We think of helping hands as those little alligator clips on a metal stand. They are cheap and fall over, so we tend to buy them and don’t use them. However, if you are willing to put $35 or $40 into it, you can get the newer kind that have–well–tentacles–on a heavy base. [Archie_slap] didn’t want that kind of investment, so he made his own for about $10. We think that’s Australian dollars, so that’s even less in the United States.
What’s better is he documented every step in meticulous detail and with great pictures. You probably won’t directly duplicate his project because you will probably pick up a slightly different base, but that’s not hard to figure out. The arms are actually coolant hose, [Archie_slap] picked up almost everything but the base plate on eBay.
It’s obvious [Archie] is a frugal guy, based on his drill press. It gets the job done, though. The build is attractive and looks like a much more expensive commercial product. Some of us around the Hackaday lab are old enough to wish there was a magnifying glass attached, but maybe that’s version two.
We’ve looked at a lot of different helpers recently. We couldn’t help but think about a somewhat similar Gorillapod holder we covered last year.
Nice one.
But, why not just screw those “normal”helping hands to a plate (maybe two)?
They are 5€ and come with a magnifier
You can’t tighten the wingnuts enough to keep them from sag down by their own weight on those. IME anyway.
Perhaps because those 5 euro helping hands are just terrible quality
https://www.banggood.com/Realacc-Strange-Third-Hand-Six-Arm-Soldering-Station-with-USB-Fan-p-1081818.html?rmmds=search
Yeah, but it’s 30 USD, a little more than 10AUD. Also, it’s right there in third sentence: “However, if you are willing to put $35 or $40 into it, you can get the newer kind that have–well–tentacles–on a heavy base.”
Extra hands to help you solder, cat to knock it down. :P
One of my cats especially likes to jump on my workbench and take parts away. Especially small PCBs with dangling wires. If I don’t look carefully after him, I can find the stuff later on in another room.
I can understand his fascination for electronics, but that are MY toys and before he knows how to use the soldering iron he should leave it alone. :-)
Just be glad he doesn’t have opposable thumbs. …Yet.
My cat likes to sit in my lap while I solder.
He seems fascinated by the stream of smoke from the iron.
I’m glad I’m not the only one with this issue.
I have the same issue, but with a small dog instead of a cat. Usually, it’s because she wants to go for a walk while the iron heats up.
I have te same cat problem. He knocks things off my bench just to see them fall, he pulls wires out of protoboards at night (sometimes real fun to troubleshoot the next day), and to top it all off, if I don’t hide my glasses at night, he hides them for me while I’m sleeping. Good thing for him that he’s really cute… :-)
handy! More of this.
I got 6 coolant Tubes and alligator clips for $5 AU including postage.
Yes, search “flexible coolant pipe” in Ali ( http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/rByZvV7 ) . For around 1 US dollar each. Much much cheaper than the “sixtopus” helping hand of 30 USD.
I only would’t do this with a metal base. I try to avoid large metal objects in my workspace; it’s an invitation for accidental short-circuits.
The metal base is a must otherwise it won’t stay put. The arms are long and the entire contraption would be constantly falling over. If you are afraid of shorts, turn the power off before working on your circuit! You can also cover the surface. with some non-conductive material.
However, I have been seriously disappointed with this type of helping hand. I have bought the Sparkfun one, which comes with a very nice, solid aluminum base. However, these blue plastic hoses are so stiff that it is next to impossible to get them where you want them. It is ok for things like soldering wires, but pretty much useless for any precision work. Sparkfun also ships their with very tiny and flimsy alligator clips that break very quickly but those are easy to change.
Maybe the metal base isn’t a must. A 3/4″ thick, 8″x4″ or 12″x6″ stone paver might work. You may need to epoxy the coolant tubes to the paver.
Or a plastic project box filled with sand, lead shot, pennies, or whatever…
I’ve done something similar by pouring concrete into the bottom of a water bottle, sticking an arm (made of coolant hose like this one), let it set and peel away the bottle. It’s worked very well for me.
Is coolant hose stiff enough? For comfortable soldering – board and wires should not move from every little disturbance…
If no – probably better to use http://hackaday.com/2017/03/12/ask-hackaday-helping-hands/ (much more expensive but stiff) or usual uncomfortable “third hand” with a lot of screws.
It’s plenty stiff; the couplings fit together very tightly. You can also get it in different sizes and the larger ones require some force to move at all.
This is my concern as well, my experience with long lengths of elbowed hoses is they are very unsteady and wiggle/bounce a ton…
Has anyone tried this camera magic arm?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/7-inch-magic-arm-universal-strange-hand-monitor-bracket-7-inch-strange-hand-for-cameras-SLR/32720475713.html
A certain Coldplay tune is stuck in my head now.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/7-inch-magic-arm-universal-strange-hand-monitor-bracket-7-inch-strange-hand-for-cameras-SLR/32720475713.html
Everything after the .html is tracking data. Click “Report comment” on your own post and the mods will probably clean that up for you. ;)
Your wish is our command!
This one is even more crazy. The flexible arms are 3D printed http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:801279
I always use my hakko omnivise, I think it’s the best solution for soldering work, easy and fast to hold your work and it never falls over. Only down side is that it’s a bit on the expansive side but if you have the machining skills you could make one your self.
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-C1390C-Omnivise-PCB-Holder/dp/B00IX2H050
i have fewer hands but more cats.
There is also this;
http://www.kitsandkrafts.com/Products/Lookup.aspx?ItemNumber=Third_Hand
I prefer my PanaVise junior (about $27 each) for holding small boards. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B61D22
I also have a cheaper board holder (about $10) for larger boards similar to the one at http://testequipmentusa.com/products/tools-accessories/aven-17010-adjustable-circuit-board-holder but I’ve not used it yet.
DSLR camera mount using the same pipes for legs
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Spider-Pod-Your-DSLRs-New-Friend/
I just built myself one of these — with a twist. I ran wires connected to the alligator clips, down thru each tube, and to a screw terminal at the back of the base. A separate wire and terminal for each arm. I can ground all 6 arms to hopefully eliminate/reduce ESD problems, or I can supply power and ground to different arms and power up whatever I’m working on. (Sorry, no pictures).
Has anyone figured out just what the threading on the bottom of these are? It is almost but not quite 1/4″ NPT. But 1/4″ NPT has 18 threads per inch, this has about 20ish. It may be metric. I don’t have a real precise thread gauge. I’ve dug thru the eBay and AliExpress listings and can’t find an exact size.