Helping hands?

[dano12]

For years I've been buying the cheapo Radio Shack Helping hands gizmo:



Problem is, they are crap quality. The alligator clips never stay put, and the overall fit and finish is lacking, making it quite hard to work with.

My fourth one disintegrated last night. 

I looked at Panavise stuff, it looks to be great quality, but doesn't seem to offer the alligator clip option.

Any ideas to save me from buying another piece of crap?

[jefe]

Dano, try searching "helping hands" or "third hand" over at instructables.com. I especially like the looks of this one (but haven't tried it yet myself):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

It looks sturdy and versatile. I'm really sick of my Radio Shack gizmo too.

[MicFarlow77]

Hey Dano,

I know where you are coming from!

One thing I have heard about, but have never been able to find is something similiar to a frame of sorts.... put your PCB in, stuff your parts, put a piece of special foam or pad over the components, flip over and solder away.... I have looked high and low, far and wide and haven't found it or anything close....

Thanks,

Mick

[wampcat1]

I'm with you Dano - I just buy different clips and insert them in the device and it works a bit better, but still... it's pretty crappy! Also, I screw the base down to my bench so it's more stable.
bw

[dano12]

LOL, seems like a rich vein of discontent

I think panavise could make a real nice addition to their product line with the alligator clip thingy. Their PCB stuffing (Mic, did you look at those?) solutions are awesome.

[DavidRavenMoon]

One thing I have heard about, but have never been able to find is something similiar to a frame of sorts.... put your PCB in, stuff your parts, put a piece of special foam or pad over the components, flip over and solder away.... I have looked high and low, far and wide and haven't found it or anything close....

Like this?

Circuit Board Working Platform

They also make things that go into vices, like this thing:

Panavise Circuit Board Holder

I have one of those Radio Shack helping hands.  I removed everything but the clips.  There are better versions for less money, but I needed it at the moment.

[jefe]

I absolutely love the Panavise idea, but by the time you buy a base and attachments, it gets pricey. I still hope to get one some day. In the meantime, I use one of these:

http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/hca/hcahcar0680.htm

[jakehop]

Since I never remove the two hands from the outside grips, I just glued them in the holder with JB Weld. They never move out of the place now.

In the middle holder on one of my three (I use a lot at one time) I JB Welded a 8x8cm fan, with a long plug to one of my power supplies. That way I can blow toxic fumes from soldering, acetone, etc. away from my head, to poison the rest of my appartment instead :-)

Kind regards, jake

[Ripthorn]

I have one from Harbor Freight, and though it is cheap, it is better than nothing.  I clamped the base to my table and have all the wingnuts tightened so that things don't move easily.  It's working pretty well for now, but one thing I saw that caught my eye at the electronics store was a helping hands brand item called the octopus.  It uses gooseneck-like arms with different alligators and other attachments.  Only problem was that it was like 30 bucks.

[DougH]

I got some of those from a surplus place and they are pretty decent quality. The base is steel and is pretty heavy. I think it was only $2-$3. I would recommend staying away from Radio Shack "tools".

[DDD]

What for me - I've tried a lot of various "third hands" and came to conclusion that they are not better than a piece of wood with some alligator clips fixed on it. Especially if you have three pieces of wood with three pairs of different sizes clips.

[foxfire]

Dano, try searching "helping hands" or "third hand" over at instructables.com. I especially like the looks of this one (but haven't tried it yet myself):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

It looks sturdy and versatile. I'm really sick of my Radio Shack gizmo too.

to keep this idea cheap, why not just get yourself a foot or 2 of 12-2 or 10-2 romex. solder/crimp your clips on one end and fix the other end to a board. sure it won't look as pretty but, it sure would be cheap.

[jefe]

to keep this idea cheap, why not just get yourself a foot or 2 of 12-2 or 10-2 romex. solder/crimp your clips on one end and fix the other end to a board. sure it won't look as pretty but, it sure would be cheap.

Good idea!

[Ripthorn]

What for me - I've tried a lot of various "third hands" and came to conclusion that they are not better than a piece of wood with some alligator clips fixed on it. Especially if you have three pieces of wood with three pairs of different sizes clips.

I've actually seen people do this before and they say it works well.

[jefe]

What for me - I've tried a lot of various "third hands" and came to conclusion that they are not better than a piece of wood with some alligator clips fixed on it. Especially if you have three pieces of wood with three pairs of different sizes clips.

Could you possibly post a quick picture of your contraption? I don't quite follow.

[foxfire]

i just whipped up the board and mounted the wire/arms to it but i don't have my camera with me. i'll try to get a shot of it up tonight.

basically i just cut myself 3 pieces of 12 gauge wire roughly 8-9" long. then curled one end of each wire into a loop so i could screw it to the base. in my case a piece of 9"x9"x3/4" plywood. then you solder/crimp your clips on the loose end of each wire. now you have 3 bendable arms with alligator clips on them. the 12 wire is plenty stiff enough (10 wire might even be too stiff) to hold your board during soldering. i'm guessing the eventually the wire will get too kinked and whatnot but since it's pretty cheap so be it.

[earthtonesaudio]

Dano, try searching "helping hands" or "third hand" over at instructables.com. I especially like the looks of this one (but haven't tried it yet myself):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

It looks sturdy and versatile. I'm really sick of my Radio Shack gizmo too.

Awesome!

[jefe]

i just whipped up the board and mounted the wire/arms to it but i don't have my camera with me. i'll try to get a shot of it up tonight.

basically i just cut myself 3 pieces of 12 gauge wire roughly 8-9" long. then curled one end of each wire into a loop so i could screw it to the base. in my case a piece of 9"x9"x3/4" plywood. then you solder/crimp your clips on the loose end of each wire. now you have 3 bendable arms with alligator clips on them. the 12 wire is plenty stiff enough (10 wire might even be too stiff) to hold your board during soldering. i'm guessing the eventually the wire will get too kinked and whatnot but since it's pretty cheap so be it.

Ah, got it - I forgot about the romex part, makes sense now. Thanks for the description, no need to post a pic if you're too busy. 

[MicFarlow77]

LOL, seems like a rich vein of discontent

I think panavise could make a real nice addition to their product line with the alligator clip thingy. Their PCB stuffing (Mic, did you look at those?) solutions are awesome.

I have not seen or looked at thier stuffing options.. but I will later tonight....

All the other links posted so far are good for vises and holders, but stuffing a board and then flipping it to cut the leads and then solder would be the way to go..... if I can't find it I guess I'll have to build it... if I only knew what kind of foam that they used...

Thanks,

Mick

[foxfire]

i was thinking that a chunk of that "memory foam" would be cool. i would think that it would the parts in place without putting so much pressure on the them that they get smushed/bent.