Although I can skillfully solder as small as 0.5mm pitch QFN package chip by hand (post, video), more and more space saving components appearing on the market are totally IMPOSSIBLE to hand solder… continue on yu.xueming.org
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Xueming Yu 
Hi! I don’t see the small mod to the fan. What did you do to keep it running?
I don’t remember what exactly I did to the fan….it is perhaps internally wired.
got me thinking. the total for a project like this would be close to $150-$200 including all the parts and a decent oven. which may turn out to be too large… but there are reflow ovens in a $200-$250 range available on ebay…
Wow, you are right! Ebay is carrying cheap reflow oven now. I wish they had started this 3 years ago. Nevertheless…..it was a lot of fun…..
How is the oven holding up? seems to be getting bad reviews at amazon.. but may not matter as you are bypassing the thermostat and such(seems to be the failing part)
This modified oven has been working great since I posted this article more than 1 year ago. The only thing I might need to think twice is if I needed an oven as big as this. Smaller oven will heat the board faster and catch up with the reflow profile better.