Helping Hands Soldering Station with Heavy-Duty Steel Base, Non-Slip Silicone Pad, 10 Magnetic Accessories Kit, 10X 5X Magnifying Lamp, Third Hand Soldering Tool for Craft PCB Jewelry Making Modeling

It’s not often I find an item for online purchase that so greatly exceeds my expectations, I struggle to put into words just how impressed I was. But this is one of those times, with there being so many great things about it.I knew the minute I picked up the box I had made the right choice because It was HEAVY and if there’s one overall complaint I’ve always had with these “helping hands”, it’s that they just flat out aren’t stable enough. That is certainly no issue here. Solid plate steel makes up the base. This is good for two reasons, the first of course, being the weight. But also, it serves as an anchor point for all of the magnetic accessories, which I’ll get into shortly. I’m already ordering another one as a gift for my father who gave up on these things long ago. But I think we may have finally found one that lives up to its claims.I know a few of you may balk at the price. But let me say it now… it’s worth it. The materials from which this is made are all of the highest of quality. Every single part feels heavy and durable. The individual “arms” and “hands” are thick and solid… none of that sagging you get with those cheap models that are all over the place. Even more exciting is that they are all mobile, held in place by magnets. And what I was most amazed by was the strength with which the magnets held the arms in place… Once attached, it’s not moving unless you intended it to. Plus, you get a lot of them, six of varying length. In addition to the 6 alligator clip versions, there is also a locking clamp arm with multiple swivels that can be used to hold up extra heavy items like an old radio chassis or amplifier.Other attachments include an LED lighted 5x magnifier, again attached with a solid yet flexible arm and strong magnet. There are 4 little magnetic stands that your PCB can sit on and designed so that it is very stable in its seating. Finally, an extra heavy soldering iron stand that is magnetic as well so it stays put wherever you want it.The metal plate all surrounds a silicone soldering mat with numerous places for you different components and then also a place to put either the included heavy metal center plate or the self healing cutting mat with bits of useful info silkscreened to it.Another item I especially like was the neat little holder meant to assist with soldering two wires together. Everyone who has done much soldering knows what a pain it can be to make a good sturdy joint that doesn’t look like crap without something to hold things in place. This little holder does just that and has slots for a variety of wire sizes.As if that wasn’t enough, you also get an X-acto style blade holder and blades and a little metal ruler for whatever measuring needs you may have.So that’s it. Normally, I would list whatever things I could find wrong with it at this point of my review but in this case there simply wasn’t anything worth complaining about. It was as near as you can get to perfection and I for one feel lucky to have found it. Where was this thing 20 years ago!!!!Note: This should be obvious but I’ll put it out there anyway. The PCB and components seen in the third picture are added for scale and context. They are not included with this item.