Helping Hands Thingamajig

[gotarheelz14]

Are those helping hands things any good? I am talking about the magnifying glass which comes with two little mini clamps to hold small objects while you work. They look something like this:

What are they called? I see them everywhere on ebay for as low as $8 dollars or so. The only problem is that I don't want to buy something super cheap that falls apart and the magnifying is of no good either. Do any of you know of any good brands or any good makers of these? I am afraid that the ebay ones are simply cheap Chinese versions.

If you know what I am talking about or where to get one please let me know. The ebay ones are all I have found so far and I don't want to get duped!

Thanks!

Carlos

[Phantom ordie]

I bought one at Harbor Freight for $2.99. It's just like the ones I've seen elsewhere for up to $10 or $15. I use it sometimes to hold pieces I've brush painted. It's just something else to have in case it's needed.

[CrowTRobot]

I have one of these, and while the clips are useful the magnifying "glass" is not. It's too small and distorted for my liking. It's no great loss since I have an Optivisor for that sort of thing.

[TXCajun]

I bought one at Harbor Freight for $2.99. It's just like the ones I've seen elsewhere for up to $10 or $15. I use it sometimes to hold pieces I've brush painted. It's just something else to have in case it's needed.

I did the same thing. It's good when you need to hold something at a fixed focal length - like a figure or other part. But, since then, I found this Mr. Gunze whatchamacalit thingy. It's basically a stand with lengths of wire on it and clips fastened to the end of the wires. It's called the "Mr. Almighty Clips II" (Love those names) and Squadron sells it for $23.31 (Stock number "MAGT34"). Since buying that, I hardly ever use the magnifying clip.

If it were me making the decision knowing what I know now, I would save my money for a couple of months and buy an Optivisor with lights and the Mr. Almighty Clips II rig.

[TimEarls]

I have one of these but without the magnifying glass. It's great for hold parts that are being painted or small parts being glued to.

Tim

[RedHeadKevin]

IF you can find one of these cheap, they're worth 4 or 5 bucks. IF you're doing plastic stuff, the alligator clips are usually too strong for the plastic, and you end up with "teeth marks." They are, however, great for doing things like figures, where you don't really care if he's got tooth marks on a boot, or if you glue him to a toothpick, and let the clamp hold the toothpick. The magnifying glass can be nice sometimes. Say you're painting the belts on an ejection seat, you can use the magnifier, essentially at a fixed focal length. Usually, the magnifier is pretty much useless.

Edited October 15, 2009 by RedHeadKevin

[chukw]

It's great for soldering stuff!

[mlicari]

I have one, and I find it very useful when attaching PE parts. I just seem to need three hands to do that: one to hold the PE, one to hold the other kit part, and one to hold the micro-brush with either CA or accelerator.

Very handy.

:unsure:

Mike

[don weixl]

I have one and never use it....I prefer other options to hold small parts such as small alligator clips on the end of bamboo skewers which I can stick into a foam block....

You use to be able to buy them at Radio Shack.

[Ajed1]

I did the same thing. It's good when you need to hold something at a fixed focal length - like a figure or other part. But, since then, I found this Mr. Gunze whatchamacalit thingy. It's basically a stand with lengths of wire on it and clips fastened to the end of the wires. It's called the "Mr. Almighty Clips II" (Love those names) and Squadron sells it for $23.31 (Stock number "MAGT34"). Since buying that, I hardly ever use the magnifying clip.

If it were me making the decision knowing what I know now, I would save my money for a couple of months and buy an Optivisor with lights and the Mr. Almighty Clips II rig.

Indirectly this has helped me a lot --- I was looking for something like this myself - only thing is has anyone used an Optiviser over perscription glasses?

Ajed1

[theseeker]

I have two different types, one that is made for soldering and two of the one shown without the magnifier. I love them!

Rocky

[ElectricPhase]

I have one of the Harbor Freight ones. Ditched the magnifier, and use the alligator clips to hold modified clothes pins or soft plastic clips. Extremely useful that way.

[tomr]

Indirectly this has helped me a lot --- I was looking for something like this myself - only thing is has anyone used an Optiviser over perscription glasses?

Ajed1

I do that all the time! The Optivisor is designed for normal visioned people. Glasses just help those of us who are visually challenged (near or far sighted) to see as normal.

There is no problem with the visor fitting over the glasses, because the visor mounts to a headband, and there is ample room for glasses under the piece that holds the lens.

The other nice thing about the Optivisor is that you can get the lens in several different strengths, and they are easy to swap out!

[Old Blind Dog]

I've owned several of these over the years. They can come in handy for certain tasks, espcially soldering (as already noted above).

Sometimes, when I want to mask a canopy before attaching it to the fuselage, I'll fill the clear plastic parts with a "loaf" of Blu-Tac. Then, I "impale" the Blu Tac on one of the aligator clips on the third hand device. Works great, and I can mve the piece around as needed and still have both hands free.

cheers

Old Blind Dog