A small, hand-held desoldering tool having a spring-loaded piston carried within a cylindrical body member having a removable nozzle element at one end and being substantially open at the other. The piston has a finger-engaging cocking portion which extends radially outwardly through an elongate slot in the cylindrical body member and which permits axial motion of the piston for cocking and flyback. When in the cocked position, a trigger lever carried externally of the body member holds the piston in its forward position. Moving the trigger lever in one direction releases the piston for its flyback stroke and moving it in the opposite sense forces the piston further forward to eject the nozzle element from the body for cleaning or replacement. A rod member carried by the piston extends forwardly through the nozzle element to clean its bore with each cocking cycle. A reading of the complete specification is recommended for a full understanding of the principles and features of the disclosed tool.