IIlluminated Magnified Third Hand

[Ari-Jaq Xulden]

A while back I got fed up with my cheap $20 helping hand. It led me to do some digging and I found a tutorial on an RC forum.

http://fpvlab.com/forums/showthread.php?5406-DIY-4-Arm-Helping-Hands-Solder-Tool


I did a few things different and tried to add my own flair all while trying to improve and make it more functional for my purposes when it comes to building. Here is my end result redesign:

I find it to be a much better device, but then you get what you pay for. This is not some weak-heartened $20 device. If you read the tutorial I listed at the beginning, or searched on eBay or other forums the guy used to sell on for $60-$65 without the light. It is worth every penny when I solder those smd resistors to $125-$175 soundboard though. 

[Ratven]

This is very cool.

There seems to be a guy selling 4 armed versions of this on eBay for $43 with no magnifying glass. Yours seems superior in base design though.

[bombarta]

That's a beast Hahaha  8) i have an illuminated 1 myself and it makes a big difference.

[Acerocket]

I have all the parts I need to make one for myself (loc-line, nozzles, alligator clamps, screws, magnifying glass, base plate., and a cheap 9 LED flashlight I plan on making a mount to hold) - just no time yet.  Loc-line is not cheap - hence why those types of helping hands cost so much.  Someday, I will get to it

[Ari-Jaq Xulden]

I look forward to your version Wat, as your CNC skills are far beyond my manual machine skills. The light and mag I used started as a cheap 8 led kind, but I modified it a bit. I started with this :

Then turned it into this: