Helping hands are a common soldering aid. These inexpensive devices usually have a substantial base, a pair of alligator clips to hold a workpiece, and sometimes a magnifying glass. [Yonatan24] (who happens to be 13 years old) built his own set using a siren horn as a base. Lately, however, he decided to enhance it quite a bit to use Gorillapod arms and incorporate a solder cleaning and a variety of other features. Of course, there is a magnifier along with a solder waste collection bin.
The build is well-detailed, although since [Yonatan24] salvaged some of the parts, you might have to make adjustments to match the parts you use. The Gorillapod arms are from a cheap tripod, but a lot of the material was left over or stripped from junk (like the lead weight).
We’ve seen workbench PCB holders before (including a 3D printed one), of course, but you have to admire the look of this one, as well as the overboard set of features.
Cools that looks a lot more sophisticated than the one I made when I was 13 out of bent coat hanger wire and alligator clips
+1
Good job!
Well it looks like a piece of crap but also really useful and since usefulness it whats important I like it.
+1
There is a special place in my heart for ugly yet useful tools
Well, It technically is made of pieces of crap… :)
(This is coming from the person who made it, Yonatan24, Just somehow saw that there is an article about it here)
Instead of the silly magnifying glass on these things, just get a pair of cheap reading glasses.
In my case it would have to be two different powers of reading glasses, and one lens from each…
The best hacks are the hacks that were made within a few seconds due to a sudden need for a solution or fix. This is the kind of hacking I like most: you have a problem, think about a solution and imagine all the crap you have and how you can modify it to suit the situation you’re in. Using those tripod legs is brilliant, why didn’t I come up to that? They can be bent way easier than those metal 2-joint arms AND are insulated. Wouldn’t be the first time welding something that wasn’t supposed to be welded (read: shorted).
This is also the alibi I use to explain why I keep such a load of stuff in the attic. Wife calls it crap, I call it useful things. The above story will be used to prove her wrong.
Are you going to put the story in the attic as well? :-P
This is the kind of hack I like to see on HaD. Something quick and cheap and works well. Ugly look optional. :D
Needs more arms – preferably with LED lighting. I never have enough lighting…
“I never have enough lighting”
You don’t have enough until non-white surfaces start auto-igniting!
True… true…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvwd13F_1Gs&w=560&h=315%5D
There’s a tremendous satisfaction in bodging together a tool that’s *exactly* what you need. This even has that charming, busy, whatsit factor–the kind of aesthetic that makes people describe it as a “doohickey.”
Well done, [Yonatan24]. You’ve crafted a tool from leftover bits (what I like to call “junque”) that works better than the store bought helping hands on my own bench, and will probably last longer too. Brilliant! :)
nice hack!
From my little experience with a few devices, the alligator type helping hands are not so good: https://hackaday.io/project/7574-the-devil-is-in-the-details/log/24735-find-a-3rd-hand-device-that-suit-you