If you get a cheap tool, usually called an IC Chip Puller, you can pull the EProms, Proms and ICs, relatively easy. I did an ebay search and this is what I came up with:
ic chip puller | eBay
Believe me, this simple little tiny tool will save you tons of money.
Also, if you have an eprom/ic/prom chip maker in your area, you might be able to call and ask about their QA rejects. You can pick them up cheap, and sometimes free. Many want proof of destruction but this is fairly simple. You throw them in a ball mill then ask for the specs of the metals in the chip at the same time. You can ball mill a lb worth of chips, record how many are in a lb, attach the specs and know with confidence exactly how much metal is contained in any given lb and post them on ebay. In this case, a refiner will know exactly how much is in the chips, and if they cannot recover that amount you just helped them realize they have a bug in their process and need to look for the rest of the metals in their waste solutions.
Again, value added service.
Sott
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