Black or Cream?

[Cagey]

You've hit all the combos.

As for cleaning up switch lug solder (or any other soldered part, or removing parts from PC boards) you need a solder sucker.

Also known as a "Desoldering Pump". You can get them just about anywhere, but it appears Amazon has the best deal on them. They want $2.86. Or, you can get them at Sears for $24.95 - whatever's best for you.

If you haven't used one before, they're basically just a short-cycle vacuum pump. There's a tube with a piston inside attached to a spring-loaded rod. You press the rod to force the piston to the end and cock the thing in place, and there's a button to release it at the crucial moment, which causes it to spring back and create a vacuum at the tip on the business end. You use that vacuum to suck up molten solder. Sounds exciting, yes? <grin>

The whole trick is simply knowing when to let it do its thing. Essentially, you heat up the part you want to desolder until the metal in molten, the apply the tip of this thing to it and press the button. Quick. Solder solidifies pretty fast. Lather, rinse and repeat as necessary.

They work like a champ. Everybody who solders should have one. And if anybody suggests you try solder wick or braided solder remover, laugh at them. Any shop foreman worth his salt who saw anybody using that crap would severely reprimand the hapless employee who thought (s)he was doing a Good Thing.

 

[bagman67]

Thanks, Cagey.


I do have some of that desoldering wick, which I picked up for $.49 when I bought my solder at my local electronics megamart, since I figured at $.49 at least I wouldn't pay much to learn that it sucks - which it abundantly does.


Said megamart is a five minute walk from my job, so I'll pop over there at lunchtime and pick up a solder sucker for under ten bucks.  It's worth the extra few bucks to me, at least, to get it RFN instead of waiting for Amazon to shoot it out to me.  Time value of money, etc., etc., don'tcha know.


Separately, I think this level of switching complexity is at the upper end of useful for a knuckle-dragging mouthbreather such as myself.  Steve Morse I ain't.  But it's fun, anyway.

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, I've seen more things ruined, including fingers, from using that braided crap than I care to think about. I don't know why they still make it, other than I've seen some people who weren't coordinated enough to use the pump effectively. A mystery in itself, since there's nothing to it. But, it does involve some close timing to be effective. A little practice is a Good Thing.

Something to keep in mind when using any kind of solder removal is that if possible, you heat up the joint and remove the wire/part, then vacuum up the solder in a separate step. It depends on the situation - it's not always possible. But, if it is, you can usually get away with two short heating cycles rather than several longer ones. Few parts are happy about being heated up at all, let alone repeatedly or for extended periods.

 

[swarfrat]

Wick has its purpose - it's indispensable for SMD parts. But yeah, for general sucking of large blobs of solder I like the pumps