Before I attack anything particularly valuable, it seems like a good idea to learn how to desolder multi-pin ICs without completely destroying everything around them.

These videos are my practice runs.

I was experimenting with heat, flux and removing chips from scrap hardware before moving on to the considerably more ambitious soldered CPU inside the Amstrad Mega PC.

I was using a general-purpose heat gun here. It worked well enough for experimenting, but proper hot-air rework equipment gives far better control over temperature and airflow and is a much more sensible choice on valuable vintage boards.

Desoldering success!

What about resoldering?

Stay tuned. I might do some of that shortly if I find the energy to wake up before the afternoon.

This practice was about to become considerably less theoretical.