[Elecraft] Cleaning out those tiny little plated thru holes

[James T. "Jim" Rogers]

	Once of my least favorite things to do is to have to change a component on
a pc board. Solder wick and solder suckers just don't work as well as I
would like them to and more often than not there is left behind a hard
kernal of solder right is the middle of a plated thru hole that defies your
every effort to remove it.
	One approach is to push the leg of the component thru the hole while
heating the pad surrounding the hole. Can I even begin to tell you the times
that has found me face to face with disaster.
	I have tried using  those irons with the built on bulb, and have found in
more than one occasion the pad resting on the tip of the iron. Bummer. So I
tend to use a really low wattage iron, that does a good job as long as good
heat transfer is assured by "wetting" the tip before applying it to the
component and pad.
	While working on a board today, and fearful of the embarassment of a lifted
pad, I began to look around the shack for a piece of stainless steel wire.
Solder will not adhere to it and it makes a great tool to clean the hole for
the new component. I found just the thing in my wifes sewing kit...those
pins you remove from your new shirts. They have a little round ball on top
to protect your fingers and with a little heat on the pad will push that
goop right out of there. Let everything cool down, about 10 seconds and
remove the pin.

73 Jim, W4ATK
K2 #4028