Cigarette lighter, bought specifically for the job (I don't smoke) for the Princely sum of £1 
You are limited to being able to rotate the workpiece with this though, as the lighter flame can only go up. Some blowtorches (like a mini cooks one) can go at all angles, but it seems excessive and likely to damage surrounding parts.
You are limited to being able to rotate the workpiece with this though, as the lighter flame can only go up. Some blowtorches (like a mini cooks one) can go at all angles, but it seems excessive and likely to damage surrounding parts.
My wife's embossing "heat tool."
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/marucemheatt.html
It is cheap and fairly compact to get into tight spaces.
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/marucemheatt.html
It is cheap and fairly compact to get into tight spaces.
Weller Pyropen butane powered soldering iron. It's far better than a proper heat gun for working in tight spaces, or where you want to shrink without melting a nearby component or wire jacket.
Somewhat expensive when I got it new, but there must be cheap knockoffs by now. It's been an extremely useful tool for soldering stuff that's too big or distant to fix on the test bench. Like trucks, saw mills, or a home stereo in Linz, Austria.
Somewhat expensive when I got it new, but there must be cheap knockoffs by now. It's been an extremely useful tool for soldering stuff that's too big or distant to fix on the test bench. Like trucks, saw mills, or a home stereo in Linz, Austria.
star882 said:
Well, try Star's way of doing it, and you'll find that not only is the risk of burning the heat-shrink not an issue, but if making a complete construction in one move, it's real smart.
Mount all the heat-shrink, but don't heat them one by one as you go, but just leave it in place til you're all done, then 5 minutes with the hair dryer will shrink them all in one go.
Magura
Next time I'm trying massive heat-shrinking all-in-one-go construction, that's gonna be awesome !
The reason I'm asking this is because I've developed some form of heatshrink addiction, I wrap everything in color-coded heat-shrink in the final stages of the casework. It's so ... colorful (yeah, I use colored heatshrink all over the place ...)
The reason I'm asking this is because I've developed some form of heatshrink addiction, I wrap everything in color-coded heat-shrink in the final stages of the casework. It's so ... colorful (yeah, I use colored heatshrink all over the place ...)
The issue I had with using a lighter was not burning the heatshrink, but melting the insulation on the wires. I started using a hair dryer when I found that it gets hot enough. (Look for one that is also designed for styling to be sure.)Magura said:Well, try Star's way of doing it, and you'll find that not only is the risk of burning the heat-shrink not an issue, but if making a complete construction in one move, it's real smart.
Mount all the heat-shrink, but don't heat them one by one as you go, but just leave it in place til you're all done, then 5 minutes with the hair dryer will shrink them all in one go.
Magura
Another trick is to put a little hot glue on the connection before the heat shrinking. The heat will melt the hot glue and seal the connection from moisture as well as make it more solid mechanically. Did that on some telephone wiring and it works great. The local ISP does something similar with the broadband lines, but with a special silicone instead of hot glue.
i use the bernzomatic. it is awesome!!!!
like a little blowtorch at the price near to a lighter. flame shoots out and direction and intensity is easily controlled; unlike those cheap stick lighters yhis is like a torch
and good for the grill too!
and it has an led! but not sure how that works
like a little blowtorch at the price near to a lighter. flame shoots out and direction and intensity is easily controlled; unlike those cheap stick lighters yhis is like a torch
and good for the grill too!
and it has an led! but not sure how that works
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