Patrick, I've been using the Weller Portasol PK-1 for several years and don't know how I would get by without it in the field case. Of course I still keep the heat gun for shopwork but the little butane kit works wonders. I also do some electronic work so the soldering iron is of great use and the hot knife is great for removing keybushings that were installed with the white thermoset glue used by several of the factories. I've found the hot air tip to be of limited if any use in piano work but the little torch tip is perfect for heating damper wires, burning shanks, heating a drywall screw for broken shank removal and a multitude of other applications. The flame is a little weak for heating a hammer iron but I picked up a second butane torch at Home Depot (or someplace like that for about $5 that works well for some minor band instrument soldering and heating the aforementioned hammer iron as well as burn in knives. I know that many folks prefer the electric hammer irons and such but the butane is very portable and fast for my work. Refilling just uses the bulk butane cartridges available in any hardware or home store so they're very cheap to run. In short, worth every penny in my estimation. Hope this helps. Allan Allan L. Gilreath, RPT agilreath@mindspring.com -----Original Message----- From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf Of J Patrick Draine Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 2:22 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Re: Gadgets? On Tuesday, December 11, 2001, at 11:43 PM, Joseph Garrett wrote: > I could go on for days about such. My favorite place for tool cases of > all > sorts, is Jensen Tool, in Phoenix. Speaking of Jensen, this post reminded me I had been intending to look into an alternate heat gun (ie compared to the electric Unger heat gun that died on me a long time ago) that another tech showed me a few years ago. It's the Weller Portasol [WelPortsol] "Butane Powered Tool Sets: Tools operate as a cordless soldering iron, open-flame torch, flameless heat tool and hot knife. Sets include tips for all four functions. Fully adjustable heat source." http://www.jensentools.com/product/group.cfm?parent_id=54345 Any of you using one of these? Well worth the bucks, or have you gone back to those $3 butane lighters? TIA, Patrick
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