Rectangle Soldering

Better than anticipated if I’m being completely honest. Arms are plenty flexible yet nice and sturdy for when you’re soldering. The base is much heavier than I thought it’d be which was a pleasant surprise. Nice powder-coat on the base. Super simple assembly. Mine arrived with two extra clips as well which is nice. I would certainly buy again if needed or recommend to anyone looking.

I’ve gotten ‘third hand’ devices for sewing in the past so I knew when soldering became a new curiosity, the same concept would really come in handy for it. This thing is more like a third/fourth/fifth/sixth hand though. Very easy to assemble, comes in a pretty small box, nestled in foam cutouts. The steel base is a nice heavy weight, definitely not going to get pushed around easily. The rubber feet are balanced so there’s no wobble. The arms are strong but not difficult to bend like some tablet holders I’ve used in the past. I love the tightening nuts that attach to the alligator clips; you can use these to loosen the clip, swivel it to the right angle then tighten it so it won’t budge once more. Very handy. The clips are very strong and the teeth will hurt so definitely use the black rubber caps to protect skin and circuit boards better. It’s absolutely terrific for soldering but it also works great for clamping and glueing with other sorts of DIY projects and crafts on a small scale. I don’t solder a whole lot so it’s good to know I can use it for many other tasks. For the price and soldering, it’s likely all you’ll ever need unless you have much heavier/larger or really micro projects. For most other tasks, this is perfect.

This is a decent product that does a nice job holding my Raspberry Picos in place while I solder wires or pins to the board. While assembling the unit, one of the alligator clips would not thread onto the male arm screws. Upon inspecting it, I found the threads were cut too undersized to hold onto the female threads of the clip. I emailed the seller for a replacement but never heard back from them. I ended up cutting off the male threads and drilled/tapped the arm end for a new M3 stud that I thread-locked into place.

This thing is HEAVY and STURDY. Very well made and I'm confident that anything you put in this will stay firmly in place, while still being free to orient everything as you need. The base has a heft to it. It's a very solid tool.

I’m kinda new to soldering, and even though I’d purchased a smaller “helping hands” (the short one, with a magnifying glass and the short arms), I never really thought that THIS is the helping hands tool that I REALLY needed! I’ve used it only once and it is SO much better than the smaller one I have. The flexible arms make positioning SO much more convenient and efficient. On my other helping hands, I’m constantly having to find a good angle and position to hold whatever it is that I’m working on, but this tool is brilliant! I’m never going back to my other one after using this. It’s got a great weight to it, which helps keep it stable (my other one is constantly falling over and needs to be carefully balanced - no issues with that for this device). I also love that it comes with rubber clamp covers and an extra pair of clamps. It also has two extra holes on the plate, which I assume is for you to add extra arms, a light, or a magnifying glass. On that note, I do regret not buying the version with the magnifying glass on it, but that was entirely my shortsightedness. Good price? Yes Well built? Very much so Great value? Absolutely Do I recommend? 💯 Tips for anyone new to this: buy this instead of the small helping hands. You won’t regret it!

I am a cheapskate and always try to get by while saving a buck. I don't know what it was about this item. Maybe it was the cool Dr. Octopus arms along with the yellow table... Whatever it was. I am so glad I spent the extra money and bought this one instead of similar items with a lower price. This is high quality and comes with extra pieces. The table is made of 1/8th inch steel and has a good weight to it. The arms are strong and durable. The clamps have great grip strength and are of similar high quality. It comes with rubber tips to not damage items you clamp down on. They also give an extra arm and two extra clamps w/ tips. If you are feeling like you need to add the extra 5th arm on you can. There are two more holes in the base plate and all you need to do is get the proper screw. I can't recommend this item enough. Don't be a cheapskate like me and spend the extra money on this item, it's worth it!

The base is sufficiently weighted and the arms are stiff which allow the workpiece to be securely held while soldering. Assembly and use is easy. So far, I find this to be a very good item.

nice and heavy, works ok. I had to add a rubber washer to the base to hold the flexible cables tight on the plate so it would not move. Overall works as expected.