I just put up my design for a simple soldering holder on Thingiverse. It came about because I was soldering some microswitches and got totally frustrated with the two alligator “vise” solution and couldn’t find anything I liked for the task.
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very nice, Looks like it would work well
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@mykepredko that looks great! Hmmm I might try printing it. Have you considered using a print bed spring? It is more likely this bunch might have one kicking around. I don’t have 94125K542 in my desk drawer.
It looks like a far better option that the alligator clips arm silliness that never really does what you want. It sounds like we both and spend more time futzing with the arms than actually soldering.
I’m not sure how a printed spring would work in this case - when the jaws are shut, the spring is compressed by 5mm to give 1.5lb of force (yes I know the units are mixed, but that’s the way they’re listed on the McMaster-Carr specifications).
Thanx for the kind words!
Print bed springs, likely stronger, maybe…
The yellow springs are much too stiff. They take much more than 5lbs to even start compressing - Moving them the full 8mm travel of the design would require 20+ lbs of force.
The McMaster-Carr spring was selected because it gives reasonable force when you press down on the jaws. Actually I think I picked the spring quite well, the jaws grips parts and wires well, but won’t damage them or take a lot of force from the user.
Sorry I misunderstood your original reply; I thought you were asking about 3D printed springs like:
LOL I noticed. Too bad, I have bed springs kicking around. Ordering parts might be the smartest solution. I personally am less likely to order just springs but add them to an existing order. I really want to try it, I am quite tired of the silly clips I use now.
I’ll get to in eventually.
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I’d be happy to mail you a couple of the extras that I have.
Message me with your address.
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Hi, Myke:
Thanks for posting this. I’ve just printed it!
I really need something like this.
Just fyi, there’s a spring at Home Depot, 1000127103 (9/32" x 2") that works fine.
I did cut off three loops to reduce the strength a bit…
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Nicely done!
Thank you for the hint about the Home Depot spring - I’ll take a look at it.