# Desoldering Pin



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I've been working on a new electronic project, and as typical, in doing revision/fine tuning, a wire broke off at the circuit board.

We've all seen de-soldering suckers and solder wick, but both require you to turn over and stabilize the board, which is not always so easy with umpteen wires attached/tangled. Then you have to deal with slop over to the adjoining solder pads causing shorts as you heat the blob.

So why can't there be a tool that heats a pin the size of a component lead, that you can simply insert into the hole where your wire came out, (or one of the other dozens of holes on the board that gets covered with solder), and remove it leaving a nice clean hole?

It's amazing that none of the soldering companies has come up with this, at least for the hobbiest that I've seen.


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

toddalin said:


> I've been working on a new electronic project, and as typical, in doing revision/fine tuning, a wire broke off at the circuit board.
> 
> We've all seen de-soldering suckers and solder wick, but both require you to turn over and stabilize the board, which is not always so easy with umpteen wires attached/tangled. Then you have to deal with slop over to the adjoining solder pads causing shorts as you heat the blob.
> 
> ...


Todd - I think the surface tension of the solder would cause the hole to fill up again using what you describe---- I use a device like this one and it works very well..... would it fit into your maze of wires?

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062731

dave


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I use the same tool as Dave. I have de soldered a lot of boards with them still mounted in the unit. 

JJ


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

toddalin said:


> I've been working on a new electronic project, and as typical, in doing revision/fine tuning, a wire broke off at the circuit board.
> 
> We've all seen de-soldering suckers and solder wick, but both require you to turn over and stabilize the board, which is not always so easy with umpteen wires attached/tangled. Then you have to deal with slop over to the adjoining solder pads causing shorts as you heat the blob.
> 
> ...


Todd - another trick that I use when a hole is plugged with solder is to heat it and insert the tip of a long stainless steel probe (very sharp & very gently tapered so it goes in a good ways) - since the SS won't easily take solder the hole remains open when the probe is pulled out.

The other trick I use (and I recommend this only for seasoned "solderers!") is to heat the pad and immediately bang the board on my work bench - this usually empties the hole but your mileage may vary as may the condition of your board & components after shocks are applied!

dave


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

The idea is to not flip over the board because that has a tendency to dislodge the mass of wires, and when populated with components and heat sinks, the board won't sit nice and flat upside down. You then work at an angle and the solder tends to "run" possibly (and with my luck) onto the adjoining solder pad. Also, quite often when you look at the board from the bottom, you don't know which hole is which from the top side and could clear solder out of an unpopulated/incorrect hole that just had some solder in it.

I envision a heated stainless steel or aluminum "needle" with a spring plunger/trigger that would push it down in a quick jerk after the solder has melted. (Just the opposite of a solder sucker.) This would pop the molten solder out of the hole.


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

I like your desoldering tool, Dave. I actually use an even simpler device that just applies an instant suction as you heat the terminal on the PWB. I don't have a picture of it like you do, but I got it at Radio Shack and just asked for a "solder sucker" and the sales person knew exactly what I was talking about. We used to use these many, many years ago when I started out in the electronics industry. Yours though is a little nicer and more sophisticated, and I can't believe that I paid much less for mine that the price listed on yours.

Ed


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## dbodnar (Jan 2, 2008)

eheading said:


> I like your desoldering tool, Dave. I actually use an even simpler device that just applies an instant suction as you heat the terminal on the PWB. I don't have a picture of it like you do, but I got it at Radio Shack and just asked for a "solder sucker" and the sales person knew exactly what I was talking about. We used to use these many, many years ago when I started out in the electronics industry. Yours though is a little nicer and more sophisticated, and I can't believe that I paid much less for mine that the price listed on yours.
> 
> Ed


Ed - the iron on the one that I showed is really poor and I only use it occasionally but it does work - the trick with the stainless pointer is something that I use frequently to open up holes.

I hate to admit it but I also use the banging the board on the workbench method quite a bit, too!

dave


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Dave, on reading my post in yours, I realize I had a typo. What I had meant to say was "I can't believe that I paid almost as much for my scaled down tool as you did for yours". My original post sounded like I was saying the opposite. And, like you, I too sometimes use the old tried and true "bang the pwb" method too!!

Ed


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## Amber (Jul 29, 2011)

The biggest problem with desoldering a single sided board is that there's really no good way to heat the solder from the component side of the board. You pretty much have to use the iron on the solder side of the board which requires access to that side of the board with the iron. I've seen cases of using the shortcut of cutting the legs off a burned resistor at the body of it, leaving as much leg sticking out as possible, and then soldering the replacement to the legs sticking up from the component side. If a wire breaks off right at the board, there's still a short bit of wire in the hole in the circuit board that has to be removed in order to open up the hole.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I've always used a fluxed section of fine stranded wire to suck up solder. Same principle heat the wire not the solder and it will flow to the heat.... 
If you don't care about splatter a shot of compressed air will move molten solder too.

John


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

This is not really a situation where one wants to be bumping the board or using compressed air just to clear a hole. 

http://largescalecentral.com/albums/photo/view/album_id/12127/photo_id/108222


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Maybe time to drill out the hole....t....


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