PCB holder; what are you using?

[saturation]

Some folks really hate the Panavise design, but those folks at least provides an alternate market for Panavise's competition, such as Weller 120, because those designs are essentially unchanged for over 30 years.  As for the finish and workmanship, I'd say its a touch lower than the original from the 1980s, but its not that much different, the 300s are still aluminum and zinc, but the finish is a bit rough.  The older models had more iron/steel making it top heavy, and prone to rust.  However, it costs very similat to the 1970s, so given inflation it far cheaper today than in the past, while still made in the USA [ so claimed].

I wish the Chinese cloned them because they do cost more relative to competing models, but I've never seen a counterfeit Panavise 300 series or the Junior.  Its been around since 1960s and the Junior since 1994.   I could never afford it when I started because of the high markup when purchased outside the USA and there were many cheaper alternatives, or even a DIY one.  But I have one and the 315 really sings if you adapt well to its style.  There are however, many attempts to copy its other vises and stands, and if you google PANAVISE LAWSUITS you'll get mutiple pages of patent lawsuits against copiers, they are certainly one of the most litigious companies out there. 

I have the panavise 315 and 305 bought on the basis of all the great reviews of panavise.

Id never buy another panavise product again, pure junk. poorly designed almost all cost parts with ruff edges and extremely poor fit and finnish. I rarely use mine because is such a pia and pos. Very poor workmanship and metal, Ive seen better products produced in China.

Are you sure you got an original one, and not a counterfeit?

[typeglob]

I should have posted sooner... here is what I bought, works great! Weller ESF120 as suggested by Spawn. Fun to see if any of you can guess what that board is!

I have one of these since a day or two and it is really nice (though quite expensive). Mine is red though and says Weller ESF120ESD on the box. I like the clamps (makes taking out the PCB nice and quick) though they do protrude 2-3 mm over the side of the board and may press on stuff very close to the edge of the board. I also find the sponge on the metal arm really handy for keeping stuff pressed down on the board, though it does get in the way a bit sometimes.

[saturation]

Found some c1980s or late 1970s photos of Panavise 315.  Most used sell on eBay for the same price as a new item.  As for the finish issue, its not that it will cut your fingers, it feels rough to touch versus smooth in the 1980s version.  The older models were heftier and has more knobs, so they likely refined the volume of metal and removed parts to what is absolutely necessary, after decades of existence.  You can get an accurate estimate of age since Panavise moved to NV in 1990, putting these units as made before that.

http://www.panavise.com/index.html?PageID=50&PageName=Company%20History&sec_id=50&sec_status=main



The currently sold version [ ignore the attached accessories.]




Very large photos from a current eBay auction:

http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=1281150&ppid=1122&image=577429039&images=577428974,577428983,577428992,577429005,577429013,577429018,577429032,577429039,577429045,577429056,577429067,577429075,577429081,577429094,577429102,577429110&formats=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0

[pkrobot]

I used to think that helping hands are useless, until I used the following:

http://www.grstools.com/for-jewelry-work/third-hands-and-soldering-stations/third-hand-with-soldering-station.html

I use the standard one, not the one with short handles. It's much more expensive than the ones you get in Radioshack, but worth it.

-pk

[T4P]

I used to think that helping hands are useless, until I used the following:

http://www.grstools.com/for-jewelry-work/third-hands-and-soldering-stations/third-hand-with-soldering-station.html

I use the standard one, not the one with short handles. It's much more expensive than the ones you get in Radioshack, but worth it.

-pk

It looks great but my eyeballs spat blood when i saw the price ...

[pkrobot]

I used to think that helping hands are useless, until I used the following:

http://www.grstools.com/for-jewelry-work/third-hands-and-soldering-stations/third-hand-with-soldering-station.html

I use the standard one, not the one with short handles. It's much more expensive than the ones you get in Radioshack, but worth it.


-pk

It looks great but my eyeballs spat blood when i saw the price ...

If price is a factor, you can get two of these, and make your own:

http://www.contenti.com/products/bench-pins/110-284.html

-pk

[saturation]

When you look at the costs of other helping hands or vises, the dreaded Taiwan hand is only $5 or less each, it would pay to try to mod it as many have successfully done in instructables:

http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Simple-Solution-To-The--Infamous-Helping-Hands-/

The cheapest mod is use 8 gauge copper wire as a hand extender so you have a more flexible hand with longer reach.  Use shrink wrap to blunt the alligator clip teeth.  For more elegant solution, get 2 goose neck LED USB light for $1.50 each, remove the USB and LED, solder a large alligator to one end, and stick the other end into the hand.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-LED-Flashlight-Lamp-Light-Torch-For-Laptop-Keyboard-/140754921234?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c5a5a712

If price is a factor, you can get two of these, and make your own:

http://www.contenti.com/products/bench-pins/110-284.html

-pk

[updatelee]

I bought it from digikey so it better not be....

UDL

I have the panavise 315 and 305 bought on the basis of all the great reviews of panavise.

Id never buy another panavise product again, pure junk. poorly designed almost all cost parts with ruff edges and extremely poor fit and finnish. I rarely use mine because is such a pia and pos. Very poor workmanship and metal, Ive seen better products produced in China.

Are you sure you got an original one, and not a counterfeit?

[SLJ]

I have a Panavice for large boards but usually opt for using this trusty old circuit board holder that clamps on the workbench. It was made by Production Tool and Fixture Co. who I think are long out of business.  The original guides on each side were worn out so I made a couple new ones out of oak.  You can easily rotate/flip the board over so you don't have to remove it from the holder.   
I collect vintage soldering tools, irons, and guns.  You can check some of them out here if you are interested: http://www.stevenjohnson.com/soldering.htm

[robrenz]

Welcome to the forum.   You have quite a collection and very interesting site.

[SLJ]

Welcome to the forum.   You have quite a collection and very interesting site.
Regards, robrenz

Thanks.  I try to put the more interesting items on line with some background as it would all just go to waste sitting in my basement with only me looking at it.

[ptricks]

I was looking for something to hold PCB and didn't see anything I liked so I made something. Get some heavy duty alligator clips and some thick copper wire, solder the wire to the clamps, then drill some holes the size of the wire into a block of wood. Stick the wire ends in the wood and clamp the clamps on the PCB, you can the bend the copper wire however you want ,  you can have as much support or as little as you want and can adapt it to fit any type of PCB.

[ablacon64]

Very nice site, SLJ. Put your hand in the air, now! hehehehehe...

[Marc M.]

Somewhere I have a Panavise base w/ PCB head on it - never cared much for it.  IIRC, the Panavise uses mostly cast parts so it's operation isn't smooth and precise.  I also didn't like the design of the PCB head with 1 arm containing the spring loading and moveable jaw within itself - it just looks/feels clunky.  My vise system of choice by far is by far, the Dytex system.  Over the years I've gathered a variety of bases and heads mostly off Fleabay for less than $20 (USD) +shipping. 



It uses a machined ball and socket that makes it operation silky smooth and easy to adjust.  It's locked in place with a cam mechanism making adjustments very quick and easy.  It is so much faster than the Panavise thumbscrew lock design.  The vise heads range from 4" up to around 10" and have reversable jaw pads.  The PCB holder accommodates up to a 9-1/2" board and employs a lever operated spring loaded arm contained within the beam which keeps the arms relatively narrow and light.  The only caveat was the lack of adjustable collars on the rod the head spins on so when flipping the board over it would drop down and the jaw release lever would foul on the mounting stem.  To solve the issue I made a couple of adjustable stop collars.  That addition made it perfect.  I still do a lot of thru-hole stuff so the ability to quickly flip the board back and forth is vital.  Even when doing SMT work I still use the holder just so the board doesn't move around as well as raising it up so I don't have to bend over the bench while working.



For years I mostly used the clamp base on my bench.  The only issue was it had to be very tight (because I had it vertical) making it a rather slow process to move around.  As a result, I came up with much better mounting system.  I mounted a half-height strip of Unistrut across the front of my bench.  I then made up several holders that slide along the strut and can be locked in place with a thumbscrew.  I made up a couple of universal bases for the vises with 2 degrees of freedom allowing them to be set at most any angle.  All the fasteners used the same size socket head cap screws so it's easily adjusted with an Allen wrench I keep stuck to it with a magnet.  I also mounted my magnifier light on another mount so it can be moved to where I need it, then stored at the end of the bench when not being used.  The mounting system worked out so well I duplicated it on my bench at work.



The 6" and to a lesser degree the 4" vise heads are pretty common on Fleabay.  I've never run across the larger 10" head anywhere (I bought it off an independent tool truck).  There's a self-centering head available that is pretty close in size that's more common.  I don't believe that Dytex is still in business.  It might be possible that Panavise bought them out because Panavise has the exact same vise heads modified to fit their system.  Back in the 80's when Dytex was around I don't remember Panavise offering these style heads.  The upside is that you can get replacement jaw pads thru Panavise now that should fit the Dytex heads.  I've also seen a lot of Dytex vises with the 'Star Trek' weighted bases listed on Fleabay as Linemaster  LM-204 because that's what's cast into the bottom of the base.  The PCB holders are pretty rare on Fleabay but they do turn up now and then.  Currently there's one listed as a Linemaster, but they "reconditioned" it by painting it and now want way too much.

It also appears that at some point Dytex went from machining everything to casting some of the parts.  The only problem I've ever had with these was the cam locking mechanism didn't work on one vise base I bought off Fleabay.  It turned out the internal parts of the locking mechanism were cast and the threads had gotten stripped out.  Fortunately I have a machine shop (hobby) so I was able to make up a new set of parts for it.  If you're looking online for these you might want  to clarify that there's no damage to the lock prior to purchase.

[c4757p]

I have a bunch of random tools and stuff scattered around my workbench, including two types of helping hand and two small vises. I don't really have a "solution" for holding PCBs, I just grab whatever's nearby and looks suitable. Big boards go in the heavy helping hand, small boards in the vise, stable boards get thrown right on the table, etc. It's good to have a versatile set of tools.

[djsb]

What people have not mentioned here is small batch assembly of PCB's. I use 4 panavise 316 arms on extended bars on a 333 rapid assembly holder.

http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&page=full&--eqskudatarq=26

This way I can populate and solder PCB's in batches of 4.
For just one board I use 4 small blobs of blutack.

David.

[TMM]

The trick is to have one end of your board held in the air by the helping hands and the other end of the board resting on the table. That way it will not move regardless of how loose the joints in the hands are due to triangulation.

Of course it only works for through hole, but if you are soldering surface mount then just put the board flat on the table?

[img]

I like something like this

http://www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/product.asp?pid=W2569&m=48&gclid=CJCMkNv397UCFYfJtAodtjQA6Q

[LaMare]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pcbite-the-professional-and-affordable-pcb-holder--4#/

https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-C1390C-Omnivise-PCB-Holder/dp/B00IX2H050

[Radio Tech]

I find PCB holders very awkward most of the time.  You can never get them at the correct angle. So most of my boards lay flat on the work bench.
I do have a panavise like listed in post #52.  Only time I use it is when working on boards from ham radios that have plastic former that hold coils because they are so delicate and break off.

[M4trix]

I got a simple PCB holder at the moment with couple helping hands.
Helping hands are quite handy if you want to solder bunch a wires on a PCB to keep those in place.



I want to get one of these in future to keep components on their place while soldering, it is a Weller:

I have the same one. Overall, good PCB holder but there is a tiny problem...the PCB tends to slip out of those plastic jaws while rotating them, especially if the PCB is filled with heavy components. Very annoying design flaw ! I had to glue some rubber straps inside the jaws. It's OK now.   

[TheDane]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/pcbite-the-professional-and-affordable-pcb-holder--4#/

I have an AOYUE 326, which is ok - there are a few minus'es, as well as plusses:
The magnets are not that strong, so the board slips out/around somewhat easily - especially if a bit of force is being applied. (Solution - don't do that   )
The cuts in the magnet pieces are 'two sizes fits all' - or it doesn't fit. Ok for most boards, not ok for boards with components/sockets/shield cages near the edge. They are quite long/wide.
It's not 'too' high in the holding/working area, so it's possible to rest the elbows on the table while working (Less jerking and jitter while soldering, etc.) on the board.
The base is sturdy, and it doesn't move around the work table - but easy to move, if need be. Can be grounded, but I prefer to not zap components, so I ground myself and the working area underneath the holder 
The base can supposedly take a bit of heat, without warping. I don't know if this is worth getting the 326, and not just using the base that comes with the PCBite kit - It's the PCB that's supposed to get heated up, not the base below. I have the 326, and no bites 

I have a dream about combining the base with the PCBite clamps, but they seem too high to me - and hence it's not a comfortable working situation, especially for shoulder joints and muscles - alternatively my wrists must be angled at almost 90 degrees, if I have to rest my arms and elbows on the table.
No replies yet on if they will make a lower version - which imho should be quite easy 

There's a thread in the Crowd Funded Projects forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/crowd-funded-projects/pcbite-the-professional-and-affordable-pcb-holder/

[tooki]

I often have boards just set on the bench, but when I do need a holder, I use my Hobby Creek Third Hand, which in use bears no resemblance to those horrible helping hands like in the first post. The Third Hand's arms flex and stay in place with considerable strength. By the time you've got a board held by 3 or 4 arms, it doesn't flex or wobble around at all, it just stays exactly where you want it to be.

For sure, the Third Hand is absolutely fantastic when doing wires and connectors and the like.