[Elecraft] cleaning pins

[wa2dkg@juno.com]

The Hakko cleaning pins, if you can get them, are expensive, bend easily,
and can cause finger burns even when held by the coil...Been there, done
that...When the tips become clogged with carbon from the enamel that is
burned off the magnet wire, they can be VERY hard to clean...Pieces of
music wire will get hot and have to be held with pliers and FORCED into a
tip that doesn't want to give up...This can result in a slip that drives
a sharp wire deep into ones fingers...Again, been there...
 
I find that a drill bit is the best tool to use to clear out this burned
in carbon because as you turn the drill with a pin vise, it BORES into
the carbon and extracts it up its flutes, removing it...The Haako
cleaning wires and the music wire do not remove the carbon, they push it
ahead into the gun...YMV...

Jerry, wa2dkg