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)

I like that the magnets are strong.. I use it for my rock crawling hobbies

I had been using a traditional third hand tool for years (2 alligator clips on a short pole with a magnifying glass in the middle) and it was never really great. I got back into soldering again recently and saw that new third hand tools were out now, and so first tried one with a similar design but plastic arms. it was awful. Tried this one next and the difference was AMAZING. My only complaint is I wish it came with a light like some others do

I have been “soldering” (repair, creating electronic projects) for many years, and I have used many different “jigs” to help me with challenging tasks... this is by far the most versatile, robust, well thought out and beautifully constructed set of “helping hands” I have ever used! Cudos to the designers and makers of this product! Nothing flimsy about it at all, all parts fit well and clearly, top notch materials have been used in its fabrication. I highly recommend this product!

The arm movement is very smooth and accurate on this product. The base is heavy and solid, and the magnets are very strong, which keeps the arms in place very well. The clips could be slightly better, but that still didnt hinder me from giving it 5 stars.

Forget the cheap, flimsy, unstable, limited movement holders. This set is beastly! Super sturdy and flexible. Amazingly robust. If you need a set of helping hands, just get these and be done with it for good.

Ill admit, this product is a bit more expensive than Id 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 youre 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 dont slide when youre working. The gooseneck arms are of the best quality Ive 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 dont retract a little, trying to return to the previous position, or upset at how far youve bent them. Not even a millimeter. Wherever you point them, they stay exactly in that position. Theyre 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 youre 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 wouldnt 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 its 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), Ive decided to purchase some more separately, as now Ive found them so handy I cant live without them and would like more for larger projects that need more hands for more (or much heavier) objects. Ive just got to be sure I purchase this exact same brand, because Ive seen a lot of other knock-off brands, and I dont 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 cant 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.

TL/DR: Buy this set. Great value. Works great. I bought my set of helping hands from the Amazon warehouse, and there were two minor scratches. I expected them, they dont affect anything, and someone was nice enough to color them in with a matching black pen. In operation, the base is stable, the arms move where you want, and stay there. The clips are better than the average ones Ive seen, and do the job. More precise tips, and plasti-dipped alligator clips vice the sleeved ones would be nice...but thats nit-picking. This set has already worked great for replacing the lipo batteries on some Anki Overdrive cars. The small pillars are the icing on this cake. Extremely stable (magnets dont move), six of them, and once I cleaned them up (3 of the brass tops needed wrench removal and lubrication to move freely) they are the best part of the set. They hold the board rock steady. When Ive messed up electrical repair work, it has been due to trying perform tasks that require more hands than I possess. That isnt an issue anymore with this set. Random helpful hint for larger projects that requires more space and/or ridiculous stability. Buy a cheap set of iron brake rotors. I bought some cheap ones for $12, and those provide two satellite platforms for either side of the plate that comes with this set. The magnetic pillars and flex arms will stick to the rotors, too (if you buy the iron ones...aluminum rotors and some ceramic ones...not so much). At 14lbs each, the ones I bought arent moving.

Very high quality strong magnets and tight grip o. Whatever your working on

The rubber pieces they are supposed to be attached to the bottom for stability were just thrown into the box with nothing covering the adhesive, so now they are stuck to everything in the box (attached photo). After peeling them off, theyve become useless because the adhesive is covered in ripped paper/cardboard. Not only that, 1 of the rubber feet is missing... only came with 3.

Just buy it you will see when its delivered. Super sturdy and so freaking helpful with soldering