Reusing parts questions

[Anthonyj]

So after a long time of on and off agian trying to trouble shoot the xenotron I figured I would just build a new one since they had a sale. Question is how many of the parts can I reuse? The pots, switches, and foot switch baord are easy to test and reuse. What about the ic chips and Bournes transformer are they easy to test and reuse?

 

[jwin615]

Are half of the components supposed to be on one side and half on the other?
You can reuse anything you can cleanly remove without damaging, assuming they aren't damaged already by potentially being install backwards.

 

[falco_femoralis]

I would reuse the pots, LDR's, transformer, any socketed IC's, and the transistors if you can remove them cleanly. Everything else really isn't worth the time.

 

[jwin615]

Bean turned me on to this stuff
I used it for the first time last night. it's great. Wick away what you can then add a dab of this stuff while heating the part a bit. It will stay wet for several seconds, allowing easy removal. It's pricey, but only takes a dab.

 

[pricklyrobot]

Bean turned me on to this stuff…

Yeah Chip Quik is magical!

I’ve bought generic knock-off brands (Indium/Bismuth solder is what you’re looking for) off of EBay for a little less than genuine Chip Quik, and they worked fine.

Especially useful if you need to get a many-legged IC off a board without killing it.