Magnetic Helping Hands Third Hand Soldering Work Station | EXtra Large & Heavy Duty Base Plate | Flexible Arms | 360 Hot Air Gun Holder (Helping Hand with Magic Hand) (Helping Hand with Magic Hand)

I'll admit, this product is a bit more expensive than I'd like. I mostly bought it on an impulse when it went on sale. But I am so happy that I did. This product really does live up to its promises:The metal baseplate is thick and heavy, which helps keep everything anchored and still while you're working. In addition, it has big rubber feet to stabilize it and keep it from sliding across the table while in use. Its powder coating not only protects the metal, but the texture helps keep the magnetic arms anchored so the don't slide when you're working.The gooseneck arms are of the best quality I've ever seen (in any product, ever). They really have no memory or bounce-back. By that I mean: when you bend them into the position you want, they stay exactly where you put them. They don't retract a little, trying to return to the previous position, or upset at how far you've bent them. Not even a millimeter. Wherever you point them, they stay exactly in that position. They're also very strong and can hold surprising weight. And the magnets on their feet (that connect them to the metal baseplate) are very strong and keep them in place. Plus there is a thin rubber-like coating on them that adds to their traction.The soft tips on the alligator clips are a great and welcome addition. While easy to remove the soft tips if unwanted, they help to grip onto whatever you're working on while also protecting it from any scratches or gouges from the alligator teeth. The clips are also rotatable and completely removable (so you could add your own custom "gripping" devices if needed).The magnifying light was an unexpected bonus. I assumed it was going to be a cheap "add-on" product that wouldn't be worth the extra packaging it came in. But to my surprise, it turned out to be a really great addition. The light, while very easy to use, has many settings, allowing you to customize the brightness and color-temp of the light. Plus the magnifying lens is real glass (not knock-off cheap plastic made to fool people into thinking it's glass.) And it has a good magnification level. I have bigger articulated magnifying lamps, but this one is so handy it seems to be the one I reach for the most now. So it was a very surprising value-add to this purchase.While it certainly came with a lot of gooseneck arms (the kit I went with has five), I've decided to purchase some more separately, as now I've found them so handy I can't live without them and would like more for larger projects that need more "hands" for more (or much heavier) objects. I've just got to be sure I purchase this exact same brand, because I've seen a lot of other knock-off brands, and I don't trust them to not be junk.Also, the quality for each piece is obvious. No burs or slag, no scrapes in the paint, no manufacturing marks or nicks. Everything feels heavy in the hand, quality made. And it looks like whomever makes these takes pride in their work. I can't say I checked, but it has a real "Made in USA" feel to it.All in all, I can say this is one of the few products that promised a fair bit and actually lived up to it. I would say I am more than happy with this product (and in fact can think of no way it could be improved, other than to lower the price just a little maybe. Its just a tad too high and creates some sticker shock that I think is preventing them from getting new customers. I know I held off for quite a while before relentimg and purchasing.).So, all in all, I whole heartedly recommend this product. I will update this review if that changes.

I absolutely LOVE this helping hands assembly! The bendy hands have some recoil but not much at all, and when you have them set, they are solid. The magnet circuit board pointy pegs are brilliant! And I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect with the right screw size, you could mount your board to these magnetic pegs, at least one or two of them, to make sure the board doesn't come off the points.I am a magnet person. I hope that they do not find that magnets harm humans someday down the road because I have them everywhere on my bench. So now I can use some of them, especially the ones with screw threads, on this wonderful steel plate to increase my options while working.My computer desk is two level and uses a metal frame. So the parts from this, the hands especially, work GREAT on my desk as they stick to anywhere I have a metal frame. Because of this, I am ordering more.The hands are great too! Not just designed to fit into the end of a bending extrusion, but also has a locking screw. My GOSH I wish they had this available 50 years ago when I tinkered as a kid!!!For all the money I blew on useless hand-holding gear, I could have saved it and bought many of these!The Magnifier is pretty good. The metal clamp base is impressive! You have to get familiar with the optics and learn how far to keep your head back and how far to keep your target away from it. For about a day, I always saw double, but once I got use to it, it worked GREAT! The options are ridiculous... 10 brightness options and something like 4 or 5 white wavelengths. I am looking at mounting a tiny camera to the nut and bolt hardware they used to mount magnifier. .Speaking of nuts and bolts, this thing has nice nuts and bolts hardware and good solid construction. Locking nuts, strong springs, and if you are interested in this sort of thing, you are probably doing what I did when I got it... already thinking about modding it for your specific uses.I bought the clamp also because it looks great for rework, and who knows what else I can figure out for it. Haven't used it yet but looks to be the same nice construction.I am a major skeptic and rarely give a great review. I find issues with everything, so my wife says. But this purchase REALLY impressed me and I am finding new joy working with it.Kinda pricey. You get what you pay for. For me it was worth it!

There are helping hands here that cost a lot less. Spend the extra money and get this. It’s bigger and more substantial than it looks here. The iron base is powder coated.After putting on the rubber feet and, as the saying goes, it ain’t goin’ nowhere.There is nothing even remotely cheap or flimsy here. There are more than enough thingies to handle anything I can think of. I won’t be strapping any motherboards onto it, but I’m all but certain it would do a great job of holding one and keeping it in place.It came very well packaged, including a few pages of well-written instructions, support info and an extra alligator clip and thumb screw.I”m glad I spent the money on this and would buy it again. You could use this for years and then hand it down to your grandkids.

I am impressed with the flexibility and versatility of the helping hands. The arms allow me to access what I'm working on from any angle I choose. The base is very heavy and has a very big surface, and the magnets are stronger than I imagined. The only complaint I have is the the screws that tighten down on the alligator clips. They don't secure as well as I would like, and if you tighten them too much, it causes the metal to crimp in on itself. This isn't to say they don't tighten well enough to use, if you are careful. I am still very happy with the quality of the whole kit.

Nothing to assemble! ready to go helping hands and clamp station. Powerful magnets keep them in place where u put them. Great price and quality.