[willne1]

I'm a noob trying to get some tools together and it looks to me from the pics I see here in the forum that these helping hands are pretty junky. What do you guys recommend I get?

TIA
William

 

[MisterX]

A Panavise

 

[markieta]

Panavise Jr. on ebay

panavise jr, Toys Hobbies, Cameras Photo items on eBay.com

 

[deltaydeltax]

Panavise can be your best friend at times. I have one attachement made to hold PCBs for mine.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Panavise x4.

One of the most useful tools I have. They're not cheap, but you'll get more than your money's worth if you build more than one thing.

 

[DaMnEd]

Digi-Key - 0051502699-ND (Cooper Industries - Vise for Circuit Boards - ESD, ESF120ESD)

 

[slowpogo]

I got this one off Amazon:

Amazon.com: Helping Hand Stand with Magnifier and Flex-Neck LED Light - Soldering, Electronics: Home Improvement

It's the same style as the other cheaper ones but a little better quality, plus it's got a handy little LED light. It's way better than a cheaper one I used to have. You can actually clamp it *tightly* into a certain position and not worry about the arms sagging.

The Panavise looks awesome, but if you don't wanna spend that kind of $ this one is pretty nice for an inexpensive one.

PS Ignore the two weirdly negative reviews..the light on mine was fine, and their other criticisms could apply to ANY helping hands. Any of them can be a little awkward depending on what you're trying to do with it, even the Panavise I'm sure. That's just the nature of the device (and DIY in general).

 

[rogerlike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by willne1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm a noob trying to get some tools together and it looks to me from the pics I see here in the forum that these helping hands are pretty junky. What do you guys recommend I get?

A helpful girlfriend?

 

[DaMnEd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerlike /img/forum/go_quote.gif A helpful girlfriend?

Too distracting!

 

[willne1]

Thanks for all the suggestions...looks like Panavise is the most prefered around here. I'll put that on my list when I order my soldering station.

 

[japc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowpogo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I got this one off Amazon: Amazon.com: Helping Hand Stand with Magnifier and Flex-Neck LED Light - Soldering, Electronics: Home Improvement It's the same style as the other cheaper ones but a little better quality, plus it's got a handy little LED light. It's way better than a cheaper one I used to have. You can actually clamp it *tightly* into a certain position and not worry about the arms sagging.

Nice one. I got one similar (minus the led) from LIDL for about 10 euros.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerlike /img/forum/go_quote.gif A helpful girlfriend?

They have a way of putting DIY projects on hold.

 

[markieta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif They have a way of putting DIY projects on hold.

Too trueeee.

That helping hands contraption posted above looks KILLER!

 

[linuxworks]

my panavise setup

they are not cheap but its what everyone uses. and they do work.