Any tips for working on thru hole pcbs?

I'm working on a dbx 166 (blackface ones) which has dual sided pcb with parts soldered on both sides.  I've never messed with a pcb like this before and its like I've never bewildered before!

Any tips (technique, tools, etc) for removing parts?  In not terrible at getting resistors off now but I'm hesitant to do the vca s and ics.

Thanks!

cut the part off the board if possible so it does not drag heat,

solder wick the leads right out of there and stay away from expensive de-soldering machines because they end up o the shelf oce you have mastered the above method, 

Removing parts from plated through-hole is a pain.

First, if it uses lead-free solder, you may want to remove what you can with an iron and a solder sucker, then add some leaded solder to lower the melting point a little.  There's also low-melting-point solder specifically designed as a removal aid.  I forget the name of it, though.

As far as tools, a good vacuum sucker helps a lot, as does braided wick.  If you can justify it, nothing beats a rework station with an integrated vacuum.

For ICs, since you're fighting so many pins, you may not get them all clear of solder enough to pull the part out.  In that case, you might need to heat up several pins in one area and work the chip out of the board while it's still molten.  One side, then the other, then the diagonal side, and so on.  In this case, it can actually help to ADD solder, since it will conduct heat through the whole glob rather than having a few places where there's a (relatively) cool point of contact between the pin and the plating.

It's stuff like this that makes me appreciate SMD.    Just hang in there.

I bought this Haako desoldering kit a year or so ago and I have no idea how I got along without it.

http://www.tequipment.net/Hakko/FR-300-Kit3/Desoldering-Equipment/Rework-Stations/?b=y&v=7765

It isn't the cheapest solution but it has been great and makes removing through hole parts super easy.  I'm not a professional tech but found that, for the amount of times I had to desolder something, having a good way to do it was totally worth the price. 

Cutting the part out first is a very good idea if you don't have an easy tool like the Haako. 

Awesome thanks for the tips.
That solder station looks nice but too pricy for me.  I know I would use it but still its a lot of clams.

I will dig up my solder wick, I never been much into it I always preferred the hand pump but it's definitely not cutting it on this plated hole business.

I'll try some more tomorrow!

The simplest solution is to sacrifice the part being removed. Cut all its legs off then simply remove the short remaining lengths with a solder sucker.

Cheers

Ian

The only thing that worked for me was using a hot blower (the one for SMD work). You need to set the temperature very precisely though. Otherwise you can easily ruin your board. But it can make removing large ICs (like dip 16-18) quite easy.

Sometimes it's better to remove the solder after you have removed the component.  I find that leaving the solder there or even adding a bit more can help spread the heat through to the other side of the the board, which releases the component.  I then use my Hakko to clear the hole.

In a nutshell there are a few techniques & sometimes one is more suitable than another.

Try chip quick for some things.... for multi pin stuff like switches or ic's much easier to cut them out and then remove each pin one at a time until clean then add a socket for easier access in the future.  The trick to anything as far as removal is making sure the solder is in a molten state when removing anything, otherwise you are more then likely going to pull a trace and cause damage...

AH!  Yes, Chip Quick -- that was the stuff I was talking about.  It lowers the melting point of the entire solder blob so it stays molten longer, giving you time to pull the part out before it solidifies again.

Awesome I'm going to look for the chip quick.  Seems a bit pricy at quick glance... But I hate ruining otherwise good parts.

I tried some of the mods that are listed from mod defication (great name eh), basically Jim Williams mods without all the gory details (or credit I think).  Basically recalled the power supply and changed some cao values in the signal path and changed resistors to mil spec.  I don't know if it's actually any better sounding but it's definitely louder.  Next time I have some time I'll try changing some of the chips and put all this good advice into practice.