Cleaning off de-soldered switches?

[fl0w3n]

I just finished desoldering the vintage blacks from my WYSE doner board I've had sitting forever. 

I'm wondering, how do I clean the last little bits of solder off the switches themselves?

Also, is there any reason to save the plate from the WYSE board, or any of the other components from it (other than the PCB mount Stabs, which I already removed and saved)

[mashby]

I'm curious about this too.

[fl0w3n]

I'm assuming you mean the cleaning part

Also, to clarify, I used a Solder Sucker to initially desolder.  I don't have any braid. 

[Gupgup]

I usually just heat up the top of the pins, and the solder will melt and go on the solder tip. Rinse and repeat.

[fl0w3n]

I usually just heat up the top of the pins, and the solder will melt and go on the solder tip. Rinse and repeat.

Cool! I'll try this. 

I think I need to grab one of those cheap Weller stations everyone suggests before I go and try and solder an entire Phantom + Leopold + another Filco lol

[Gupgup]

I usually just heat up the top of the pins, and the solder will melt and go on the solder tip. Rinse and repeat.

Cool! I'll try this. 

I think I need to grab one of those cheap Weller stations everyone suggests before I go and try and solder an entire Phantom + Leopold + another Filco lol

Get the Hakko 888, it is a truly amazing soldering station. Finish one keyboard and you get your moneys worth.

Also, I'm not sure what a solder sucker is, but if it is one of those desoldering irons with the pumps, they are awful for keyboard PCBs. If it is one of those, pick up one of these

That is how I usually get the extra solder off.

PM me if you have any other questions!


Gupgup

[jcrouse]

I have a Hakko 808 desoldering gun, thanks to the recommendation of MMB, if we c an still call him that. It is simple, stick the pin in the hole, wait a second or two, pull the trigger and slide the switch out. If you are going to do much building in this hobby I highly recommend one.

John

[fl0w3n]

Get the Hakko 888, it is a truly amazing soldering station. Finish one keyboard and you get your moneys worth.

Also, I'm not sure what a solder sucker is, but if it is one of those desoldering irons with the pumps, they are awful for keyboard PCBs. If it is one of those, pick up one of these

That is how I usually get the extra solder off.

PM me if you have any other questions!


Gupgup

That is just a tad steep for what I was thinking budget wise

I was able to do the whole WYSE PCB without much trouble, but I have nothing to compare it to.  Why do you say they suck, and what's the advantage the one you linked has? 

[fl0w3n]

I have a Hakko 808 desoldering gun, thanks to the recommendation of MMB, if we c an still call him that. It is simple, stick the pin in the hole, wait a second or two, pull the trigger and slide the switch out. If you are going to do much building in this hobby I highly recommend one.

John

That's even steeper than the 888, ouch. 

While I'd love something of that ease, I don't think I can justify that cost. 

[Gupgup]

Get the Hakko 888, it is a truly amazing soldering station. Finish one keyboard and you get your moneys worth.

Also, I'm not sure what a solder sucker is, but if it is one of those desoldering irons with the pumps, they are awful for keyboard PCBs. If it is one of those, pick up one of these

That is how I usually get the extra solder off.

PM me if you have any other questions!


Gupgup

That is just a tad steep for what I was thinking budget wise

I was able to do the whole WYSE PCB without much trouble, but I have nothing to compare it to.  Why do you say they suck, and what's the advantage the one you linked has?

You can't really regulate the heat, so if you leave it on a pad for too long it can heat it up so much it falls off, and that makes a huge mess.

The advantage of the one I linked is that it really never wears out, you may have to buy new tips for it, but they are a dollar a piece, and that is only if you are clumsy while using it.

Spending 100$ total for two awesome tools is a great thing to invest in, considering those crappy ones could cost you plenty of money replacing them and plenty of money damaging expensive PCBs.

I may be over exaggerating a little, but if you do one or two keyboards you'll have your money's worth in that little of time!

Sorry for ranting, I love talking keyboards


Gupgup

[fl0w3n]

You can't really regulate the heat, so if you leave it on a pad for too long it can heat it up so much it falls off, and that makes a huge mess.

The advantage of the one I linked is that it really never wears out, you may have to buy new tips for it, but they are a dollar a piece, and that is only if you are clumsy while using it.

Spending 100$ total for two awesome tools is a great thing to invest in, considering those crappy ones could cost you plenty of money replacing them and plenty of money damaging expensive PCBs.

I may be over exaggerating a little, but if you do one or two keyboards you'll have your money's worth in that little of time!

Sorry for ranting, I love talking keyboards


Gupgup

No problem

What about the $40 40-Watt Weller station from Amazon?  I think I've heard people suggest that on here before. 

I definitely don't want to ruin my Phantom or GH60 PCB, or any PCB for that matter...but I have too many expensive hobbies already, so I need to keep this one to a minimum lol. 

[WhiteFireDragon]

If you already desoldered the switch, why do you need to make it perfectly clean of solder? That serves no purpose unless you're referring to removing the rest of the solder so you have clearance to pull them out of the through-hole or installing the switch on a different board.

[fl0w3n]

If you already desoldered the switch, why do you need to make it perfectly clean of solder? That serves no purpose unless you're referring to removing the rest of the solder so you have clearance to pull them out of the through-hole or installing the switch on a different board.

I'm going to be using them on a different board, but I figured it would just make my resoldering easier if I had a clean switch to start with. 

Is that not the case? 

[The_Beast]

Not unless you have a big glob of solder on the pins

[TheProfosist]

Get a soldaput and a Hakko FX-888 with the smallest chisel tip and some nice solder