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Favorite heat shrink heating tool for small and tight spaces?

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  • Favorite heat shrink heating tool for small and tight spaces?

    I've been putting off asking for too long: Do any of you have a favorite tool heating tool for occasions when you working with situations where it is impractical to use an old stand by such as an open flame from a butane lighter?

    Thank You.

  • #2
    If you have room, I use my small soldering iron.
    The area on the iron between the tip and barrel.
    "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." Winston Churchill
    Terry

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    • #3
      My fave is the Ungar “Princess” Heat Gun. (Now made by Weller.) It is small and light and has attachments for directing air flow to exactly where you need it. Including a curved attachment that wraps around the tubing you are heating so you don't need access to the back side of the wire. They cost ~$300 new but I have seen them for $5 on auction sites. I salvaged mine out of a junk box headed for the trash. It was beat up and ugly but it basically just needed a new plug on the power cord to get working. Been using it now for over 20 years.
      Last edited by Tom Phillips; 08-08-2014, 02:43 PM.

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      • #4
        Amen. I use the same tool whether the space is cramped or not - a heat gun.
        Education is what you're left with after you have forgotten what you have learned.

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        • #5
          Mine is my cigar torch lighter.
          --Jim


          He's like a new set of strings... he just needs to be stretched a bit.

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          • #6
            I bought a whole box of those small tubing Ungar shrink guns at an electronics flea market for $20 in the early 90s and they were still going strong in 2003 when I gave it all away.
            Now, I use my hot air station for SMD rework. They make nozzles for exacting this job. The heat and airflow rate are fully adjustable so it works for any size tubing.
            Depending on the material and thickness of the tubing, it gets stiff and brittle if using open flame so using air really is best.

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            • #7
              Thanks everyone.

              I didn't realize how many inexpensive heat guns are available on ebay.

              Thanks for the tips.

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              • #8
                Lots of fancy heat guns but I just flick my Bic. I can see how Gui-tarzan could make a cigar lighter work - I've always wanted a fancy-dan Calibri for this purpose but last I saw $150 on up - kind of spendy & I know I'd lose it. Some folks get good use out of those pen-sized butane torches. Same thing, I know I'd put mine in the tool box without extinguishing it. I'll stick with the Bic.
                This isn't the future I signed up for.

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