Lee Valley has a heat gun on sale - along with some shrink wrap tubing. They had offered this gun once in the past and I purchased it. I wanted to pass along my recommendation for it. I bought it for the shrink wrap tubing but mostly I use it when I have dings in wood. I wet the ding, let the water soak in well, and then use the heat gun to heat the spot and bring the ding out. It has worked very well for me.
It has adjustable heat so you can set it so that it drys the water out but doesn't burn the wood.
I know there are many other heat guns out there but I only have experience with this one. If you have experience with another and want to recommend it, please do so.
Mike