Hey!
I dropped around to alan's place today, and the him being the very kind gentleman that he is, gave me some greens to play with until an order comes in! He showed me around things and showed me his rather shiny and pretty alp roaster. I got to learn about the smells and sounds of roasting when he roasted a batch in his prima popper! I had a rather nice cup of vacpot brew there too!
But the moment I got in the door to my place I went straight for the heat gun and utensils. Got a Black & Decker KX2000K, a wooden spoon, and a stainless steel saucepan and measured by sight around 60 grams of bolivian organic, pre-heated the saucepan and gun and set the gun to a medium/high heat. It doesn't have a specific setting, so I just marked where I roasted with a permenant marker to judge by the next time I roast!
I chucked the beans into the warmed pan and turned off the flame and started blasting with the heatgun. I tried stirring with the wooden spoon, but found that a bit awkward and noticed that I could easily stir the beans by the airflow alone. I roasted in total for about 12-13 minutes, and reached first crack around 8-9 minutes into the roast. I just hope it's drinkable in the morning!
All in all I'd say it was easier than expected with pretty much no fancy equipment - only a stainless steel saucepan, heat gun and the beans themselves. I've just got to get some experience in to perfect it I guess. I've included pictures of the roast, it's a shade on the light side of a city roast. Slightly uneven but I'll adjust my technique next time!