If you need to hold a model, rolling stock or circuit board from one side and, for example, from the back, the traditional helping hand won’t be much use.
![helping hands jig with alligator clips helping hands jig with alligator clips](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB10X7MqOOYBuNjSsD4q6zSkFXaH/1Piece-Fish-Clip-Hand-Controller-Fishing-Body-Grip-Clamp-Gripper-Grabber-Plastic-Tackle-Lock-Multifunctional-Tool.jpg)
Yes, you can move them along the shaft but they’re still limited to holding something along one axis of whatever it is you’re making. Then there’s the limited range of positions that they can hold.įor most variants, the joints holding the jaws are great but they’re fixed to a metal shaft which limits the range of positions and size of objects they can hold.
![helping hands jig with alligator clips helping hands jig with alligator clips](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1.dhHbBDH8KJjSszcxh6DTFXaf/New-Arrival-RJX-Helping-Hands-Third-Hand-Soldering-Tool-6-Flexible-Arms-With-Swiveling-Alligator-Clip.jpeg)
I’ve wrecked painstakingly and lovingly made models crashing into the worktop. Hindering Hand?Īnd, they certainly are a lot better than using your fingers but are still far from not perfect.įor starters, they topple over easily. They can securely grip small parts at a variety of angles leaving your hands free. Typically, they consist of two clamps mounted on ball joints at each end of a metal bar, itself mounted on a joint secured to a metal base. Many of the best model railways will have been made with these somewhere in the production. One of the most popular is the centuries-old Helping Hand jig.Īs a tool, this has been around for decades (okay, I exaggerated about the centuries!) and is a bread-and-butter tool for model makers.
![helping hands jig with alligator clips helping hands jig with alligator clips](https://i.redd.it/2fuyqozwrof41.jpg)
Rather it’s holding small parts steady while still needing to hold brushes, soldering irons and other tools. That’s something almost every modeller has uttered at one point or another.Īnd it’s not because fingers have been sliced off with the slip of an X-Acto blade □