What is Reddit's opinion of NEIKO 01902 Adjustable Helping Hand with Magnifying Glass, Third Hand Solder Aid, Soldering Wire Station Stand with Dual Alligator Clips and a Heavy Base, Beading & Jewelry Making Tools, Solder Holder?

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Usually the name is something along the lines of a helping hands soldering stand

It’s called ‘Helping Hands.’ They’re typically used for soldering, but work great for holding things while animating. I used to buy them at Radio Shack, but they can still be found in hobby shops or online. Amazon also sells a smaller version of them.

If you have a hobby store or can order online, try finding some “helping hands”

NEIKO 01902 Adjustable Helping Hand with Magnifying Glass, Soldering Station Stand with Dual Alligator Clips and a Heavy Base https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_49QFX35HM76DKWB1HCX6

I've screwed up my hot-end like this before... I used a soldering helping-hands to hold it while carefully heating up the block with one of those blowtorch style cigarette lighters. Once it was hot enough, I was able to remove the set screws and pull the heater cartridge and thermal probe.

>https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=sr\_1\_7

Such good ideas! Do you have a specific electric caulking gun you like? There is a big variation in prices. I'm a big Dewalt fan, but don't know if its necessary to buy Dewalt for this tool.

Thanks! I started my build this weekend and didn't get that far. I never have to do anything precise with my hands and I didn't realize how unsteady/shaky my hands are. I got a Helping Hands coming in from Amazon that should help, and I'm going to take another stab at my build this weekend.

I have Power Out and Ground Out from the top of board done, I have the battery sled done, and I have the bridge from B- to G and the bridge from B+ to 2,3,4 done. I just need to attach the sled to B+ and B-, and attach the Tap wire to 1 and I can test it out. If everything works, I just need to connect the 510 and fire switch, then epoxy it all into the AlpineTech GXL box I have.

It all sounds easy, so hopefully when my helping hands come in it will be easy.

Called helping hands. Here is one on amazon but I know harbor freight has them, probably radio shack too if you’ve got one (are they still around?) https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=helping+hands+soldering&qid=1577040686&sprefix=helping+hands&sr=8-3

Any reason not to consider a cheap pair of helping hands? This model is only $8 -- I've not used that particular brand, but I use a pair of similar helping hands.

Or is it just that you really like the Omnivise and want a project of making your own? Personally, I don't like how much of the board it swallows up, I like the smaller footprint of the helping hands alligator clips. Although one time I did destroy some surface mount components on an arduino nano with a bad placement of the clips. Only once, though...

Soldering is very easy. You can learn it in 5 minutes using a YouTube video. My advice would just be to make sure you have good ventilation. I think the vapors are pretty bad for you. A decent soldering iron makes a big difference over the cheapest ones too. I got a really nice one for like $30-40 on Amazon. Also, these things are fantastic for working with small objects.

A good magnifying glass is just as important as a good iron, especially once you realize you're not 25 anymore.

Any chance it's still salvageable or did you burn a hole through one of the chip? ;)

Soldering is pretty straight forward. Watch youtube videos of people explaining it until you're comfortable enough to try. If it's just 2 solder points, that seems quite simple, and shouldn't take very long.

You probably want to get yourself a helping hand to hold the ribbons in place while you solder.

https://www.amazon.com/Helping-Hand-01902-with-Magnifier/dp/B000P42O3C

It's a helping hands. For soldering typically but for any time you need a device to hold something in place to free your hands to work on it somehow.

https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C

Helping hands https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/

Can use for fly tying or holding circuit boards while soldering, etc.

Just... out of curiosity, what kind of batteries are those?

As to your issue, it's been addressed by /u/david4500 , /u/ConcernedKitty , and likely others by the time I finish this reply; you've been had by an eBay seller. Notice the green sticky at the top of /r/OpenPV? Here's a link It's there for a reason (specifically, because of me. I did the same thing, except with Amazon, because I wanted that prime shipping). If you can prove it's a fake (and /u/kitten-the-cat is good at that), you may be covered under Buyer Protection. Keep in mind, eBay / PayPal doesn't really like vapers. Regardless, only buy Mouser / Digikey if in the US. May cost a couple extra (though normally it's cheaper), and it may take longer in shipping, but 99 times out of 100 you're going to have to re-order from them anyway.

As the others said, that soldering is pretty bad. Get you some alligator clips and dowel rods to make a makeshift soldering rig. Or, if you can spring the $7 bucks, get you a set of helping hands. Bad soldering (or even holding your iron on the FET too long) can ruin a FET.

I would also try to keep those leads as far away from your battery posts as possible, such as in image #2 on your album. 3D printed parts may be neat and convenient, but they don't stand up to heat very well. Even ABS printed, if you're running 30A+ through, will warp your sled and push your battery contacts out. Shorts are nasty business. The obvious fix for this is to keep your amps low; less heat, less risk. But don't be surprised if you've been chain vaping and set that box down to come back to a lava lamp-like structure.

Looking at image 4, I'm seeing a lot of wire fraying. That means you have strands that aren't being used to carry current. The way I understand it, this is putting more load on your wires, which generates more heat. Generate enough heat, wire shielding melts, which gets you at risk for shorting.

Yes, my points are nit-picky. Don't take it personally. If this is a first build, it's not a terrible one. Better than my first build. Practice makes perfect. And as I demonstrated above, everybody is tempted by eBay / Amazon. Don't cut corners.

---edit--- did /r instead of /u, added link to PSA

Hated this too, biggest things that helped me

1. Get a pencil tip style soldering tip, trust me.
2. get a cheap set of helping hands. https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5uWGBhCTARIsAL70sLIxxPDcrvxfkZvgFSU_mNDVwBRWzU9Bv3xKDLznhEOuDcc_pnE0llIaArNfEALw_wcB&hvadid=323382316318&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9026804&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=9807183517194885242&hvtargid=kwd-582729441107&hydadcr=12209_9729907&keywords=helping+hands+soldering+clamp&qid=1624899054&sr=8-7
3. dab a miniscule amount of flux on the end of each wire before soldering kind of like when lubing a stem. When using a good 60/40 lead solder, those joints will melt and flow like water.

The forked case iron base and the ball on the end sure remind me of the old standard "helping hands" tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C

I wonder if this might just be a different arrangement, missing the helpy bits.

Great choice on the Hakko FX88D. The Kester will be nice too, I personally prefer 63/37 solder, but 60/40 is fine too.

As far as other things, you almost certainly want a third hand (https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/). The basic ones are fine, but there are nicer ones available too (https://www.amazon.com/Helping-Soldering-Workshop-Non-slip-Weighted/dp/B07MDKXNPC).

A solder fume extractor is nice, but not necessary, at least at first.

Last thing that sticks out to me is a soldering iron, you will want to make sure you have both a chisel tip and a pointed tip.

Quick tips for me to share would be:

• Start with the soldering iron temp set at 550°F, that's always a good starting point for me.
  
• Make sure to put a little solder on the tip of the iron to give more thermal contact between the iron and the components
• Watch some youtube videos that focus on what kind of soldering you want to do. It sounds like you will be doing SMD stuff, so watch videos, and practice a lot. That said you may find out from watching the videos that for SMD soldering there are a few other components you may want to purchase to help (tweezers, PCB holder/vise, etc)

Its used for soldering wires together but I found it useful for cloning as well https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TImJFb4TB06J6

Np https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TImJFb4TB06J6

1. Ok so first off…often when someone here says that one method or thing is “better” most often does not mean “easier” people are trying to make the best looking gunpla possible and don’t care how time consuming or difficult something may be…

2. You need some helping hands to hold your stuff better so you don’t run out of hands…here’s a very basic one but there are lots of options for this sort of thing…

NEIKO 01902 Adjustable Helping Hand with Magnifying Glass, Soldering Station Stand with Dual Alligator Clips and a Heavy Base https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_W078C2FVVN29AXHV66A4

1. If you really want some long form videos, here’s a every good series from zakuAurelius where builds a model from start to finish abs goes in great detail about every step along the way…part 11 is water slides…

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCdup8DSCfy94zI6K-kO494-8Owf_MamL

1. Yeah everyone has their own methods and dies stuff in a different order, so every tutorial is gonna be a little different, gunpla is freedom, and part of that freedom is finding a workflow that works for you…so just keep experimenting and trying new stuff and you’ll get it all figured out eventually

This might help.

I use a good amount of flux and a chisel tip. I also have a set of helping hands to keep everything steady

This is the exact one I have, bought from Harbor Freight.

https://www.amazon.ca/Neiko-Hiltex-01902-Helping-Magnifying/dp/B000P42O3C

Glad to hear it!

For soldering, I'd recommend doing what I did and just go to Home Depot or Lowes or a hardware store and get a few feet of wire, maybe a few different gauges of it, take it home and practice. Cut it, strip it, solder it together, and use electrical tape or heat-shrink wrap to cover all exposed metal. Rinse wash repeat. Did that 3 or 4 times and got more comfortable with it.

Grab one of these helping hands along with a basic soldering kit off amazon and you're good to go.

https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-01902-Adjustable-Magnifying-Alligator/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=helping+hands&qid=1569619359&sr=8-4

Have fun!

What about something like this?

Neiko 01902 Adjustable Helping Hand With Magnifying Glass | Dual Alligator Clips https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_IzDiFbZA4HJY8

Here I used an RSG 6 Rig Arm from kinetic armatures, but I also use tons of helping hands, which are super inexpensive and easy to find on amazon or pretty much anywhere!

Those eyes are really cool. I've got a bunch of mini's showing up soon from the Bones 3 kickstarter and will have to try that out on some of the bigger pieces before working it down to the smaller ones. Unfortunately most of the large models I have now are Big stompy robots (privateer press Cryx) and they don't really have eyes on them.

I have not tried a magnifier head set. I tried using the magnifier on a pair of helping hands but I had no sense depth perception so it didn't really work out for me. I've heard that the headsets work fairly well and you can maintain your sense of depth. Let's just say they're on the old wishlist so I can try them out.

Buy a set of Helping Hands. Yes, you can solder without one, but it makes it so much easier that for a couple bucks it's absolutely worth it.

This helps me so much when soldering. I'm not sure how much it would help your specific weld you have to do but it will help in the future

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-Helping-Hand-with-Magnifier/dp/B000P42O3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421774456&sr=8-1&keywords=helping+hand+soldering