Helping hands vice

[Frank Burroughs]

I see helping hands, or such, being used to tie blocks.  Are there some homemade jigs, or what do you recommend on a budget?

[TBlack]

I’m not sure from where you are starting, but alligator clips are a good place. Additionally, if you have a vice into which you can secure the clip by its tail, then you can secure the block in the jaws of the clip. This eliminates the number of moving parts. Stropping becomes easy now. Enough info, or more needed?

Tom

[Jaager]

I do not know what helping hands cost now,  but recommendations have been made here for fly tying vises.  Some at the site of this link are not expensive:

 

J.Stockard Fly Fishing

[Frank Burroughs]

42 minutes ago, TBlack said:

Enough info

that gives me a start.

 

I had the link for Quadhands work bench open when a nap overcame me.  When I woke my friend had ordered it for me.  She seen how small the blocks are and took pity on me!

 

[jpalmer1970]

That's a good tactic! I might have to try that out myself. 😀

[Bob Cleek]

6 hours ago, Frank Burroughs said:

that gives me a start.

 

I had the link for Quadhands work bench open when a nap overcame me.  When I woke my friend had ordered it for me.  She seen how small the blocks are and took pity on me!

 

QuadHands are "finestkind." You'll love them.  Nobody should waste their money on those near useless ball-jointed "helping hands" that you have to adjust by tightening wing-nuts. They are really junk. (And, like so many others years ago, I bought one, too!  ) 

 

One thing to be careful about, though, is to make sure you buy the real QuadHands fixtures. There are "carbon copy" Chinese knockoffs all over the internet, but they aren't the same quality at all. The QuadHands uses high quality alligator clips for one thing. Cheap alligator clips are a dime a dozen, and they don't hold well at all. Don't subsidize intellectual property theft. Buy the real McCoy!

Edited April 26 by Bob Cleek

[Frank Burroughs]

13 minutes ago, Bob Cleek said:

make sure you buy the real QuadHands fixtures

 

You had me check.  Yep, real McCoy.  Made in USA

[TBlack]

11 hours ago, Frank Burroughs said:

 

IWhen I woke my friend had ordered it for me.  She seen how small the blocks are and took pity on me!

 

How do I get to be friends with her too?

[Scottish Guy]

3 hours ago, TBlack said:

How do I get to be friends with her too?

 

I think we all want to become friends with her 🤣

 

Micha

[wefalck]

It seems that one can spend a fortune on those fly-tying vises ... I would rather spend those 200-400 US$/€/£ on a machine tool. 

 

You have think a bit over what operations you want to use it for and then design your own from materials at hand and according to your machining capabilities. I gather with a piece of curtain-rail and some pieces of wood and steel-rod you could make a very useful tool for tying blocks and the likes.

 

At least over here in Europe, alligator clips are designed to fit over 4 mm banana-plugs, so starting with 4 mm rods is a good idea. You have to have two blocks or two angles that can be screwed to the curtain-rail, so that you can adjust the distance according to the need. The exact design you have to figure out yourself to suit the material you have (or are prepared to buy). I made various clamps and hooks with 4 mm stems so they all fit into the same holders and can be combined to suit the need.

 

If you are as unlucky (and ignorant) as I was in my younger years and bought one of those multi-articulated and poorly manufactured 3rd-hand-thingies, you may want to dump most of the pieces and just keep the foot and may be some rods to build something useful around it. Fewer degrees of freedom are more useful for preparing the rigging.

[Scottish Guy]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

At least over here in Europe, alligator clips are designed to fit over 4 mm banana-plugs, so starting with 4 mm rods is a good idea. You have to have two blocks or two angles that can be screwed to the curtain-rail, so that you can adjust the distance according to the need. The exact design you have to figure out yourself to suit the material you have (or are prepared to buy). I made various clamps and hooks with 4 mm stems so they all fit into the same holders and can be combined to suit the need.

 

I agree to that welfack and I have tons of the alligator clips and even 4mm banana-plugs at home (perks of the job I would say) and it´s easy to build something out of those. I appreciate them, especially when they are "brand new" out of the box they are pretty tight and strong. The only disadvantage of the ones I have is that they are insulated with a plastic / rubber sleeve or housing in red or black.

 

 

Micha

[wefalck]

I inherited a whole bunch of pre-war(?) unisolated ones from my father. In general, they are much better stamped/folded and close better, than what you get today.

[Scottish Guy]

17 minutes ago, wefalck said:

I inherited a whole bunch of pre-war(?) unisolated ones from my father. In general, they are much better stamped/folded and close better, than what you get today.

 

As sad as it sounds, I have to agree again but they are hard to get nowadays. Congratulations for having some. Being a bit jealous, I mean I have some myself from the 1970s (inherited from my dad) but not many are left as today, only 6 or 7. But I have roughly 30 of the new plastic ones 🤣

 

Micha

[GGibson]

I do have the "helping hands" unit to help in seizing blocks and tying knots, etc., but I have also found a pair of hemostat forceps to work really well.  I clamp the block in the forceps and then clamp the forceps in a desktop vise, and everything stays solid and secure.

 

Amazon.com: Set of 2 Pcs 5.5" Straight & Curved Kelly Hemostat Forceps Locking Clamps Premium Quality Stainless Steel Set-with Half Serrated Jaws (Silver) : Industrial & Scientific

[Jaager]

If the object being held can stand the pressure,  Kelly clamps become No Mar holders if a piece of used IV tubing is slipped over the teeth.

What with the close tolerance there is pressure even with thin wall Tygon.

[AON]

To bad you are so far away as our local club (MSON) has been trying to give one away along with a magnifying head set.

 

Edited April 27 by AON

[kurtvd19]

Looks like the one from Harbor Freight -cheaper to go buy one than the cost of shipping.  I don't often mention Harbor Freight but for some stuff they are pretty good.

 

[Jaager]

2 hours ago, kurtvd19 said:

I don't often mention Harbor Freight but for some stuff they are pretty good.

I have found that the HF 4" ratcheting bar clamp - the one with the large wingnut - is the only one that I have tried that really works.

The HF model with a small wingnut, the MM variety, the Widget Supply model, the expensive Irwin 4'' - none of these will apply any appreciable pressure.

Plus, the trigger tends to break.