I have done smd soldering in a full-size oven. Prepare your board with the
paste and the parts. put a cast-iron frying pan upside down in your oven
and set to 425 degrees fahrenheit(if your oven adjusts in celcius, you'll
have to get a different oven<g>). Let the oven and frying pan preheat and
stabilize. When you think it's all warmed up, put the board on the frying
pan(the pan stays upside down, it's just a heat mass) and close up the
oven. Remove the board in three minutes, let cool for a few minutes before
washing.

I use Kester paste with water soluble flux. I've had excellent results, and
have even soldered 0.50 mm pitch 160 pin QFPs.

One word of advice: less paste is better than too much.

Why use the bottom of the fry pan? I don't like the taste of electronics in
my food!

Cheerful regards,

Bob

At 10:22 AM 8/12/97 +1000, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>I've had this crazy idea bouncing around in my head that it may be
>possible to solder SMD devices using one of the small lighter fluid
>gas soldering irons that have a hot air attachment.
>
>I would plan to use this method for producing prototype boards only.
>Solder paste would be placed on the pads, then left to cure for about
>an hour at 45 degrees C, then the hot air from the blow torch would be
>applied to each component in turn.
>
>Has anybody tried this. and if so how successful is it?
>
>My other option is to construct a reflow oven, using a fan-forced
>convection oven (toaster oven). I've heard the thermal characteristics
>are close enough to  provide very acceptable results.
>
>Regards,
>
>Peter.
>--
>_______________________________________________________________________
>Peter Homann   email: peterh@adacel.com.au       Work : +61 3 9596-2991
>Adacel Pty Ltd                                   Fax  : +61 3 9596-2960
>250 Bay St, Brighton 3186, VIC, AUSTRALIA      Mobile :     014 025-925
>
>

http://www.bobblick.com/