I've designed some PCBs where I have a socket for a Teensy 3.2. The exact sockets I purchased were these turned pin open frame sockets. I also purchased these turned pin headers to solder to the Teensy.
This works great, however the Teensy is really hard to remove without bending the header pins. Obviously a certain amount of force is required to remove the Teensy. Are there any tools that would help or a particular recommended method?
People will probably disagree, but I just use a screwdriver, its all about going slowly. I use a flat head, slip it between the chip and the socket then twist it slightly, then change ends and do the same, if you go in small increments you will be fine. Don't just try and do it all from one end.
There's really pesky cheap "IC extractors" that work worse than simple screwdrivers, and then there's these things, that I never cared to buy because I never had many ICs to remove from sockets, so I don't know how well it works:
I'm sure they're available through different channels, but they do look like they would help lift something very straight.
EDIT Peter says below it works well.
With the power off, use a fine-bladed screwdriver. Start at one end and lever that end up just a bit. Go to the other end and lever it up a bit further. Alternate ends and eventually it will come free.
I also agree with the "use a flat screwdriver, carefully, alternating ends" answers.
"Back in the day" Heathkit would include with (at least some of) their kits that used integrated circuits a small metal L-shaped tool, about two inches long on the long leg and maybe half an inch on the short leg, for precisely this purpose. They had the same "start at one end of the IC and lift it a little, then go to the other end and lift a little, until the IC is free of the socket" method.
The screwdriver is pretty reliable but in some situations it is not possible to gain access to the ends of the chips.
The go-to tool in the day was a pair of DIP IC extractor tweezers/tongs such as those sold by Jameco even now.
However these would often cause the IC to pull out suddenly as one end came free and cause the pins to bend or break, it was best used with the hand resting on the board and levering the hand against the board to control the extraction.
What I found the best was a simple L-shaped bit of sheet metal that was supplied by some DIP DRAM suppliers in the early IBM PC XT days. It was slipped in the end of the IC on both sides and then rocked forward and back to raise the IC in small controlled steps. The lever action was so large that sudden extraction was rare and the multiplied force would free even recalcitrant chips. I have not seen them for sale ever but they can be easily made and look pretty much like a simple lock-picking torquing wrench (the one on the left is close to form). They should not be much wider than 5mm or the control is lost, they need to have a bit of width just for mechanical strength, perhaps 3mm would be enough. The bend is only about 1.5 to 2.5mm long so it can slip between close spaced components. Use the thinnest metal strip you feel will be strong enough for the job, the lock-picking fraternity use the backing strips in some types of windscreen wiper blades and this may be just what is needed.
TWO screwdrivers, one each side.
If you really need to do this, you have several options.
First of all, the turned pins and round sockets you are using are the most difficult to take apart. You might consider trying sockets that can accept the more typical square cross-section pins that Paul ships with the Teensy. The socketing image below is not of the Teensy 3.2, but of another board that has the same profile:
With this type of socket it is slightly easier to use a screwdriver or L-iron to lever out the Teensy. However, the truth is that levering the Teensy first from one end and then from the other will always cause slight bending of leads, even when it is imperceptible. To prevent this, you will need to lift directly upwards, with no tilting component to the motion.
For strict upward pull, the Jenson extractor suggested by Marcus Muller works quite well, and will not bend pins. I've always been able to find mine when I needed it :) However, the Teensy has a USB port on one end that protrudes slightly beyond the board edge, and this will interfere with the end gripper, which is designed to fit an actual chip rather than a daughterboard masquerading as a chip.
Another alternative is to place a thin strip of stiff material between the Teensy and the socket, allowing it to protrude slightly at each end. This allows you to lift while rotating it to lever the Teensy gently from side to side, rather than from end to end, resulting in much less likelihood of noticeably bent pins.
The other option for you is a ZIF connector. All models I've ever seen will accept any pin profile -- even fragile leaf pins grabbed sideways. I use the traditional square-profile headers in mine. The turned pins you have been using will work, but the contact area will be less than with the square pins.
I'm not familiar with Jameco or the very interesting shipped-from-china model suggested by X Goodrich, but the 28-position 0.6" row spacing 3M models available from DigiKey and Mouser are about $25 at QTY one.
ZIF sockets of the type we are discussing are really designed for use in programming and prototyping, and are not designed to hold chips or daughterboards in the field. For one thing, the use of a ZIF socket requires more room on your board in all three dimensions. For another, the gripping / contact force is sufficient for benchtop work, but nowhere near what is provided by a fixed-insertion-force socket.
Also, I caution you that some ZIF sockets do not really "lock" properly in the closed position. When deploying field prototypes I have had chips dislodged in the field, and I've sometimes had spurious contact issues. If this matters to you, you may need to look at several different models. Here's a link to the full list of ZIFs available at DigiKey:DigiKey ZIFs
Above is the super-inexpensive ZIF socket from china that's being sold on eBay. Although the mold is labeled 3M, I'd be surprised if it was really a 3M product. I'm definitely going to order some, but from this photo it doesn't appear that the contacts are gold-plated, and if not, they would be corroded fairly quickly in Hawaii, where I live :)
Here is a larger, 40-pin ZIF socket that's also super-inexpensive ($4) from AdaFruit:
Again, I don't know how they manage that price unless this is a knockoff, because this is labeled with a 3M part number that indicates the clamping faces will be gold-plated.
Mostly, though, I would be interested to know what you are doing that requires you to remove and replace the Teensy 3.2 daughterboard. I've done a number of designs with that board, and since it is field-programmable I have never come across a need for removal and replacement in the field. Can you explain what you are trying to accomplish by socketing it in the first place? Perhaps we can suggest other options that might be useful to you.
I suggest a ZIF socket, if you find it economical and have room to fit it. This is what I did (and I assume many people do) with programmable microcontroller boards.
This 28-pin wide socket at Jameco costs USD 10, but on eBay ones I think are even better are about USD 3.25 (single piece) including shipping (which may take a few weeks).
eBay (2017-04-21): http://www.ebay.com/itm/28P-28-Pin-2-54mm-Universal-Narrow-Wide-ZIF-Test-DIP-IC-Socket-Connector-/231871394699
I agree with the "screwdriver" answers. Just be careful and alternate between ends. Don't try to lift one end all at once.
Also, the turned-pin headers/sockets are much tighter than the standard, lesser expensive sockets/headers with the flat legs.
I'll post some images later today, in case you don't know what I'm referring to.
