[Punamenon2] wanted a soldering station with integrated helping hands. He couldn’t find one, but he decided it would be a good 3D printed project. In all fairness, this is really 3D printing integrating several off-the-shelf components including a magnifier, a soldering iron holder, a soldering iron cleaner, a couple of “octopus” tripods, and some alligator clips. Total cost? Less than $30.

In addition to holding the Frankenstein monster together, the 3D printed structure also provides a storage tray with special sloped edges to make removing small screws easier.

We were a bit surprised at the use of the cell phone tripods for the arms. Usually, we see these builds using machining coolant pipe. To fit the alligator clips to the tripod, [Punamenon2] had to drill some holes in the arm, whereas the coolant hoses are easy to work with.

We were a little disappointed to not find the STL files for the base, but on the other hand, you’d probably have to customize it for whatever parts you had on hand anyway. We also wondered if the base ought to have a place to fill it with sand or something for weight. Of course, you can find plenty of similar builds on Thingiverse, including printable arms, if you want to borrow a few parts for your design. We’ve seen some similar builds before, and each one is a little different. There’s also plenty of other options.