Re: SMD failures
I do a lot of work with SMD capacitors and resistors and if removing them (say from a scrap PCB) I always use two fine tipped irons to melt the solder at both ends and 'tweezer' the component off as soon as the solder melts. You can get specialised soldering irons which are like a pair of heated tweezers, but I don't have one of hose.
Using only one iron, rapidly zipping from one end to the other while applying a little bit of lateral pressure to the component so that it moves when the solder melts is not the right way to do it, there is quite a good chance of breaking one of the end contacts off that way.
Another little stunt I use to either hold an SMD so I don't misplace it, or hold it still while I test it, is to temporarily solder only one end or leg (in the case of a transistor) to any handy solder joint or blob on the PCB. As we all know, once you lose track of an SMD you may never find it again.
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