Black & Decker HG1300 Heat Gun

I wasn't planning on buying a heat gun; rather, I was looking for a wire stripper and found this pair on craigslist being sold with a heat gun for the grand price of $15.  I justified the purchase thinking I could always use it to un-stick metal parts such as feed dog drop pins in sewing machines, so I was happy to buy both.

The heat gun looked as though it had been used once.  The seller had me plug it in to try it and sure enough, it got hot -- quite hot and very direct.  I've decided that a hand-held hair dryer is adequate for a sewing machine.  I've stripped paint off of a small table with this gun and it worked well.  However, it would likely strip paint off a sewing machine so I've relegated it to the only occasional task of paint-stripping.  I'd buy a larger, more powerful Milwaukee heat gun for large/professional jobs but this one appears to be a very good choice for small household tasks.

One feature that I don't particularly like is that it has an auto-shutoff after a certain internal heat is achieved.  I should appreciate the safety of the design but that means I have to wait about 5 minutes before I can turn it back on.  It does have 2 heat settings and a small kickstand so that both hands can be used stripping while the heat is being applied.  Wear gloves.