Hot Tweezers a Hot Tool?

I use a fork tip soldering iron.

I made this one myself

ftp://jjlarkin.lmi.net/Fork_Tip.JPG

by Dremel'ing a notch into a wide Metcal tip.

It can hit both ends of a surface-mount resistor or cap and just slide it off its pads.

John

I use one of these on my solder station:

It is the cat's pajamas for removing and placing two terminal devices. It gets into tight spaces quite easily.

--Winston

A soldering iron and moving between the two legs quickly. So the tweezers look very appealing to me :-)

I have used these tweezers from JBC:

but the tips go bad very quickly. Also the automatic shutoff doesn't work very well (which adds to the tips getting bad). I pre

I'd prefer to buy something from Ersa. In my experience they have the best soldering tips.

Cheaper on eBay (Item number: 250886024405)

--Winston

I keep thinking I'll make one like that, but never know what width to make the notch, since it'll be used on a variety of smd sizes. What do you suggest?

NT

D'you not find that it erodes quickly, now the that iron plating is compromised?

Hot air pencil and fine tweezers. Work of a moment.

I do SOT's the same way.

Your enemy is glue. Fortunately, I rarely encounter it.

Depends what you call "tight spaces".

I use it seldom, only for removing a part. A Metcal heats up in seconds, and you can swap tips in 10 seconds. If the notch erodes a little, it will be even better.

And I can always make another one, every 10 years maybe.

John

Copper tip erosion is exaggerated imho. When a cu tip gets pitted after a lot of use it only takes a minute to file it.

NT

Well, I can only speak from my own experience, but I've found that unsoldering only one end of a chip at a time can be a real PITA; but I've been in Asia and have learned how to use chopsticks, so I use the two-pencil method.

I'd only recommend hot tweezers if they're the kind that heat each tong individually, rather than trying to use resistance unsoldering. (see PITA above.)

Good Luck! Rich

Once youre sure all the solders molten at both ends, push the smd sideways, hardish if necessary.

NT

Hot air rework station. Yes, with the proper nozzle.

I do like hot tweezers, because they're really really fast--they have a set at one of my clients', and I like them a lot.

I've been looking at getting an MX-TALON tweezer set for my Metcal, but they want almost $400 for it with a holder and no tips, which is pure extortion.

So what's everyone's favourite hot air pencil?

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

The Weller Portasol butane iron has a catalytic hot-air tip. Works great on small stuff. Tip is just the right size for SMT stuff.

However! Don't fuel it with 'drugstore' butane, it'll sputter. Use the good stuff like Ultratane.

--Winston

Sounds a bit too much like a blowtorch to me.

I have an electrically heated hot air pencil. Only about 1/4" diameter. Digital control and readout of air temperature up to 450 C. Control of air delivery from flea fart to gale force 8.

Removes anything from 0402 up to PQFP and J leg devices.

Define "ish"

Ok if the adhesion of any tracks under the device is better than the adhesion of the device to the glue.

A twisting action can be safer.