Helping Hands Soldering Station, 3.5X 12X Magnifying Glass LED Lighted Magnifier with Auxiliary Clips Alligator Clamp Repair Tools Kit for Soldering, Assembly, Miniatures

I bought this to hold wires for a stereo install. It was easy to to use. I didn't need the magnifying glass portion so I removed it. The hands are adjustable and it did not tip over even when working with a wire harness that had well over 10 wires.I used this with both solder and with these fance shrink tubes that already had solder in them. I was able to easily use my heat gun and shrink tube attachment (looks like a rounded spatula that attaches to the heat gun) and had plenty of room to work with.It works good, does what it is supposed to do, and best of all I was able to fit it in the hardware box with all of my other wire connectors and siupplies. Oh, and it isn't that expensive, so there is that as well.

For the price this is a nice holder. It does what it says it will, but is rather small so only small boards or wires can be used with it. The materials are great and the optics on the magnifier are really good too. No distortion and it's easy to focus on the work.But, as others have noted the adjusting clips don't grip very well at all. No matter how hard I tightened the wing nuts it would still slip on its own occasionally and every time if you bumped the work. What I did and seems to help is to take some sandpaper to the balls on the adjust and rough up the chrome. This added texture grips better.If you want a small tool at a great price, this is a really good choice. Just be aware of the limitations.

Clips are bit too extreme, can break some plastic incloaures.

I am new to soldering and bought this item since it seemed to be popular and highly rated. I'm just not sure how people can keep this thing balanced while trying to work on a circuit board. The bottom is heavy, but it is not big enough to really keep it balanced. Even when applying minimal pressure to the circuit board, it immediately tipped over time and time again. I ended up just letting it stay tipped and had the circuit board resting on the table while I worked on it. It could also stand to use a longer connection on the magnifying glass, the length of the arm makes it difficult to get a good angle on what you are trying to look at.Aside from those two issues, the rest of it works well and it is overall a decent item made of high quality materials.

Base is solid and doesn't tip over. Arms for the clips are very adjustable. Magnifier is comfortable to use rather sitting or standing. More usable to me than the more expensive one with the extra add ons. I just use the expensive one now as a desk lamp to light this one

This is actually more than I needed for the task I was undertaking. It was self-assembly, which looked daunting, but once I got started it was plain sailing. Works well and helps with those pesky close-up soldering tasks.

Its tippy. I burnt myself catching it while the iron was in the spring holster. And again when trying to adjust the whole thing so i could see my project better. My advice is to not use the spring holster and figure out a way to add weight. Or better yet. Get one with a longer magnifying light. It isnt bendy so your trying to adjust it or your head. Then it tips and then you burn yourself. I thought it was perfect but ya. Spend the money and buy the next tier or better item. This is only good if you have better iron holsters and such. It will do until i can upgrade to the sponge and wool combo holster. Otherwise, its made of good stuff. The light is good. The glass is good. The hands are good. Its helping hands. But ya. Also. Add crok clips to a solid copper wire and clip those to one of the hands and its easier to adjust than the stick ones. Its just a bandaide but it will get you through the easier soldering and such until you upgrade. Again. This is for beginners. Its tippy but it is well made. Just lacking weight and safety and thats a design flaw. I gave 2 stars because it was shipped quickly and it was built with decent materials. i took three stars off because it should be better and safer now that i know better.

So the 3x magnifier wasn't enough for what I was working on but I was able to complete the job. The 12x magnifying could've been a little bit larger and the location made it hard. You do have to becareful because it will fall over. Now onto the good parts. If you are working with small PCB you are good especially if they fit in the clip. I did like the ability to move the magnifier. I did not have issues with the clips and kept everything in place. I practiced with a tiny PCB and components and it is enough for a small hobbyist that does work from time to time.