I have the classic "roach clips for two" style helping hands that my dad bought in 197.....something. Sometime in the 80's I epoxied the base to a chunk of round stock to add weight and that made a huge difference. It's rock steady now and the added height also helps. I use it for soldering everything and can't imagine working without it.
Best Soldering Helping Hands
- Thread starter MJ
- Start date
Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:
Just buy a cheap $20 cable tester. You then have a method to check your cables and it has all the sockets you will ever need
Easy… just buy a cheap $20 cable tester. This will give you a way to test your cables once they are done and gives you all the sockets you’ll ever need to hold the connectors while you solder them! Most testers have the xlr sockets the wrong way up to do this easily so you need to unscrew the sockets and turn them 180 degrees. Once you’ve done that you have a stable platform to solder just about any type of cable. It works - and you don’t have to make anything!
For making most audio leads, I just stick the contacts into a cable tester. It holds them all just fine.... and the next step will be to test the finished lead anyway. I have quite a selection of cable testers but it is the Behringer CT100 that lives in my tool case. I have never been a fan of helping hands. They hold the work too high resulting in hands in the air and the shaking you get from that. To solder well, you want the ball of both hands touching the bench. That way they are really steady. Iron in one hand, cable in the other. When making leads I strip and tin the wires and fill the buckets on XLRs or D-Subs first. Reheat the contact/solder bucket, move the tinned wire into place, remove the heat, hold very still, perfect joint. That avoids the need for another hand to hold the solder. When you do need to feed solder too, it isn't hard to learn to hold the wire with your little fingers and thumb joint and feed solder with your thumb tip and index finger tip.
i don't have room on my bench for one of those reptilian roach clip thingy's that look like the constellation Scorpio.
left hand holds the part, right hand holds the soldering iron, the mouth holds the solder and it ain't killed me yet, but it might have made me weird but not as bad as mercury.
you know about the mad hatter?
left hand holds the part, right hand holds the soldering iron, the mouth holds the solder and it ain't killed me yet, but it might have made me weird but not as bad as mercury.
you know about the mad hatter?
iampoor1
Well-known member
I prefer these "quad hands" style to well...everything ive ever tried.
You can hold the xlr in 1 clip, hold back all the insert pieces with another clip, and get the cable at any angle you want. I also mount a small light on some of the other clips...and you still have a few left over.
For doing connectors like db-25s where you need to constantly reposition them this is a godsend! It's also great when you are on sale 86 and just need another angle before your arm cramps up
https://www.amazon.com/QuadHands-Wo...mzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840
You can hold the xlr in 1 clip, hold back all the insert pieces with another clip, and get the cable at any angle you want. I also mount a small light on some of the other clips...and you still have a few left over.
For doing connectors like db-25s where you need to constantly reposition them this is a godsend! It's also great when you are on sale 86 and just need another angle before your arm cramps up
https://www.amazon.com/QuadHands-Wo...mzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840
In Japan they perform chopstick acrobatics when eating so:
Iron in one hand. The other hand holds component or wire between thumb and index finger, and
solder between ring and small finger of the same hand.
And should that not work, the middle finger is in the correct position already
Iron in one hand. The other hand holds component or wire between thumb and index finger, and
solder between ring and small finger of the same hand.
And should that not work, the middle finger is in the correct position already
"Helping Hands" - A heavy base is key (or attached to something heavy). If not it will tend to move around and especially if attempting to hold cables in place for soldering. But, as has been said, you do tend to end up with the pcb etc in 'mid-air' and that's often not optimum for manual stability. The Stanley vice is good. We have one where I work for that purpose.
Brian Roth
Well-known member
For eons I have had:
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=16
along with:
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=15
The latter holds anything for me ranging from connectors to reasonably wide PCBs.
At one point, I also had this accessory:
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=38
Sadly, that entire setup was stolen from me at a worksite so I now have the base and "wide jaws" attachment.
Bri
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=16
along with:
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=15
The latter holds anything for me ranging from connectors to reasonably wide PCBs.
At one point, I also had this accessory:
https://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=38
Sadly, that entire setup was stolen from me at a worksite so I now have the base and "wide jaws" attachment.
Bri
tgs
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 30, 2013
- Messages
- 84
I'm using that one too, it's great. Very easy to turn from top to bottom if the card isn't too enormous.
bretvh
New member
I use the PCB vise TimG posted for PCBs. For connectors and jacks, I use one of these and they are surprisingly helpful:
https://www.austinmics.com/hot-holder/
https://www.austinmics.com/hot-holder/
NOON
Well-known member
One of the best things you can do for soldering is play a musical instrument. I've noticed when working alongside others that those who play an instrument (guitar, bass, piano etc) have excellent dexterity and independence in the left hand fingers (assuming you're a righty). They are able to pass things between fingers, use fingers to prop things in the correct place while also directing solder etc while the non-musos tend to use their left hand as one grasping unit. I've also noticed that I'm nowhere near as good at that dexterity now that I'm not playing regularly.
another trick is to wrap some solder around the joint, hold with one hand, melt solder with the other.
Looks nice. I've seen this, or similar previously but can't recall details. have to comment that the cost seems a bit high unless working "semi commercially" or just have a lot of connectors to solder. Is there any specific UK distribution ?
Personally I never found a need for helping hands. I am quite dexterous, because I have always been tinkering with things since I was a child. Lots of meccano, & mechanical things.
25 odd years ago I used to work for a Horizon Cables in their U.K office making cables & looms etc. We used to have the soldering iron mounted on a stand pointing downwards, with a reel of solder on a spike on the top. They sent a nice lady over from their Cape Giradeau factory, who used to wire stuff for NASA who taught me the method. Since I had already done a load of cable making in the past, it wasn't difficult for me to pick up their method. I find I get a much better connection when I can manipulate the wire and plug, one in each hand. I find plugging the contacts into a socket really time consuming & the technique is not much use when you have to put an xlr on some cable in mid air in a rack. I used to make 100 mic leads including cutting the cable & wrapping it in a morning.
With pcb's I never found it difficult to populate and solder without any helping hands or vice. I think for me it would probably annoy me & slow the process down. However each to their own.
25 odd years ago I used to work for a Horizon Cables in their U.K office making cables & looms etc. We used to have the soldering iron mounted on a stand pointing downwards, with a reel of solder on a spike on the top. They sent a nice lady over from their Cape Giradeau factory, who used to wire stuff for NASA who taught me the method. Since I had already done a load of cable making in the past, it wasn't difficult for me to pick up their method. I find I get a much better connection when I can manipulate the wire and plug, one in each hand. I find plugging the contacts into a socket really time consuming & the technique is not much use when you have to put an xlr on some cable in mid air in a rack. I used to make 100 mic leads including cutting the cable & wrapping it in a morning.
With pcb's I never found it difficult to populate and solder without any helping hands or vice. I think for me it would probably annoy me & slow the process down. However each to their own.
Last edited:
scott2000
Well-known member
No, not an 80's party.... ....
Many times I've found myself having to shorten wires and can't get any helping hands to.. help. Some teflon insulated wire in the smaller awg is difficult to strip using strippers I have, ..especially in situations when the wire is connected to a board or something else and I don't want to be tugging too hard.
Using some smooth pliers to hold the wire right at the length you want to strip I found works pretty good for sliding a blade around the jacket using the pliers as a guide. Then I can set the blade down, pull the insulation off with my fingertips , grab the iron with a dab of solder and tin the end all while holding the wire in the pliers...probably already a thing but, it was news to me.
Many times I've found myself having to shorten wires and can't get any helping hands to.. help. Some teflon insulated wire in the smaller awg is difficult to strip using strippers I have, ..especially in situations when the wire is connected to a board or something else and I don't want to be tugging too hard.
Using some smooth pliers to hold the wire right at the length you want to strip I found works pretty good for sliding a blade around the jacket using the pliers as a guide. Then I can set the blade down, pull the insulation off with my fingertips , grab the iron with a dab of solder and tin the end all while holding the wire in the pliers...probably already a thing but, it was news to me.
Attachments
Last edited:
I am NASA certified, and they never taught us this at NASA. The problem with this method is that it breaks one of the basic golden rules of soldering...
"never move the solder joint before the solder has completely solidified"
With this technique, you're relying on the steadiness of both hands as you remove the joint away from the soldering iron, which can create a cold solder joint with even the slightest of microscopic movements. Also, you would need to keep the joint rock-steady for the duration of the cool-down period... good luck. NASA checked our work with a 100X microscope, and demonstrated the difference of both techniques with the microscope. It's not too difficult to see with the naked eye either.
At NASA, we used the spring type of 'helping hands' along with a solid chunk of steel with connectors mounted to it. this completely eliminated the chance of the component or wire moving after the iron is removed. I can see how this method would be a HUGE time saver, but, as I've learned, the most reliable solder joints come with patience.
Please don't put words into my mouth. I never said the woman who taught me said that was how they did things at NASA. I just said she worked there soldering before she worked at this company. The reason for them asking us to using this technique is simply one of speed, time= money. I also never said that I manipulated the the connector and wire while the solder was solidifying. I don't remember there being any problem holding the connections still enough either. Maybe they didn't use this method at NASA, but it works well for guitar and mic cables.
How were you holding the connector during the process ? As in - didn't it get too hot ?
