PCB holder; what are you using?

[HooRide]

I'm tired of attempting to get the cheap, light-weight helping hands to be of any use. I'm looking for something that can hold a 8x8" populated PCB well enough so I can desolder/solder components and/or hook up probe leads to without it teetering or falling over.

Any suggestions? PanaVice seems to make nice stuff but it's hard to choose without seeing them in person.

[Mint.]

That one that you linked, is bloody horrible! I had one of those and all it did was fall over and not hold anything. The holders for the jaws were too weak and the kept on bending every time I applied pressure. Its hopeless! I recently invested some money into a panavise, I will let you know what I think of it when it arrives

[david77]

Helping hands are useless. I'm using this



A similar PCB holder is available from Weller, for example.

In addition to a PCB holder a swively table vise like that



is also very helpful.

[shebu18]

This is ok for my use at the moment.

[Mint.]

Helping hands are useless. I'm using this



A similar PCB holder is available from Weller, for example.

In addition to a PCB holder a swively table vise like that



is also very helpful.

Whats the first one called? I might be interested in acquiring one.

[david77]

Weller sell one called Solder Fix 120.
You probably won't find the same model I linked to.

[orbiter]

I use a Panavise Jr

[Spawn]

I got a simple PCB holder at the moment with couple helping hands.
Helping hands are quite handy if you want to solder bunch a wires on a PCB to keep those in place.

This is my own PCB holder:


I want to get one of these in future to keep components on their place while soldering, it is a Weller:


If you do a lot PCB soldering and have the money this is great, we had them at my old work:

[free_electron]

And what is wrong with your table ?
I never understood the need for this helping hand stuff.
Simply put the board on the table. Done.

For smt board i use a piece of kapton tape . If they are really small : putty. The stuff used to keep posters on the wall. Tear of a piece. ,knead for a few seconds and tack it to the corners of the board.

If you have am antistatic mat : that alone has enough friction so the board doesnt move.

[Andy]

The only thing I have difficulty with is keeping through hole components (resistors, caps, etc) in place while soldering.

[eliocor]

I use this one:
AOYUE 326
very practical for small size PCBs

[Jason Long]

Take a look at this...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Third-Hand-A-multi-use-helping-hand-for-electro/

[dfnr2]

And what is wrong with your table ?
I never understood the need for this helping hand stuff.
Simply put the board on the table. Done.
...
If you have am antistatic mat : that alone has enough friction so the board doesnt move.

+1

I have a panavise board holder that I pretty much never use, because it's a hassle.  Way back, I used to use it when I was doing more through-hole stuff, because it would hold boards with lumpy component sides steady, but now I prefer just the table for through hole.  With SMT, this is not much of an issue.  Plus, even for the through hole stuff, the just working on the table is fine, if you use common sense and start with the flattest items and work your way to the tallest.

[HooRide]

I want to get one of these in future to keep components on their place while soldering, it is a Weller:

Sold! That's exactly what I was picturing in my head and the component holder is a nice plus.

I don't use my table top because it's slippery aka I need an anti-static mat on my bench, Dave mentioned those in his how to set up an electronics lab video. I just haven't purchased one yet.

The helping hands is find for holding a wire you're going to tin or solder to a board but next to useless for holding actual boards of any decent size.

Thank you all for the replies! Maybe I'll see something else in the thread I like and get it too.

[free_electron]

tssss.

handyskills 101:

tinning a wire.

hold piece of solder about 2 inches long between thumb and index finger.
hold stripped , to be tinned wire between middle finger and ring finger. so it sitcks out about 2 inches
Due to the humans range of movement of thumb and index finger you can actually bring the two ends together

its the same principle you use to take the top of a tube of toothpaste using one hand. the lower three fingers are curled around the steady object while thumb and index finger perform the work.

other hand uses iron to heat.

putting parts in board :

put board on edge so it sits vertically on table. hold with one hand. other hand grabs part and pokes wires through board. bend wires on other side of board 45 degrees.
repeat intil all parts have been poked through and pins have been bent.
put board upside down on table so bent pins stick up. have a blast with the soldering iron.

these 'pcb holders' are useless.

[Spawn]

tssss.

.......

these 'pcb holders' are useless.

I don’t understand the point of your post, if you think it is pointless just don’t get one and let us be happy with our PCB holders.

[dfnr2]

The only thing I have difficulty with is keeping through hole components (resistors, caps, etc) in place while soldering.

Start with the lowest profile components and work your way to the tallest.  I insert components, then hold them down with painters tape, flip the board, and solder.  A lot of people bend the leads; I don't--just a personal aesthetic preference--as it can get messy on dense through-hole boards, and components installed that way can sometimes be harder to remove.

Some components are bulky and may sag when taped (if you like that method), or have short flimsy leads that can't be bent to hold the weight (if you prefer that method).  Solder one lead on every one of these, then go back the reflow while pressing the component flat.  Then solder the other leads, and go back at the end and reflow the first lead for a good connection.

Dave

[david77]

Putting a board down on the table to solder works fine as long as all the components on it are about the same height. But it gets nasty as soon as one or a few of them are higher, e.g: electrolytics. Then the PCB holder is a good tool.
It's also very handy when doing measurments on a board. You have two scope probes attached, some clip leads to a range of meters, the leads hang all over the place, one wrong move and the weight of the leads pulls your board over the edge of the table unless you have it fixed in place somehow.

[dfnr2]

tssss.
.......
these 'pcb holders' are useless.

I don’t understand the point of your post, if you think it is pointless just don’t get one and let us be happy with our PCB holders.

While his tone may not be exactly avuncular, his point is valid.  Those things *are* pretty much useless--even if you use them, they won't improve the speed or quality of your work 99% of the time, and they do take money from your budget and space on the bench.  Flipping your quote, if you are put off by some well-meaning (if a bit pointed) advice, just ignore it. 

[TerminalJack505]

So far as I'm concerned: yes, PCB holders are useless if you happen to have four arms.    

I'm always wishing I had four arms when I solder.  I don't happen to have four arms so it's nice to have something hold the PCB steady while I hold a tiny little SMD component with tweezers in one hand, a 350C soldering iron in another and the solder in my remaining hand.

 

[dfnr2]

So far as I'm concerned: yes, PCB holders are useless if you happen to have four arms.    

I'm always wishing I had four arms when I solder.  I don't happen to have four arms so it's nice to have something hold the PCB steady while I hold a tiny little SMD component with tweezers in one hand, a 350C soldering iron in another and the solder in my remaining hand.

 

If you're holding the solder, soldering iron, and part, then something is wrong.  No need to apply unmelted solder to the part.  For SMT soldering, this is called "dry soldering."  Youmay  end up damaging parts that way, since the head capacity of the molten solder helps prevent overheating.  If you heat the part and pad directly before feeding in solder, you risk overheating the part, especially for some chip parts like capacitors that are prone to delamination.

Try:

 1) apply flux
 2) apply small amount of solder to the chisel tip (no pointy tips)
 3) holding the part in place, transfer molten solder to fluxed pad/lead joint, and allow to flow.

[TerminalJack505]

So far as I'm concerned: yes, PCB holders are useless if you happen to have four arms.    

I'm always wishing I had four arms when I solder.  I don't happen to have four arms so it's nice to have something hold the PCB steady while I hold a tiny little SMD component with tweezers in one hand, a 350C soldering iron in another and the solder in my remaining hand.

 

If you're holding the solder, soldering iron, and part, then something is wrong.  No need to apply unmelted solder to the part.  For SMT soldering, this is called "dry soldering."  Youmay  end up damaging parts that way, since the head capacity of the molten solder helps prevent overheating.  If you heat the part and pad directly before feeding in solder, you risk overheating the part, especially for some chip parts like capacitors that are prone to delamination.

Try:

 1) apply flux
 2) apply small amount of solder to the chisel tip (no pointy tips)
 3) holding the part in place, transfer molten solder to fluxed pad/lead joint, and allow to flow.

Actually I have three arms so I don't need to use the 'tack down' method.  Saves a lot of time.

Edited to add:  Tough crowd!

[dfnr2]

. . . and the solder in my remaining hand.

 

...

Edited to add:  Tough crowd!

Heh.  Missed that detail 

[dimlow]

Got this in Aldi this week for £6

[HooRide]

I, for one, have no problem telling anyone that I buy silly useless things even if only for a split second I think it's a good idea...ok, well, got to go now, it's feeding time for my pet alligator...