# Best Soldering Vice/extra hand



## Dsmagnussen (Oct 7, 2020)

I am looking for suggestions on the best soldering vice / third hand for soldering mic cables and other cables. Let me know what you like, please?

Thank you for your help.


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## MRW Lights (Oct 7, 2020)

Well... it depends... I mean in our shop we have 3? sizes of vises, plus the standard helping hands autobot crab pincer thingy... I like each of them for different things and different cables. So.... "best" is highly subjective... I can also say I started soldering with a $15 hobby iron and no vise.... I now have 2/3 irons and paid A LOT more than $15... but I suppose

this little bugger from Harbor Freight has honestly never let me down... 







Helping Hands

Amazing deals on this Helping Hands at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.



www.harborfreight.com





and a tabletop vise like this one is a typical go to favorite on my bench... 

https://www.grainger.com/product/WESTWARD-Light-Duty-Multi-Angle-Vise-3FDH8


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## cbrandt (Oct 7, 2020)

MRW Lights said:


> this little bugger from Harbor Freight has honestly never let me down...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I use this guy all the time. The only thing I dislike about it is, when I'm working with smaller wires, the alligator clips can be pretty harsh on the insulation.


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## MNicolai (Oct 7, 2020)

I have a Panavise but it's heavy and not ideal for working on plugs/connectors.

The slickest solutions I've seen are using dummy plugs mounted in a panel that you plug the connectors into while you're working on them, or having appropriately sized holes in wood or 3D printed that you can drop the plugs into. Here are some images from a conversation about this a while back on one of the AV facebook groups. There's also a premade version you can get.


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## DrewE (Oct 7, 2020)

I've only had intermittent luck with helping hands sorts of soldering aids. It seems that half the time for me, the act of soldering causes the things to slip around and move about despite their being clamped, and I have to end up holding them in place manually anyhow. Sometimes they're awfully fiddly to adjust to the right position, too. Maybe I've just used less than ideal versions of them; it's certainly believable that versions beyond my price range work better.

One trick I've often found helpful is to wrap the length of solder a couple times around my index finger and then leave a couple inches extending out, so that I can use that finger alone to apply the solder while still holding onto something with the rest of the hand.


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## techieman33 (Oct 7, 2020)

On top of the helping hands devices I like to use my Milwaukee M12 soldering iron. With a bigger XC battery it can stand up on its own at verticle, 45* or 90*. Then I can use both hands to manipulate the work and solder.







Milwaukee M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Soldering Iron (Tool-Only)-2488-20 - The Home Depot

The M12 Soldering Iron delivers fast application speeds by reaching operational temperature in under 18 seconds and maintaining an optimized temperature throughout the most demanding applications. The


www.homedepot.com


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## Mac Hosehead (Oct 7, 2020)

DrewE said:


> I've only had intermittent luck with helping hands sorts of soldering aids.


I'm with you. I generally hold the iron in one hand and feed the solder with two fingers from the other. That leaves the other fingers to hold the items. It takes a little dexterity and sometimes things get dropped.


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## DaveySimps (Oct 8, 2020)

I have never had luck with the helping hand devices. They always seem to let go and tip when it is least convenient. I got use to using my multitool with a rubber band on the hand end (for tension) to hold the connector. This freed up a hand for solder. Works well for me. One less gadget to haul around. 

~Dave


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## rsmentele (Oct 8, 2020)

I found this video courtesy of Adam Savage interesting. He builds a portable soldering station, his solution for helping hands is quite intriguing and I may try it myself.


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## Van (Oct 8, 2020)

Hit up American Science and Surplus "sciplusDOTcom" They have a ton of great solder stations.


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## TimMc (Oct 8, 2020)

I want a prehensile tail with an opposable thumb.


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## MNicolai (Oct 8, 2020)

Van said:


> Hit up American Science and Surplus "sciplusDOTcom" They have a ton of great solder stations.



They have a wild retail store. It was a fun place to browse because it's like one of those old used bookstores where sometimes even they don't know what's on their shelves. The bins of discombobulated doll parts have never stopped creeping me out though.


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## Van (Oct 8, 2020)

MNicolai said:


> They have a wild retail store. It was a fun place to browse because it's like one of those old used bookstores where sometimes even they don't know what's on their shelves. The bins of discombobulated doll parts have never stopped creeping me out though.


Omg! I would LOVE to visit in person. We used to have a similar place called Wacky Willys here in pdx just not as well run


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## FMEng (Oct 8, 2020)

Rather than use a specific holder for connectors, I just use a PanaVise. It's more versatile and that way I only need one item taking up bench space.


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## derekleffew (Oct 8, 2020)

Yes, PanaVise ! I like this head to hold the connector:


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## cbrandt (Oct 8, 2020)

FMEng said:


> Rather than use a specific holder for connectors, I just use a PanaVise. It's more versatile and that way I only need one item taking up bench space.


I never knew what they were called, but we have one of those in the shop. It is a lifesaver!


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## RonHebbard (Oct 8, 2020)

cbrandt said:


> I never knew what they were called, but we have one of those in the shop. It is a lifesaver!


And with the V-grooved nylon jaws, they're FABULOUS when it comes to gripping 1/4" connectors over their entire length preventing rotation while neither deforming nor excessively pinching the connector at any point along its length. 
Similarly, the V-grooved nylon jaws will grip many tubular connectors, and / or their inserts, without grounding them ( Of course none of us would EVER work on "live" connectors. No, we'd NEVER do that, neither in public nor on the internet). 
Toodleoo! 
Ron Hebbard


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## almorton (Oct 9, 2020)

I use one of these sort of devices a lot of the time.


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## gafftaper (Oct 11, 2020)

I always keep a pair of 6" forceps in my bag. They are awesome for grabbing the tiny wire and manipulating it to bend and sit just right before you start to solder.


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## mrtrudeau23 (Oct 12, 2020)

I have an earlier version of this helping hands. It's great. My only complaint is that it is lightweight and can tip over easily, but a piece of gaff on each side of the base fixes that perfectly.
We also have the hexapus at work for more complicated projects.


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## DonAllen (Oct 14, 2020)

I use a miniature vice for soldering most connectors, XLR's go into the sides, DA15 or DB25 go into the top and I tip the vice over onto the thumb screw so the connectors pins face towards me, that way it is close to the bench, so I can rest my arms on the bench to steady my hands.


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## Dsmagnussen (Oct 14, 2020)

rsmentele said:


> I found this video courtesy of Adam Savage interesting. He builds a portable soldering station, his solution for helping hands is quite intriguing and I may try it myself.



I have watched that one as well. it might be the way to go.


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## jonares (Oct 14, 2020)

Van said:


> Omg! I would LOVE to visit in person. We used to have a similar place called Wacky Willys here in pdx just not as well run


I miss Wacky Willys.... got a lot of cool stuff there. But once, sadly, while buying some vintage desks for "How to Succeed" - someone stole one of the vintage desks off the truck while we were loading them....


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## teqniqal (Oct 15, 2020)

The need for six hands always seems to come up, however, my experience has been that if the connector is mounted in a dummy socket as suggested by MNicolai, then you fill the solder cup (one hand for the iron, one hand to feed the solder), then as a part of prepping the cable (stripping, sliding heat shrink tubing over the leads, etc.) you tin each lead that will eventually go into a solder cup (one hand for the iron, one hand to feed the solder -- the cable is just overhanging the workbench with a slightly heavy object (a small sand bag works well) resting on it so it doesn't move around).

Then when you get ready to actually solder the wire to the connector you are only holding a soldering iron in one hand to heat-up the solder cup, and the cable body in the other hand. If you need to go back and add a dab of solder, you have probably under-filed the solder cup and/or under-tinned the wire. Practice. Lots of practice. And maybe a pair of needle-nose pliers for that stubborn wire.

Oh, and get a vapor sucker to keep those fumes out of your lungs, and a good aim-able LED work light with a glare shield (light your work, _not your eyes_ !) so you have a 100 fc of light on your task without baking you. Light is your friend. Especially if you are in the middle of a job site on not at a work bench.

If you normally wear (or think you should wear) reading glasses to work at a computer screen or read books, then make sure you have them with you and wear them when you are soldering. It is the same type of detailed task. Don't fry your eyes straining to focus on your work point.

Side Tip: ALWAYS use a drop cloth under your work area, be it in the shop or at the job site. NOBODY wants to clean-up spattered solder blobs, wire jacket strippings, and the fine, hair-like particles of 36 gauge copper strands off the floor and out of the carpet (_especially_ out of the carpet !). A few minutes to use a drop cloth can save hours of clean-up time. TIME = $$$.

Last point: Don't grab the hot end of the soldering iron !


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## MNicolai (Oct 24, 2020)

Van said:


> Hit up American Science and Surplus "sciplusDOTcom" They have a ton of great solder stations.



Found this looking for other photos from the archives. This is from their retail store, circa 2010.


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