#892 in Tools & Home Improvement
Reddit mentions of Hobby Creek Helping Hands Third Hand Soldering Tool
Sentiment score: 5
Reddit mentions: 7
We found 7 Reddit mentions of Hobby Creek Helping Hands Third Hand Soldering Tool. Here are the top ones.
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Heavy Aluminum base for easy positioning2 pockets in Aluminum base to hold loose components4 Flexible 12" Arms4 Large alligator clips for various sized components and boards8 threaded sockets in base for more arms or a different configuration
Specs:
Height | 14 Inches |
Length | 6 Inches |
Weight | 1.1 Pounds |
Width | 4 Inches |
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B010C504NK/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1473117368&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=soldering+helping+hands
A pair if needle tip tweezers and a hi-powered magnifying glass (mounted a cheap $5 camera +10 macro filter) onto a $10 Flexible Helping Hand)
Helping Hands Third Hand Soldering Tool
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B010C504NK/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Yea like these https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B010C504NK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467770529&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=hobby+creek&dpPl=1&dpID=41dhZX8rUjL&ref=plSrch
This took me 5 minutes to put together.
Commercial Version:
hobby creek version
Materials List:
The amazon link I linked to sells the hoses in packs of 6 so you can make one for yourself and a friend, or do what hobby creek did and fix 4 arms to the base (which in my opinion is a little overkill).
It's not 100% rigid, but for a $9 build, it's "rigid enough".
I've heard a helping hand kit like this is significantly better than the traditional ones you see everywhere. There's a DIY guide on how to make that one on Instructables.
I haven't actually used mine for anything yet because I kind of got burned out doing technical hobbies after a technical workweek, but I decided I'd pick up one of these anyway, which hits a lot of the electronics test stuff you mentioned:
https://store.digilentinc.com/analog-discovery-2-100msps-usb-oscilloscope-logic-analyzer-and-variable-power-supply/
Ton of features for the price.
I use a 8-channel Saleae logic analyzer at work which is awesome, has really nice-looking software, and is priced reasonably for a home lab, but the AD2 does a lot more for not much more money. A decent multimeter is always useful. I used a $50 Radio Shack unit for a long time, but when it died, I picked up a really nice used Fluke 179 on eBay. Get some extra fuses for the fused current ports.
I definitely would buy a home 3D printer if I were into technical hobbies right now. I spent so much time using hand tools to lash together ugly electromechanical stuff for ham radio antennas and tuning networks before 3D printers were affordable. Agree that digital calipers are a great addition. I've found really cheap ones to be adequate at home.
For general electronics stock, even if the work's focused on microcontroller/IoT/digital, I like stocking up on small general-purpose capacitor and resistor assortments from places like Jameco, and then I order extra on the 220, 330, 1k, and 10k ohm resistors. For caps I'll get extra 0.1 and 1uF ceramic capacitors and 10uF or so tantalum electrolytics, all at 25V or higher, all to do power bypassing.
I've always found it useful to stock up on 3.3V and 5V voltage regulators at least. I usually keep some "adjustable" ones around as well. The classic LM78xx regulators are still pretty useful for general messing around. You can order what you really need later if you want something more compact or more efficient. But it's always nice to not have to wait for a DigiKey order just because you want to prototype a thing with a 3.3V microcontroller that plugs into your car's
cigarette lighterauxiliary power jack.I'm very into color coding my wiring, but find regular hookup wire to be too bulky for most board-to-board work in projects I'm working on. These days I buy long rolls of rainbow ribbon cable and tear it apart as necessary. It's nice to have a couple rolls of heavier black and red hookup wire for higher-current power leads.
I have a deep hatred of intermittent wire failures from flexing, and also get sick of perma-tangled spiderwebs that result from soldering both ends of things as I add things to a design. So I've started to favor crimped header connectors for wire-to-board connections to the point where I picked some up for the home lab. I like these Harwin M20s https://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/m20-series/32875 ... easy to pull the contacts and re-configure or even re-use by lifting the plastic tabs with a jeweler's screwdriver. I'll still often solder at least one end of the cable directly to a board... usually solder to a sensor board and connectorize the microcontroller end or something like that.
I've had good luck crimping them with this cheap crimping tool: https://www.inventables.com/technologies/crimping-tool
Lots of small cable ties.
If you do a lot of soldering, a good third-(& fourth & fifth) hand system is great. I like the cutting-fluid-conduit style ones like this
https://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Creek-Helping-Hands-Soldering/dp/B010C504NK
I don't really have one at home right now. I built the ones I've got at work from parts from McMaster Carr.