Helping Hands with Magnifying Glass

I love this little helping hand -- can't believe how handy it is. As a jewelry designer, it's a must have for holding bracelets while I add parts to it. The adjustable arms work perfectly so that I can customize to the size of the item I'm working on. I have found it just as helpful with necklaces, because of how wide I can adjust the clips. Also, the clips are quite strong, so no chance of anything falling off. When it came in the mail, it was totally assembled, however, the nuts were so tight, I had to ask my other half to loosen them so I can move everything as I need. He fussed at me for spending so much money on another tool. He thought it cost between $30 and $50. He quit fussing when I told him how affordable it was. It is definitely worth the price. In order to keep it from tipping over, I keep the magnifier toward the back to give it balance (that's all I use the magnifier for). That gives it enough weight to counter the weight of the jewelry I'm working on. I have a magnifying lamp that I use for better vision, so the magnifier serves no other purpose than for balance -- but it works perfectly. This tool has ended a lot of frustration, making my work much more enjoyable. I'm planning to buy a second one so I can have two pieces in progress at the same time.

The design on this is just fundamentally not that great; the base is not big or heavy enough, the magnifying glass is too heavy and makes it unstable (I took it off and replaced it with a mini-wrench to keep it from tipping over constantly), the articulating joints don't stay tight and bend in the middle if slightly overtightened. The whole thing is just frankly awkward to adjust and feels like it has joints in the wrong places, or not enough of them no matter how it's arranged. But man, it still kicks ass when you REALLY need another third hand. That instantly sweeps away the drawbacks. It makes you appreciate the ugly little bastard after neglecting him all of his life, dodging his constant calls, ignoring the weekly (more like weak, jesus christ) little league games, running from child support enforcement... but then you remember you have the SE MZ101B Helping Hands with Magnifying Glass, and the enormous sense of relief that sweeps over you when you realize you don't have to call that annoying little brat. At least not for now. Five stars.

I dabble in electronics and soldering. I bought this mainly for the "helping hands" portion. Though I suppose the magnifier can be useful at times, I am considering removing it, as it's kind of a hassle to adjust and tends to get in the way more than anything else. Unless you have bad near vision, you probably don't need it. If you need to do really high precision soldering your skill level is probably such that you would already be looking at something much more high end than this. On the other hand, I guess it's nice that the magnifier is there and you can choose to leave it on or take it off. For this price I guess it can only be a win. The alligator clips are more useful. Soldering can be a real pain (literally sometimes) when you're trying to solder something that is both small and awkwardly shaped. The only real concern I had when ordering this was that it would be so poorly made that it would just break. At this price, you can't help but wonder. While there are some obvious cost cutting measures that jump right out at you when you really look (the wingnuts are obviously very cheap, for example), nothing has broken yet. The magnifier is OK quality but it's actual construction is about what you'd get if you bought it at the dollar store. All in all, I'd guess the value of the parts used to construct this is very low. But, it doesn't cost much and if you need something like this only very occasionally, it's worth what it costs. I'm not entirely sure I have any confidence in their quality control, however. It's obviously made in China. Probably from the cheapest materials they can get their hands on. But mine works fine. I kind of wish there was a way to control the tension on the clips so they don't bite into more delicate things like wire insulation but you obviously can't have everything at this price. One other thing I worried about when I ordered it was some people said it tends to tip over. The base is quite small but it seems stable enough as long as you don't either try to hold something that's unreasonably heavy with it or bump it too hard. It stands up fine just holding wires or small components/boards. Obviously, it's not going to hold a motherboard or anything like that. This will literally get you by in a pinch.

This is a very affordable gadget, so I did not expect it to knock my socks off... I was basically taking a chance on a low priced item to see if it would suit me and was perfectly fine eating the cost if it did not. My primary use for this is repairing damaged XLR cables and so far the helping hands have indeed helped but with a few caveats that I have to work around. The base it too light. The magnifying lens feels like it weights just as much as the base and even if it doesn't, it makes the unit top heavy and susceptible to tipping over. I tend to not make use of it, but I have managed to make use of it, but I need to be careful not to bump the hands while soldering. The alligator clamps themselves grab and hold cables fine securely. The wing nuts that hold them to the base exist in two states: "loose" and "for the love of god, where are the channel locks?!" so unless you have fingertips of steel, you'll want some pliers nearby. The unit came fully assembled in the box and the glass was covered with cardboard and rubber bands to protect it, but it was just sorta shoved unglamorously into a small cardboard box. Again, it was under 7 bucks. Once I acclimated to working with it, it's fine. I don't solder often and this performs the necessary functions i require. If i soldered more frequently or were doing circuit boards or heavier items, I might be additional ones to use in tandem or upgrade to a heavy duty model or other option, but these are fine.

My old magnifying glass was driving me crazy because it hung around my neck and I had to hold my breath to keep it from slipping while trying to paint small portraits on pendants. I was a bit scared after I read one review about this being cheaply made and some saying it was unsteady. I forgot to look up the size so I was surprised to find out it was so small, but that worked to my advantage giving me more room on my work table as it is plenty big enough for the small pieces I paint on. I don't know how anyone could say this is cheaply made. It is not made of plastic, it doesn't tip over at any angle and it was completely assembled. I couldn't ask for a better magnifying glass. I guess it might tip if I clipped something with weight to it, but then I would clamp it down, duh. This is much better than I expected and I would highly recommend this to anyone working on small pieces at a table.

Three things make this Helping Hands great...simplicity, practicality, durability. It's simple because it doesn't have all the fancy (and often times useless) lights and other stuff that aren't really necessary. Half the time, those things don't work very well or they get in the way. This is practical in several ways. For example, the alligator clips are removable with thumbscrews. The clips are the kind that can be found at most hardware or home improvement stores. That's not a bad thing. If these get torn up, or if you want to have a different kind with the same size ends that can fit in the sockets, it's easily replaceable. Another example, is the the other thumbscrews allow it to be angled in just about every possible angle you could imagine. As far as durability, the base is heavy for it's size. It is a heavy metal, unlike many of the cheap plastic ones that tip over when they are angled in certain positions. Even if it's not heavy enough to hold down your piece, there's enough edge on the base to place something to add more weight. Overall, this is what I think... - Very versatile - Interchangeable alligator clips - Heavy enough base - Well-balanced - All metal (no plastic parts)

I can see why this is listed as a best seller. It is neat. Remind me of the robot in 'Short Circuit' and is every bit that flexible. All of the metal pieces are machined so there are no rough edges, sharp points. or anything that would get in the way of using it easily. The optics are very good. There is a disclaimer in the ad listing some leeway in the power of the lens. I don't know how to measure it for power, but it is uniform and without flaws. It works well left-handed or right-handed which is refreshing. And then there is the base. I didn't think it would be heavy enough to support it. But it is. Sure I could get it into positions where it was top heavy, but for actual use it's fine. It is also shaped so you could clamp it down if you wanted to. I recommend it highly. I can't see where I'd need another one, but if I did, I'd order it again and from the same supplier. It's a real handy little gadget that actually does what it's supposed to.

Im I no expert in this stuff but I needed one of these to help me solder some LEd together for my sons stickman costume for Halloween. Its a heavy little bugger and it worked well for my needs. I have provided a video review and I encourage you to watch it to see the product better. The only one fklaw I had with this is the base. Its heavy, yes. But its small. To me a simple wider base would have been a huge improvement to this. If I were to use this to solder heavy objects I would buy 2 of these to hold it better. Its not a huge deal because its 6 bucks. Maybe even pre drill some holes for us so we can mount it on something to keep it from tipping. I got my job done but I fought with this issue a little bit. To me, solder was stressful enough then to have to fight with this tipping over was getting aggravating. Outside of that its very nice for 6 dollars. It has a glass magnifier, not cheapo plastic. The clips are very strong and you can contort this thing in a million ways to get what you need, which by the way can be tricky too. For the price, the durability and the fact I got the job done I am giving it a 4 star rating. Knocking one star for the base...a little wider or some holes for mounting maybe? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If you found my review helpful, let me know. Lets keep making better buying decisions together. Thank you for reading and as always Be Safe & Happy Shopping!!

Es un buen producto. Llego en tiempo y en forma. Lo acabo de recibir, pero se ve muy bien, ya solo falta que le de uso. La lupa es estupenda, tiene un muy buen aumento. Las pinzas tienen bastante fuerza. La base es algo pequeña pero basta con saber colocar el mecanismo en el centro, no muy al frente, si no se caerá. Para trabajos pequeños, esporadicos o de hobby es perfecto. Muy recomendado. Despues de darle algo mas de uso, actualizare mi reseña, pero por ahora, van 5 estrellas.

This is a handy little tool. Makes small difficult holding jobs easy , and reasonably priced , good value for the money

me ha llegado el pedido dentro del sobre y la caja estaba destrozada y desmontado todo, lo cual montarlo es practicamente imposible, con lupa aplastada

Not worth the price-chinese item-cheaper substitutes available

Simple, base is heavy and sturdy, works well for many applications. Used it for basic electronic soldering