this on my small pliers and went in with that and the iron. In like 4-5 seconds, the lug was totally cleaned up. The shield is so much thinner than the wick and heats up fast. So from now on I am saving all my scrap "shielding".

Anyway, hope this helps someone.

[Structo]

Cool trick.

I like to use my trusty solder sucker for most cleanup.

[img:465:79]http://www.edsyn.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/pt109lp.jpg[/img]

The Edsyn Soldapullt PT109

http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=PT109

It has a longer stroke and stronger suction.
This will slip over the solder lugs on pots and suck them clean.

Don't waste your time or money on the short little ones like Radio Shack carries.

I've bought two of these over the last 20 years or so.
You can also buy new teflon tips for them as they wear out.

They are having a special on one that is about the same except it has a smaller diameter tip for less than half price.
http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=PT209

The trick with any of these is to keep them cleaned out and lube the O ring for a tight seal and stronger suction.

[Cliff Schecht]

I hate solder suckers now. I use braid for everything except the biggest f-ups. I try to keep multiple sizes on my bench so that I have the appropriate wick for the job at hand.

Surfsup: What might help your trick even more is to dip that cable shield in rosin like real braid. The rosin helps the solder wet and encourages it to flow through capillary action up into the braid. Without the wick the solder might listen to gravity and drip down instead of going into the braid. I have some unfluxed braid that is utterly useless unless I dip it in rosin first.

[vibratoking]

I like the way solder suckers get the solder out of there. Especially when the solder joint is big. I don't like the mess that a well-used sucker makes. Little balls of solder leaking out the end and going everywhere.

Wick is much cleaner, but I dislike the fact that it is used 'once' and then disposed. I suppose that braid solves that since it is repurposed. I just don't have that much braid.

In the end, I use both depending on the situation.

[surfsup]

Cliff I don't have any rosin, but I'll consider that. The shielding is so thin it heats up faster than the lug/leads, so it sucks the solder pretty easily. Give it a try once. It was like night and day for me...

[selloutrr]

Rework station

[Zippy]

I don't like the mess that a well-used sucker makes. Little balls of solder leaking out the end and going everywhere.

Yepper, but that's easily dealt with if you just take them apart periodically for cleaning.

I use both solder sucker and braid.

[rp]

Good to know about the coax braid in an emergency.

Wick is expensive, I use a sucker first then wick. Acetone and a q-tip cleans old burnt flux better than anything.

I had one of those big blue/yellow suckers like Tom's. One day whatever plastic tabs were holding it together failed and it blew apart in my hand and all the old solder inside went all over the amp - crazy conductive mess to clean up. It was like 10 years old however and till it failed it was better than all others. Maybe best to retire it before that happens. BTW Tom congrats on becoming moderator, you are an intrepid young man, one day all this will be yours.

[Aurora]

Like Cliff says - I hate solder suckers, except for big lugs. They are mostly murder on PCBs, where even rework stations may destroy the solder pads. I've also encountered those flux-less wicks which are mostly useless.
Flux can be bought in small bottles and even felt tip marker types.
One trick that often come in handy on old joints, is to wet them with fresh solder. Keep a clean tip, and lightly tin it with fresh solder. - then use wicks of appropriate size.. there are many, - I usually keep .8 and 2 mm on my desk.

[Structo]

Well I don't really do any PCB or SMD work so I'm talking about working on a tube amp where things are generally larger with more space around them.

[vibratoking]

I guess a distinction should be made between a unit with and without a PCB.

For 'big' stuff without a PCB I use a sucker and/or wick depending on the size. My suckers, I have about 5, all leak bits of solder and cleaning them to stop it is not practical since you would have to clean it after every suck.

Wick and the rework machine at work for any PCB.

[husky]

Best investment I have ever made.
Works great, never had any problems with pads being buggered
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7idnU0PToqM

[Structo]

Yeah that would be nice but I can't afford a $600 desoldering station.

I wonder if a person could jury rig one of those irons with the squeeze bulb thingy on it.

[img:345:235]http://rsk.imageg.net/graphics/product_ ... 44w345.jpg[/img]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2062731

Take that and instead of the bulb hook up a high temp hose and then connect that to some type of vacuum machine or perhaps a small aquarium pump.
Put a micro switch on the iron to operate the vacuum pump.

I know, hillbilly desoldering but at least it wouldn't cost as much as a car.

[Reeltarded]

I use suckers I found at a pharmacy.

One of the bulbs isn't actually repurposed, just .. umm.. engineered reversal. (yes.. there is a potty joke in there somewhere)

[Fluharty325]

I have often wondered the same thing about hooking up a small vacuum pump and using just the high temp tips and some hose.