Soldering helping hands station recommendations.

That quadhands looks neat. I seldom solder anything that isn't attached to a game or board. I have a standard one which I've honestly never used. I do use a silicone mat, though. Stops things from wiggling or sliding and I find it very helpful. Unsure how static safe it is but I haven't had troubles yet.
 
Whatever you get, make sure it has a heavy, solid base. I picked up a cheapo helping hand station at a RadioShack years back, and the magnifying glass on it (with it's impressive 2x magnification) weighs more than the base for the thing so it always falls over. Ya get what you pay for.
 
panavise makes some good ones and i have one with the extension arms so it will hold PCB's up to 2 1/2 feet long. really though i suspect most people rarely use what they have if their solder station and ventilation is set up and is stationary VS movable.
 
Whatever you get, make sure it has a heavy, solid base. I picked up a cheapo helping hand station at a RadioShack years back, and the magnifying glass on it (with it's impressive 2x magnification) weighs more than the base for the thing so it always falls over. Ya get what you pay for.

Yeah, that's a design frustration for sure. At least with the U-shaped base you can fashion an anchor for it pretty easily, but it would be nice to not have to.
 
I've got a few different Panavise holders... I really like them, though of all of them, I use the Panavise Jr. all the time, and the full size Panavise very little. When working on large boards, space on the workbench generally works nearly as well as a board holder.

The Jr. is nice because it keeps small boards from moving while soldering, it holds wires like the cheap helping hands, etc. A large board doesn't really move while working on it, and while occasionally it's nice to hold a board sideways so you can access both sides simultaneously... usually flat on a tabletop surface is sufficient.

DogP
 
I use the old school one that whitefox linked to. I agree, throw the magnifier away...its useless. I have a real (glass) magnifying glass for the rare occasion I need one.
 
I have that one, as well as this one: https://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-333-Assembly-Circuit-Holder/dp/B000SSR8FY ... unless you need that other stuff (solder and iron holder, tray, etc), I'd highly recommend the 333 over the 324. They both have basically the same PCB holder, but the ability to adjust the height allows you to more freely flip the board over, around, etc. (and it doesn't hit the stuff on the base).

DogP
 
got a panavise 324 for $15 when radioshack was clearing them out. one of the best tool purchases i've ever made in this hobby! you definitely need to buy a longer arm for it to make it maximally useful though. they come in all different lengths and are pretty cheap.
 
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