Soldering gun made from modded Han Solo blaster: the Han Solderer

Milwaukee's Craig Smith presents his Han Solderer, a high-powered soldering gun made from a collectible Han Solo blaster he treasured as a lad. The gag is funnier if you pronounce it "sol-der" (UK) not "soh-der" (US), but woah, that's a nice piece of Happy Mutant-ware.

About 1983, when I was fifteen, I dropped my dad’s red Bakelite soldering gun and broke the casing. Of course he was upset, so I did my best to “fix it.” So I took my original Star Wars Han Solo pistol and gutted it to hold the soldering gun components. I even ran the lightbulb up into the scope on top. The button on the handle worked well for the trigger switch. Ten years later, when the old house was sold, the gun wound up in my belongings. To this day, when an underpowered iron just won’t do, I pull out the “Han Solderer” and get the job done. Half of me likes the mod, the other half is ill over the fact that I gutted my vintage Star Wars toy. What’s done is done.
“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good soldering gun at your side, kid.”

Introducing: The Hans Solderer (via IZ Reloaded)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Copyfight • Gadgets • Happy Mutants • maker • star wars

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pyster

EP 1 ruined all things starwars for me forever. So much I never saw EP 3. Pretty much tune out anything starwars because i find the cultures obsession with it lame. The status Quo sux to quote carlin.

But this I will concede is fucken cool.
awjt

I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.
http://www.littlecirclesvt.com MikeB

i had one of those when i was a kid…

playing ‘war’ in the neighborhood back yards a friend supposedly ‘lost it’ climbing over a fence to cut through a yard. i searched and searched for days for that toy… never to see it again.

until one of his buddies showed up with one a few weeks later.

the hack is a great one.
i blot out most of the recent episodes and the revisions. the sw universe lives on in my imagination, from my childhood, and countless hours creating my own universe within that universe.
wpc105

Han soldered first!
RadioSilence

All the cooler, and appropriate, because the original prop from the film was cobbled together from a WWI gun, a scope from a rifle, and other random parts.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/DL-44_heavy_blaster_pistol
xzzy

“Can you hold on a second Greedo? I need to tin this thing first. Also, let me go get my fume extractor.”
Paul Renault

Cool, just like Han’s blaster could destroy enemies, this soldering iron can destroy your circuit boards!
garyg2

you crazy americans actually say “soh-der”? Like Soda? You learn something everyday…
- darniil
  
  You crazy Brits put an ‘r’ in your soda?
Richard Dagenais

saw-der

pronouncing the l is generally considered noobish
SonOfSamSeaborn

Google tells me that it’s from old French and ultimately the Latin solidus, so looks like dropping the l is the True Noob Move™. Go tell a centurion he’s doing it wrong.
Layne

Countdown to a Lucasfilm lawsuit in 5…4…3…
http://glitch.tl/ Michael Smith

This is the kind of soldering iron which Han would have used. I imagine him underneath a rack of equipment with one of these (the power connected of course) shouting instructions at Chewbacca to hold the enemy off while he builds a new hyperdrive.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MS4NVX7OCKTG67R7RTHQ572KCY andy

I have 2 of these guns in great condition. Muahahahahahah!!!