ents before using them? I used to do it to thousands of salvaged 256Kb DRA M back in the IBM AT clone days, when they were scarce. I was getting board s from Unisys for certified destruction that had 144 on each board. I would float the boards on the molten solder and run a ling, thin screwdriver und er the IC to loft them off the board. There was slag on the pins, so I woul d skin the top of the pot as I used small needle nose pliers to dip the lea ds into the solder, then tap the pliers against the solder pot to remove th e excess. They looked better than new parts, since the wave solder process was done with 80/20. We sold the ICs for $2.75 to computer stores at a time there was almost no supply. I never had one brough back as defective.
rounded, so with a wrist strap there was no problem with ESD.
ap and let cool. I have two Esico 650W for large work, the 70T which is rou nd, and the 75T which is square. I use a smaller (Model 36, 250W ) for lead s and loose parts.
drops and dross around the solder pot. It went into a large can, until it was full. Then I would use a really large pair of channel locks to dump the liquid solder out of the pot, into an aluminum pan. I would use a wire bru sh to clean the layer of crud from inside the pot. It builds up from old fl ux, and other crud. Once clean, I would fill it wit the droppings and dross , and melt it back down until it was a little more than full, again. Surfac e tension allowed about 1/16" of solder above the edges of the pot. I ended up with over 25 pounds of clean, solid disks of solder that was used to ti n wires. It was fun, being creative by truly recycling old electronics. :)
About $1200 an hour, for my boss. :)
There are now cheap, and small Chinese solder pots on the market.
My first need was back in the days of Weller 8200 soldering guns, to pre ti n new copper tips. That was over 50 years ago. :)
After that, I made tips for my Weller SP23 soldering irons from scrap weldi ng rods. cut then, thread them, and tin them. I mad my last batch 45 years ago, and I still have one or two new tips left left. I got the scraps from the welding shop at Ft. Greely, and borrowed a die and wrench. I could buy new irons in Fairbanks, but no chisel tips.