On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:15:02 -0700 (PDT), Jake
wrote:

Hey all, poor EE student here.

I think the correct term is starving student.

I recently bought a cheap hot air rework station, and have been
harvesting all the useable SMD IC's from old boards which I have been
hoarding since the mid-80's.

Anyway, I can pull a typical IC in about 3 seconds, I am using a small
round tip with medium air pressure, 350 degree C air temp.

I used to do that clamping one end of the board in a vice, heating the
board with a propane torch, pulling back on the board, and launching
the components (and solder blobs) in the opposite direction. It
worked amazingly well, even for through hole components.

1) I have tested quite a few of the logic IC's and they seem fine
after removal, what are the chances that I have done some heat-related
damage and they will fail while I am using them to build random non-
critical projects?

Fairly small. 3 seconds at 350C isn't going to do much. You can
probably do some damage is you overheat, or thermal shock the parts,
but in general, they should survive. Whether the original components
are any good is subject to some speculation. After 20 years, you'll
start to see the effects of package leakage, vibration, broken wire
bonds, water incursion, etc. I suggest you use IC sockets on your
random non-critical projects.

2) I have scoured the internet and can't find a source for SMD/DIP
storage tubes. I would like to put them in clear ESD-safe storage
tubes for easy index/location, but can't seem to find any!

Google finds hundreds of hits under "IC tubes" and "package carriers".
For example:
http://store.staticspecialists.com/ictubeshippers.aspx

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558