Flex Plus Workbench | Helping Hands Soldering Stations | Soldering Iron Helping Hand Tool | Designed for PanaVise & Soldering Tools | Steel Base for Welding Table Top with Locking Grips

I pretty jazzed about this "Helping Hands" add-on to my PanaVise. I have had the PanaVise for probably 30 years, and found it indispensable, but it was a little tricky using it with a small helping hands device that sat way down on the table top. I had my sights set on a different add-on for my P-Vise that had screw-in positioning arms, but it was out of stock when I was ready to buy. I'm glad that it was, because it gave me time to look around and find this version with magnetically mounted arms that permit me much greater flexibility in positioning the "hands." The wide plate does block the downward positioning of the P-Vise head as shown, but it is something that I can live with in exchange for the greater flexibility in placing the arms. This company offers another version of this with a smaller base that has "ears" for mounting the arms, if the width of the base is a problem.The base comes with bolts and nuts that are intended to mount the P-Vise directly to the plate, which has rubber feet to protect the work surface and provide space for the nuts. That would preclude the use of any existing P-Vise base. My preference was to keep my current base and to mount the plate on top of that. To accomplish that, I had to buy longer flat-head bolts. Neither the existing bolts or the ones provided with the QuadHands were long enough. Three 1/4-20 x 1" flat-heads did the trick.I look forward to using this arrangement to make my hobby-life easier for the project shown and many more to come. Having the long and infinitely configurable arms that come up to the level of the PanaVise jaws is going to be really handy. Plus, I like the rubber tube cushions provided which eliminate alligator clip cutting and teeth marks in the items being held. The thumbscrews that permit free rotation of the alligator clips, then to be able to cinch those down to fix them in position? Yesss! A well thought-out design.

I have used a lot of different helping hand type setups, and this one works the best, while also being very affordable.First of all, attaching to the PanaVise base greatly streamlines the hands and organizes the work space. I previously used the threads in the PanaVise mount to attach individual helping hands, but the circular hobby base has only 3 holes, and the cast iron base has just 2. Also, they are not in the most convenient spots. This product design puts the hands exactly where you need them, left and right. There is no fussing with wing nut tensioners or anything since it is using the gooseneck design.The arms are steel, and hold their position pretty well. You can easily push the ones you don't need back, and pull the ones you do need forward. It's possible to pull them all the way down to be flat with the table, which is a great feature if you like soldering on a mat.The stainless steel clips have a crimped nut that threads onto the arms, it's a UNC 8-32, very common machine screw size. There is also a knurled nut that you can use to tension the clips in place (so they won't spin). They come with silicone sleeves which will prevent the clips from biting into wires.Probably the best feature of this design is it allows you to make your own attachments, and easily affix them or change them out. I soldered brass nuts onto the end of some telecom clips, and they threaded right on and work perfectly. The telecom clips are amazing for holding a variety of objects, and have much finer teeth than the stock clips. I also plan on making some test probe holders which I can thread onto the arms. A simple cylinder with a 8-32 tapped hole will work just fine.

I’ve had a few different Panavise attachments and always swapped them out on the single base I have (you can see the other base/vise in the background). I ended up needing some rock-solid helping hands and found this model that would enable me to attach my Panavise attachment and leave the actual mini-vice connected to the Panavise steel base. The base itself is super heavy duty and has a nice durable powder coat finish. The magnetic arms are really nice because you can use as many as you need and remove the arms you don’t need (unlike the non-magnetic bases). You could use any Panavise attachment that fits the standard bolt pattern with this base too, depending on you needs/application. The arms are steel and also very beefy, the magnets are VERY strong They are easy to move around where you need them and once you get them there, they stay there. I only wish the base were a bit bigger because I’ve discovered all the odds and ends I have that can attach magnetically to the base! The flashlight and arm are Prometheus Lights Beta with the Prometheus Lights custom magnetic base and mount for any Prometheus Beta V2.

For me this is a great product. I recently picked up two new interests and my PanaVise 350 is a big part of both. One hobby doesn't need helping hands, but the other almost always does. The movable arms allow me to use as many as I need, wherever I need, and then move them out of the way, or remove them entirely if I want. The plate adds a nice weight to my vise, and while it overhangs the wells in the tray a little, because of the contour of the wells all parts are in plain site and easily reached, in the front and side wells, at least.The arms are sturdy and flexible. There is some spring back, which may go away in time, but I just put the arm close to where I want and then position the part in the jaws. Precision requires some fiddling, but it always does. Once in place it's pretty much there. You can bump it away, but if you're a little careful it stays where you put it. The jaws have full rotation and lock easily and securely, and have silicone sleeves to protect wires and delicate parts.All in all, this is a great product, and it actually surpassed my expectations, which were high, based on how great this seemed to be on the webpage. It's not lab-grade equipment, but it's not supposed to be. This is a solid, functional tool for hobbyists or makers, and that's what it is supposed to be. Well done.