[Elecraft] Desoldering

[Daryl E. Blycker]

Those of us who have been in electronics a while and have made our own
custom tips for a soldering gun for de-soldering IC's, etc.  have often
bent our own tips out of #12 solid copper wire.  I have had better luck
if I stick the piece of #12 in a
variable speed drill and clamp the other end in the vice, sort of a
crude form of cold-annealing.  Trial and error will determine if the
operation is a success.  The copper hardens, stiffens, and straightens,
and doesn't sag at all when used as a crude desoldering tool to melt
solder on 4 to 10 in-line pins.

Daryl E. Blycker, W7YMG