Was it here that I was reading about turning a RadioShack Desoldering
Iron into an SMT hot air tool? The basic gist is that you remove the
rubber bulb, plug in an aquarium pump on a long-enough air hose, and
pack some (stainless) steel wool inside the de-soldering nozzle. The
pump provides continuous air over the steel wool which facilitates
heat transfer to get the air temp up to something useful. I have
used $800 commercial versions of this at work with great effect.
I have done some initial digging and have come up with the following:
RS De-soldering Tool - $10 new
Weller De-soldering Attachment - in junk box
Aquarium Pump - $7 - $70 new
So... I can use one of my Wellers as the heat source, or I can drop $10
for a dedicated (non-temp-controlled) unit. What I'm hung up on is that
I have no idea what capacity pump to buy. The $70 pump is somewhat large,
but is adjustable. The $7 pump is too small to enclose a golf ball.
There are numerous models in-between, including several with dual taps.
So... has anyone here had any experience building such things? If I
didn't read about it here, I'm baffled where else I would have run
across the info.
Thanks,
-ethan
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Received on Thu May 22 2003 - 08:54:01 BST