[Boatanchors] HAKKO 808 Desoldering Gun

[Robert Nickels]

I first encountered the ultimate desoldering tool in the mid 80s while 
touring an NCR plant in the Twin Cities.    Virtually everything was 
through-hole then, and they built some big boards loaded with big DIPs 
and multipin connectors, but they showed us they also had the right tool 
for the job in their repair department - a solder fountain.    They'd 
clip on an IC extractor (the kind with thin metal fingers that latch 
onto the ends of the IC and apply upward pressure) and position it over 
the fountain that produced a pedestal of molten solder large enough to 
cover the entire part.    About 3 seconds after doing so you'd hear the 
"snap" as the extractor would have removed the part from the board, no 
muss no fuss.    I'm sure everyone on the tour went home and told their 
bosses they had to have one ;-)

Here's a 1 minute video showing a similar machine in operation: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AznNwJyzgV4

Chances are if you buy some cheap parts off eBay that look like they've 
been soldered to, they came by way of a machine like this.

73, Bob W9RAN