Author Topic: A better helping hands tool  (Read 28663 times)

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Offline akisTopic starter

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A better helping hands tool
« on: January 02, 2016, 10:48:10 am »
I have two "hands free / helping hands tools with magnifying glass" - had them for years and years. They are very badly made. Their base/weight is too small, even a PCB with a few components tips them over. Their articulated arms are badly engineered and they stick, there is no smoothness in their movement or adjustment.

Does anyone know of a better/heavier/more precise tool?
 

Offline kg4arn

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2016, 10:52:43 am »
I like panavise. 
https://panavise.com
 

Offline VK5RC

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2016, 11:12:03 am »
I have found the panavise holds things too high off the bench, I haven't fully explored all the panavise options but the general vice holds things about 10inches off the bench, way too high for soldering for me.
I have the PCB grip system, which looks more 'configurable' but have yet to get it right for me.  :blah:
Whoah! Watch where that landed we might need it later.
 

Offline Fred27

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2016, 11:14:47 am »
Panavise used to be hard to get hold of in the UK, but seem to be stocked by Farnell now. Or maybe they always did and I never noticed.
 

Offline artag

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2016, 11:24:16 am »
There are low-profile versions of the base and vice which knock about 3 inches off the height, at the cost of less flexibility in positioning.

I find the standard height good for bench work, but it's high when I'm working under a microscope.

There's also this interesting idea :

http://hackaday.com/tag/3rd-hand/
 

Offline DTJ

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #5 on: January 02, 2016, 12:11:37 pm »
Have you seen these Stickvises? I'm thinking of making a couple.

Easy to knock up and they lay flat on the bench.

If you google around there are a number of different customizations to hold wires, connectors etc. There's even a few wooden ones for the vegans among us.  ;)


EDIT - you can use that cheap ball & socket air / coolant nozzle stuff instead of 3D printing your own.




« Last Edit: January 02, 2016, 12:16:57 pm by DTJ »
 

Offline akisTopic starter

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #6 on: January 02, 2016, 02:38:54 pm »
The helping hands that I use have two crocodile clips at the end of two semi-articulated arms and they are most excellent for convenience, for example to hold wires in place while soldering, and in general for holding small things for soldering, all the way up to holding small PCBs while placing components and then soldering

The problems are

1) the articulated arms are very badly made, with no precision fittings and trying to make accurate adjustments is hard (and annoying)
2) the weighted base is not heavy enough to hold the device in place even for the most minor works, a medium size PCB makes it tip over
3) The crocodile clips are medium size, metal and have teeth - they are too weak for holding onto a medium size PCB and too strong for holding onto thin wires (say 24 AWG) as they bite into the plastic sheath

Ideally I would like a "helping" hands with 4 arms, not just 2, like the Indian deity what's her name, I will pass on the boobs but otherwise it'd be an extra bonus, with interchangeable crocodile clips, with and without teeth, with a heavy duty base (like 1kg or more), and made with precision so that the arms can be adjusted easily.
 

Offline janoc

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2016, 02:54:52 pm »
Have you seen these Stickvises? I'm thinking of making a couple.

Easy to knock up and they lay flat on the bench.

If you google around there are a number of different customizations to hold wires, connectors etc. There's even a few wooden ones for the vegans among us.  ;)


EDIT - you can use that cheap ball & socket air / coolant nozzle stuff instead of 3D printing your own.

I have the SparkFun "helping hand" (or rather squid/octopus - it has 4 arms!) made out of those coolant hoses. The good thing is that that can hold even a large board. The bad things are - difficult to position, the hoses are stiff and difficult to bend where you want them and it is too high above the bench (about 2x as high as a normal helping hand!). Also flipping the board over while soldering is a major pain.

The stickvises I haven't tried yet, but I have one of those Chinese holders (second image from the top), eBay and Alliexpress are full of those. It is fairly useless for normal work, but it works OK for small SMD boards which are otherwise too small to hold reliably in a helping hand/vise.

If you want to work on PCBs, it is probably best to forget about any "helping hands" type of tool and get something like this:
http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/en/product/811394/Weller-PCB-Holder-Mounting-Frame
Or the Panavise vise with the PCB holder (expensive).

These tools allow you to quickly flip the board over as you are populating it - useful for through-hole work.


If you don't want to spend money on a Panavise, get one of those ball-jointed vises:
http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/en/product/815880/Basetech-815880-Ball-joint-vice-Jaw-width73-mm-Span-clamping-jaws55-mm?ref=searchDetail

There are some with plastic/rubber jaws - then you clamp the board by its edge in the vise and often it is good enough.

The helping hands are useful for things like soldering wires to connectors or holding things in place while gluing them. Not so much for populating PCBs.

 

Online Mark

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2016, 04:57:49 pm »
I recently purchased the Dremel Multi Vise which is surprisingly good, I regret not buying it sooner.  Amazon UK had it for £21 but it has gone up in price now.  There is a lot of plastic, but it is surprisingly sturdy and doesn't need to be over-tightened to stay sturdy.  It holds PCBs for soldering perfectly and is quickly and easily adjustable.  It would not be suitable for heavier duty like holding wood for sawing. 
 

Offline ciccio

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2016, 05:48:56 pm »
I've tried a lot of helping hands with some disappoint.
When assembling PCB i use an (expensive) dedicated support (see link below: it's labeled Ideal Tech, but is built in Italy).
http://www.distrelec.it/it/telaio-di-posa-sicurezza-esd-500-220-mm-ideal-tek-pcsa/p/18249489?q=*&filter_Category3=Materiali+di+brasatura&filter_Manufacturer=Ideal+Tek&filter_Buyable=1&page=5&origPos=5&origPageSize=50&simi=99.5&manufacturerCode=man_idealtek
For simpler works, I built a lot of  very simple gadgets, using a clothes clamp and a piece of sheet metal, glued with hot-melting glue. See Cheapest photo below. Clamp must not be plastic, or the soldering iron will damage it, wood is better.
For heavier work, such as connector wiring, I use a simple plastic  vice like the one in the other photo (Cheap). Cost: less than 10 euros.
It is useful even for soldering small pcbs.

Best regards
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Offline savril

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2016, 06:08:49 pm »
For SMD work, my preference go to the AOYUE 328. It is not the best quality product I've seen but it hold really well the board. And the metal binding make it suitable for hot air. It is far more stable than the stickvise with credit card size (the second image from DTJ post).

 

Offline robrenz

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #11 on: January 02, 2016, 06:34:55 pm »
Old threads but might be useful

Hemostat mod 1
Hemostat mod 2

Offline Gyro

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #12 on: January 02, 2016, 07:59:33 pm »
You could always knock up or modify your own (see attached pics).

A couple of other threads (thought this one seemed familiar):

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/soldering-surface-ideas/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/stickvise/

Best Regards, Chris
 

Offline bills

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #13 on: January 02, 2016, 10:00:36 pm »
« Last Edit: January 02, 2016, 10:08:12 pm by bills »
Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
 

Offline GreyWoolfe

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2016, 01:24:08 am »
I have a couple of different Panavise units and a couple of different basic helping hands.  I really only use the helping hands for soldering wires.  everything else is done with the Panavise.
"Heaven has been described as the place that once you get there all the dogs you ever loved run up to greet you."
 

Offline tooki

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2016, 02:17:30 am »
I have one of these and it works great.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2TTQEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
I have one of those, it's not bad for the price!!

I also have one of these, which is fantastic for wires and weird shaped boards: http://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Creek-Helping-Hands-Soldering/dp/B010C504NK/ref=pd_sim_469_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41kzIPlZaZL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0AN2M5Z4BA6NVP818SJG

It's worth every cent. (It's based on the coolant pipes others have mentioned already.)

Also, it says a lot about how such helping hands tools and Panavises complement each other that the manufacturer sells Panavise products alongside its own on its website: http://www.hobbycreek.com/shop/

I've been wanting a Panavise, but unfortunately here in Europe, they're hard to find and are extremely expensive (like 3x the US prices!!). :(
 

Offline Shock

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2016, 10:30:16 am »
I have a couple of these $15 each, quite flexible and can be used for tinning and holding both small and large objects.

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Offline MrSlack

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2016, 10:40:46 am »
I still use the original cheap and nasty Chinese ones. Throw the magnifying glass away, vaseline all the balls (ooerr) and it's fine. The screw threads wear in after a few weeks and stop being lumpy and the clips loosen up a bit. As for weight, I clamp the whole thing in my drill vice if I need more mass.
 

Offline wblock

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #18 on: January 04, 2016, 03:04:33 pm »
I have a couple of these $15 each, quite flexible and can be used for tinning and holding both small and large objects.


The V-grooves in the jaws are useful for holding small boards.  It takes a while to change sizes, though.  I'm thinking of trying to fit a small bar clamp instead of the vise head.
 

Online tggzzz

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #19 on: January 04, 2016, 03:20:54 pm »
Consider changing the problem: put the magnifying glass on your head so that it is always optimally positioned. Bonuses: stereo vision and change the magnification by swapping lenses.

Many places sell these: http://uk.farnell.com/lightcraft/lc1765/led-headband-magnifier/dp/1826445 Some types are 1/3 the price and perfectly acceptable
There are lies, damned lies, statistics - and ADC/DAC specs.
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Offline fivefish

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #20 on: January 04, 2016, 04:33:20 pm »
I want to get/try one of these... it just seems so expensive.

 

Offline Julez

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #21 on: January 04, 2016, 04:37:07 pm »
I like the GRS line of helping hands tools.
http://www.grstools.com/for-jewelry-work/third-hands-and-soldering-stations/third-hand-with-soldering-station.html


The base, however, needed improvement. I had a machine shop make me a U-shaped base from 3mm stainless steel, the sides are folded up about 15mm. So it doubles as a tray for small parts. These are perfect, I can post images tonight.
 

Offline nidlaX

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #22 on: January 04, 2016, 05:26:19 pm »
I have one of these and it works great.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q2TTQEE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00
Another vote for this type of stand for small - medium scale PCB work. I have this identical model: http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Soldering-Rotisserie-spring-clamp-rotation-lock/dp/B01709B0PW/ - was cheaper when available.
 

Offline Circuitous

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #23 on: January 05, 2016, 02:39:38 am »
I hadn't seen the Tested review of the GRS Tools hands.
I stumbled upon the GRS Tools after some heavy searching, and they're great.  The company is just down the road from me.... down I-35 about 100 miles, but this is Kansas, so that's not reall all that far.

Here's my quick review:
https://youtu.be/UNu4pcFq15Y?t=2m51s

Offline gdewitte

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Re: A better helping hands tool
« Reply #24 on: January 05, 2016, 03:07:20 am »
Not inexpensive, but some good ideas http://solderbuddy.com/
 


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