Before we get started, I’d like to give a thumbs up to my tool of the day, the Engineer Inc “Solder Sucker” desoldering pump!
Okay, here’s what happened. A few days ago I got fed up with the “enter” key on my keyboard, as it had been sticking. I must have spilled something on the keyboard at some point, because it was literally sticking a little with each keypress.
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This wasn’t the primary enter key, but the one on my number pad, and so it saw consistent but less regular use. Still, it bugged me.
I took the keycap off, which you can easily do on a mechanical keyboard, and tried to clean under it.
Didn’t work.
I tried cleaning different parts on and around that enter key for the next couple of days.
Didn’t work.
Today, I removed the keycap and then its stabilizer parts. When you have a large key, such as the “enter” key, spacebar, or shift keys for example, they have an electromachanical switch and stabilizers on either side.
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Aha, things were a little gooey at the bottom, and so one of the stabilizers were sticking to the PCB underneath every couple of presses. It wasn’t a big deal, but the slight disturbance struck a nerve and frustrated me.
A little swab with alcohol and everything was clean, right? Yep. Nicely done, I mentally patted myself on the back.
Now, to put it back together…
Uh-oh. Everything released and popped out easily, but I couldn’t get it to pop back together.
I struggled, I searched for YouTube videos, I struggled some more, and finally I gave up.
As soon as I watched the first out of two or three videos, I realized that removing the enter key’s switch, stuck in the middle of where the stabilizers needed to go, would make for easy reassembly.
But I didn’t want to have to desolder the key and the resolder it back together. All that work for a 30 second re-lube and reassembly operation? Surely I could figure out a way to make things work.
So, I spent maybe an hour, hour and a half, trying to find a way for things to clip together, including the initial struggling before I took to YouTube. It only took a moment to take things apart, surely there was a way to put it all back together quickly and easily, and without soldering, right?
In the end, I pushed things out of the way on my bench, plugged in my fume extractor, plugged in my soldering iron, retrieved my solder (which I keep out of reach in case my kids explore the cabinets unsupervised), grabbed my Solder Sucker desoldering pump, and got to work.
I removed solder from two dummy holes (since there’s no LED in these keycaps), removed the two switch keys, and the switch came out fairly easily.
I reassembled the stabilizers, installed them in the keyboard in a matter of seconds, resoldered the switch to the board (I had to do this twice as it wasn’t perfectly flush the first time), put everything back together, and everything seems to be working.
I had some cleanup to do, and the tubing tip of my Solder Sucker required a toothpick to extend its lift. Without those setbacks, everything took a maybe 5 minutes to do.
I was so hesitant about the hassle it would take to set up for and clean up after desoldering and soldering, that I spent more than 10X longer trying to “save time.”
This wasn’t the first time a shortcut backfired, and it won’t be the last.
Well, at least I know for next time time that there’s no way to reassemble keyboard rstabilizers without involving soldering. And hey, *knock on wood* nobody got hurt and I didn’t break anything.
Have you made similar mistakes, with tool-related shortcuts that took longer than the “right path” you ended up having to take anyway?
Now, about that Engineer’s Inc Solder Sucker – I’ve got some other desoldering tools in my kit, but this one see the most use. It’s not perfect – it can be an ergonomic mess at times due to its small size, but it gets the job done when it matters. I also think it’s too pricey for beginners though. If you’re just getting started with soldering, buy something cheaper – a basic desoldering pump or desoldering wick.
I bought one of these desoldering pumps from I Heart Engineering (sadly now defunct) back in 2013, and another from Adafruit back in 2014. So far, so good.
Buy Now via Amazon
Buy Now via Adafruit (Better Pricing)
Edsyn makes a very good (and very large) desoldering pump for around the same price. If you’re feeling cheap, a bunch of companies offer knock-offs for less. The Edsyn is made in the USA, the knock-offs are not.
Toolfreak
I’ve gone the route of taking a longer time to find out the shortcut isn’t going to work than it would to have just done it the way you’re supposed to, sure.
I wouldn’t say it was always a mistake to do so, though. I learned what doesn’t work, which saves me time in the future not trying to do it, and can relay my experience to others to save them time in the future as well.
Also, for all the times trying a shortcut doesn’t work, a lot of the time it does, and leads to a better understanding of how the thing I’m working on functions, which may help me out with another similar situation in the future.
Jim Felt
What a fun adventure. Though better you then I.
Plus “we” got a cool post out of it though I’ve never once had a keyboard go south.
Stuart
Really?
I used to go through wireless keyboards every 2-3 years. A key would break, sometimes after attempting to clean it, other times on its own.
Mechanical keyboards are wired, but I can remove the key caps for a good cleaning, and even replace switches if needed. This is all on top of the better typing feel.
Eric
Your not alone, I used to go through a membrane keyboard every 1-2 years on average. Granted some of those were my fault for spilling something on them. A few years ago I tried a mechanical keyboard to see what the hype was all about and never looked back. I hate when I have to use a membrane keyboard now, it just feels off. And it is nice to be able to easily pull the key caps to swap them out or clean it.
There are some wireless mechanical keyboard options these days. There aren’t a lot of options but there are some.
As far as shortcuts go I’ve had mixed experience. If it’s something I’m probably only going to ever do once then it’s usually faster to just do it “by the book” unless I quickly see something that looks easier. But if it’s something I could do on a regular basis it can for sure be worth the time to try and find a better way. It may take longer the first time, but if works out you’ll get that time back and a lot more in the future.
Jim Felt
“Apple” corded and/or wireless for maybe 20 years. Not counting screens and laptops.
Different key stroke feedback but for me it’s okay.
Colleagues have lost a few but those have always been attributable to “spills“.
BMW v. Tesla? ;-)~
Senorpablo
If you like a desoldering pump, a desoldering GUN will blow your mind. They’re not inexpensive, but they are absolutely indispensable if you have more than a few joints to desolder. Not only are they 20x faster, they do a much cleaner job and prevent damage to PCB’s and components. It’s been one of the ultimate expressions of: the right tool for the job, I’ve ever experienced. It’s night and day.
Something like the Hakko FR-301:
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR-301-Desoldering-Tool/dp/B07BKSLLG9
Stuart
It’s been on my wishlist along with a hot air gun and SMD tools, but I wouldn’t use it enough to warrant it.
Although… I have a big part repair I’ve been putting off, maybe that’ll be a good time to have a serious look at upgrade options.
Thanks for the idea! That Hakko isn’t too over-powered?
fred
Those hot air rework stations seem to be what folks use in “industrial” settings. They are surely nice. But based on the only one that I’ve seen – which had a screen that showed a magnified image of the circuit board – they must be mighty expensive propositions. Not for the occasional user. Sort of like buying a CAT excavator to dig an occasional hole in the garden.
Stuart
Depends on the brand – no-name basic setups start at $50, better import brand names start at $175 or so.
I would use it more for seating SMD components and things like that than for “rework.” BUT, that’s more for the next step of my projects/experience level. Right now I’m still mostly fine working with prototyping boards and through-hole components. Sometimes it’s not possible, and I select through-hole alternatives. PCB fabrication services are inexpensive and readily available these days, and in theory I could prototype my own boards with a small CNC mill (which I already have). Or, there are still trace-etch-drill methods which I tried to get into more than 20 years ago. But all that would be blended together for me – custom PCB designing, SMD soldering.
fred
What I saw was something like these:
http://regenipage.cafe24.com/default/product/sub1.php?&com_board_category_code=c1
TonyT
Hot air is needed for hand assembling or reworking PCBs with chips that have solder balls under the package, such as BGAs (ball grid arrays) – there is physically NO WAY to solder/desolder those using an iron. So it’s hot air for prototype/rework, or reflow oven for production.
Senorpablo
Not overpowered at all, it’s ideal for through hole work. It was hard to justify the price for me as well, as I don’t need one often enough myself. But, after a nightmare experience repairing a controller board from my TIG welder using a hand pump, almost destroying a few traces, I told myself next time I’d get the gun. Fast forward many years and a relay went out on a no longer available board in our expensive refrigerator. Didn’t want to risk damaging the board again. Bought the gun and a new relay, all for cheaper than it would’ve been to send the board to a repair company. Kicking myself for not buying it for the previous job.
Stuart
I did some research and ordered one last night.
I have a repair coming up where I need to remove a strip of pins, and I have an older keyboard to replace some switches and LEDs in, and it looks like the 301 would make for much easier work. It seems pricey, but if it makes repair work easier, might be worth it. If I already had this in-hand, chances are I would have just done the repair properly without first trying shortcuts to avoid desoldering and soldering the switch that was in the way.
Senorpablo
Can’t wait to read about your thoughts and experience with it!
Peter Fox
I agree, I have had the previous model the Hakko 808 for about 10 years and it almost makes desoldering fun.
hard to justify but absolutely worth it if you ever have to desolder anything with more than a few pins
JoeM
Funny thing is… Half the time I do the wrong thing, and it leads me to the right thing by default.
As to the Engineer SS-02… Strange things started happening when I tried to buy that up here in Canada… I could get the solder sucker… but the recommended valve oil that everyone on ToolGuyd said it needed became impossible to find anywhere.
I have a very basic solder sucker… I’ve never TRULY liked the form factor of the traditional ones, as they exert a LOT of sudden shock pressure on all the threads, and once you clean one out, or try to troubleshoot a malfunction… you’re at the risk of re-seating the threading into very loose threads, that have been ground down over time by the spring mechanism.
But I can say this… When all else fails with Computers… Rubbing Alcohol. Dissolves Inkjet Ink, cleans Print Heads, acts as an oil solvent for many problems one encounters on keyboards… It’s a great De-Gunker. Especially if your source is Hand Sanitizer. THAT will actually clump up dust and debris to be washed away. As long as no electricity is running through the keyboard while it’s still got liquid on it (Alcohol will at least evaporate faster than water.) then the Keyboard will be fine. Yeah, you’ll be out of a keyboard while it dries, but it won’t be as long as if you blow up the keyboard.
Stuart
Can’t use alcohol in a place you cannot access.
JoeM
Quite true! But then again, if you can’t get to it, you can’t see it needs the Alcohol. So, that pretty well renders the use of Alcohol useless anyways.
It’s really just down to one simple thing. There are an awful lot of gunky things that get involved in technology. If you can see gunk where it shouldn’t be, surprisingly, Rubbing Alcohol usually ends up being how to remove it safely. If it gets to the point of needing OTHER special solvents? Well… then you’re risking the integrity of the PCB, especially the traces made in tin, silver, or gold.
Stuart
I used electrical cleaner alcohol, but higher-percentage drugstore alcohol usually does the trick too.
I tend to use alcohol on things like heatsinks, and the more industrial specialty stuff on other types of cleaning tasks.
Stacey Jones
Yep, several times, but it’s all good unless I mess it up and have to toss it in the trash. I get better at putting things back together, YouTube definitely helps, but I had to give up on a cheap pocket knife of all things! Just tossed it.
taras
Sometimes this is the process one must go through to find out what works.
“Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.”
taras
This is something I learned from a fridge magnet we had as a kid, lol.
Corey R
My father’s take on this line is “Experience is where you learn the answers before you know what the question is.”
Branden H
“There’s never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over” is a great quote that helps keep me in line when I’m working on stuff.
Wayne R.
I like the alternate too: “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
Aaron SD
It’s always faster to take the time and get it right the first time then having to redo it.
I tell my kids it’s not about force, it’s about doing it right.
I damaged a TiVo remote trying to force it open until I stopped and watched a couple videos showing the trick of removing the faceplate that hid 4 screws. I should have followed my advice sooner….
Dave
I do nearly everything myself (mechanical/construction, etc). As long as it’s in my after-work time, I don’t mind ‘wasting” time at all, as I usually learn and that helps me in future endeavors.
I have gotten in over my head hundreds of times, but I can nearly always ‘get out”. On the rare occasion that I have to have help ($$), I’m no worse off than if I wouldn’t have tried (except for my time which is worth ZERO if I’d have been sitting idle had I not tackled the project). And even then, I’m better-equipped (both by having the tools and having accumulated more knowledge) for next time.
My mantra: “Go buy the tool even if it costs as much as hiring the job done. Then the next time I can do it myself “for free”. And with inflation/rising labor prices, “next time” will cost more than this time. In the end, you’ll win big-time doing this, assuming you’re “good with your hands”.
I have hired a plumber once in 40 years, and an electrician twice. I’ve NEVER paid someone to do something like put brakes on a vehicle. It’s not what you earn, but what you keep……
MT_Noob
My problem is usually different. I spend far much more time “researching” a problem and watching countless youtube videos in the hopes of finding the one that perfectly explains my exact situation and any tips or tricks.
For example I might end up spending a few hours watching various how to videos on doing a brake job. If I watch 3 different 20 minute videos one day and another three or four the next day then I’ve spent more than two hours on a job that should take less than an hour to do.
Sometimes I watch more than 1 or 2 videos in the hopes of finding an exact match for the make/model/year. Sometimes I watch more videos because I am hoping there might be a time saving tip, or a special tool recommendation, or safety tip, or a more efficient way to do it. And while those might be good reasons, eventually I realize, I just have to simply stop researching and just go do it. Some of that time “researching” is well spent learning, but at some point it becomes lost time that could have been spent elsewhere.
Nathan
happens quite a bit on cars.
Example starter on my car. Everything points to dropping the RH exhaust from the header. So cat, and pipe, and put to the side.
NO I don’t want to break a seal that might also lose 2 bolts . . . . . . . Never been apart for the life of the 11 year old car. I can get my hand in there . . . . I can get both bolts out see . . . . . . Shroud will come down with it and
clank.
clank clank. Now if I turn it this way nope stud is too long. OK if I . . .
clank
Ok so if I can
over a hour of trying while on my back on the driveway and it starts to sprinkle .
Smurf a duck I’ll just knock the exhaust loose . . . . . . 12 minutes later I was starting the engine again. Seriously wasted a hour or so because I knew better.
At least you weren’t on your back in drizzle.
DC
Been there, done that. Found shortcuts on a lot of projects that turned out to be long cuts if I did the project the normal or shop manual way.
Wayne R.
Well, if something goes too easily, I won’t learn much other than “Next time it’ll be even easier,” which won’t happen, and *then* I learn something.
Mike (the other one)
You just need a dishwasher-safe keyboard.
David Zeller
Look! A site for them!
https://www.wetkeys.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=dishwasher+safe+keyboard&Submit=Submit
(No affiliation or recommendation. I’ve never heard of them before.)
Stuart
I’ve seen mechanical keyboards placed in the dishwasher before, but the issue here was so inaccessible that probably wouldn’t have helped.
ToolGuyDan
Not exactly the same thing, but I figure a link to https://xkcd.com/1205/ would be appropriate nonetheless.
For mech keyboards, may I suggest a setup like the CTRL or ALT from Drop? The keyswitch sockets on these boards are solderless, allowing you to quickly and easily pull them out, and that also makes it really easy to do things like have a different set of keyswitches on your F keys than on your main ‘board.
Personally, I use a Unicomp, which is a direct successor (they literally own the molds!) of the legendary IBM Model M. I’ve only ever had one key stick due to a spill, and fixing it took less than a minute, including the time to find something flat to use as a keycap puller.
Paul
For quick little jobs like that, and just about any other job, solder suckers…well, they suck. There is this amazing stuff that is super cheap, as in cheaper than ANY solder sucker on the market including the classic big blue plastic ones, that works better than any of them. It’s called desoldering braid.
https://www.amazon.com/Steren-400-168-Desoldering-Braid/dp/B004NEUII8
Very simple. Heat solder, hold braid near it and woosh…it sucks up all the solder. Snip off the used section like toilet paper and go again…SLURP, gone.
All it is, is very fine braided copper wire. It works on surface area…it has a lot more so it naturally wets (sucks dry) your parts and draws all the solder up into itself. No violent puffs of air, no little sticky annoying glob that you just can’t get at. No waiting for just the right moment and then trying to hold tension on the part while squeezing the trigger. Just treat it like you would your coil of solder except that instead of applying, it removes. It’s that simple.
One of those stupid things I learned about in school 30 years ago and had that “aha” moment when I realized that my blue plastic super sucker was a waste of time. At that time surface mount stuff was just becoming a “thing” and braid worked so much better at stripping solder than the guns and suckers ever did that I was hooked.
Stuart
I have desoldering braid, couldn’t find mine quickly enough the other day, it’s probably in the basement with my portable kit. Solder braid requires more care and often more space to work around pins than a pump, at least in my experience. Don’t choose one over the other, make sure you have both.
Corey Moore
It’s a fine line to walk at times lol I’ve certainly done similar (read:worse) and found myself trying to finish a task by day’s end, after being positive much earlier that my clever new way was gonna save me so much time.
Nate B
The Engineer solder sucker has an advantage because of the silicone tip, but I find that the plunger never clears the previous cycle’s solder, and I have to grab the booger and yank it out before I can try again. It’s half wonderful, half terrible.
Edsyn makes a smaller Soldapullt pump, which I enthusiastically recommend. It’s known as the “metric” soldapullt, part number SS350. It’s just big enough to do the job, small enough to handle easily, and seldom clogs. Maybe I should get some silicone hose for its tip…
And yes, if you can justify owning a pump-driven desoldering station, they’re mindblowing. Er, mindsucking? Being able to suck continuously while wiggling the lead in the hole to make sure it’s clear all around it? One shot and done, period. There’s a bit of technique to it (backing off but continuing to wiggle, so the lead can cool without resticking), but you’ll master it quickly and it’ll change how you work with through-hole components.
A similar gamechanger for SMD work is “shovel” type tips. I have a T12 1403 and it’s glorious. Fits my TS100 with a goofy amount of stick-out but it doesn’t matter. I can heat a whole row of pins, or a whole side of a shield can, or a whole side of a TSOP package, and it just falls off the board. I think I’m gonna pick up a second one and a cheap T12 iron to hold it, so I can dual-wield.