In order to obtain a clear look at the insides of our electronics, without significantly damaging them, there are several tools you will find to be of good use. The following illustrations are lain out below to demonstrate the tools I use on a regular basis, and I have yet to find an actual need for anything else.
My complete toolset:
Now, you may see this picture and have no idea what much of this is, especially if you are new to electronics. Because of this I will go into detail as to what each object is, as well as identifying it in the illustration. To begin with, I will highlight the tools I use to disassemble the actual electronic as a whole. This includes the enclosure, as well as seperating interior parts from each other.
The top object in my picture is a set of Hex Drivers. The driver set I have range from 1/4in. up to 1/2in. They have proved quite useful for removing hex bolts from exterior cases enclosing the electronics, as well as holding hex nuts found on the back of some screws on the interior of the electronics.
The highlighted object in the bottom left is a set of screwdrivers. It has both flathead and Phillip's head screwdrivers in it, ranging from sizes 1/32in. up to 9/64in. You will find various screws throughout all electronics, and this is the tool of choice for getting them out of the way. Also, the flathead screwdrivers make very useful tools for prying apart some pieces that you can't seem to get a finger in between to wedge them apart.
After you disassemble the electronic, it is time to use the pieces that make salvaging possible.
The top two objects are the most necessary out of these three parts, but you will find it hard to successfully salvage without the bottom one (although it isn't impossible). The very top piece is what is known as a Solder Sucker (Solder is Pronounced Saw-der). It works hand in hand with the other top item, known as a soldering iron. Electronic components are held together by a maleable metal with a low melting point, known as solder. In order to remove these components, we have to remove the solder that is between components such as a part and a circuit board, or wires leading to a part. Before doing this, we must prepare our soldering iron, and solder sucker for use.
Preparing the soldering iron is easy. You just plug it in, and let it sit for a few minutes. An easy way to tell if it is heated up is by touching the tip with a wet paper towel. If it steams, then you know the tip is hot. Preparing the solder sucker is a little trickier, and must be done between each piece removed. The solder sucker will come with a sliding latch, a trigger, and a nozzle, with the sliding latch in the upright position. Push the sliding latch downwards until it clicks in place. It can be released by pushing the trigger on the side of the solder sucker. It can then be recocked, by simply pushing down on the latch again.
To begin removal of solder we will want the solder sucker in the locked down position. Then you apply the heated soldering iron to the point of solder you want to remove. Hold it in place until the solder is melted.
After heating the solder to the melting point, place the solder sucker against the section you want to suck up, without removing the iron.
The press the trigger on the side of the solder sucker. This will release the solder sucker slide, sucking up the liquid solder on the part. You will be left with a nice smooth place around the wire that connected the part to the circuit board.
Then you can recock the latch on the solder sucker, which will push out the now dried solder formerly removed from the component. Now that the solder is removed(NOTE: We only removed from one side of the component in the example, but both sides must be cleaned of solder), the tool highlighted in the bottom of the picture can come to good use. After heating up the solder, heat transfers into to the piece you are trying to remove. This can make it burn you if you touch it. It can also just be hard to pull out or have a bent wire you need to straighten. To deal with these many scenarios, we use the needle nose pliers. They are very handy for getting into the hard to reach places to grab wires, and they will keep your hands far enough away, so you won't be burned.
Now that the piece is removed, we have the last tool:
This is a voltmeter. It allows us to test and be sure that a current can flow through the selected part, and that it isn't burnt out or damaged. With further descriptions of a part, it can go on to provide detailed diagnostics of if the part is working as intended (Such as if a resistor is providing the correct resistance).
This completes my list of the tools I will be using on every project. You don't have to have the exact tools I do to perform a successful salvage, but missing tools to perform the tasks I listed will severly limit your capabilities. Also, there are plenty of other tools that go above and beyond what I have listed, and that doesn't make them bad. Many of them are actually quite useful to have, and can make your salvaging life a lot easier.
Happy hunting,
Fletch
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