QuickMods - Soldering Arms

For those of you who solder, you know how hard it can be to hold your soldering iron, wire, and 2 (or more) pieces you're soldering. These are two arms attached to a piece of wood that can bend in any direction and stay that way. They also have clips on the ends which grab stuff. This is my version of "Helping Hands" by John Otto.

I have incorporated more common materials into this project, so this version is more accessible to people like me who don't want to go out and buy alligator clips and such things.

Hover your mouse on the yellow squares for tool uses. You might be able to use something else instead.

MATERIALS ==========

LARGE WOOD PLATFORM, approx. 1.25 feet by 1 foot
2 COAT HANGERS
2 CLOTHES PINS
TAPE, preferably electrician's
4 SCREWS, I don't recommend using nails

TOOLS ==========

SCREWDRIVER or DRILL
SCISSORS
PLIERS

Screw the screws in the top right hand corner, one farther back than the other (approximately 1.5 cm/0.6 inch apart). Don't screw them in all the way, leave enough room for the coat hangers to easily go under them. REPEAT FOR THE OTHER SIDE.

Twist the coat hanger at the top to untie it. Use the pliers to bend off the highlighted section of wire in the picture. Do this to both coat hangers.

Using the pliers, bend a small loop at the end of the wire. Do this for both wires.

Place the wire under the screws and screw the screws in really tight. Repeat for the other side.

This is what it should look like by now.

I put the clothes pin into a vice and sawed off the angled edge. This will help with holding what ever you use this thing for.

Then I taped down the top of the spring. The spring moves around a lot so I highly suggest doing this, no matter how much of a pain it might be. I then taped it in several places to keep the spring on even better and keep the clothes pin closed tight.

Thread the wire arms throught the hole in the spring. You might have to break through any tape you put on before. Repeat for the other side.

The next picture is what it should look like by now.

Curl the wire like this, it's the same size as the curl you did in the beginning of this project.

There is a small hole in the middle of the clothes pin. To find it, you might have to open the tape up by cutting it a bit until you see the hole. Fold the tape back over and cover it up with some more. Push the wire into the hole using the pliers. If their is a lot of excess wire sticking out the other side, bend it over or cut it off with wire cutters or something. Repeat for the other side.

Yay! You're done! You must feel really special. Now go solder something for no particular reason.

Oh yeah, and in case you DON'T know how to use it, bend the wire arms to the position you want to hold something in. Then use the clothes pins like normal and pinch your materials in them.