Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: The Best Helping Hands!

Helping Hands Welding Work Clip: amzn.to/3HKWfuV
Single Welding Work Clip: amzn.to/3vnoBUN
Disclaimer: Tested may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through the links here.
Ever since Adam first built his portable soldering station, viewers have asked about his favorite helping hands clips used for that build. Adam finally is able to track them down during his recent soldering station rebuild, and explains why these helping hands are so much better than any alligator clip system he's used in the past!
Solder station build: • Adam Savage's One Day ...
Portable solder station rebuild: • Adam Savage's One Day ...
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Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!
#adamsavage #favoritethings #helpinghands

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Helping Hands Welding Work Clip: amzn.to/3HKWfuV Single Welding Work Clip: amzn.to/3vnoBUN Disclaimer: Tested may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through the links here.

[@PACOtheTACO97]

Adam! Please give those articulating arms on your portable soldering station some oil…. That squeak!!

[@TreeTrunkCrabWhacka]

@@PACOtheTACO97 oil will degrade the plastic quickly. Better to leave them alone or use a different lubricant. I'd leave them alone because the friction is what makes them work. If you really want to reduce squeaking use graphite powder, not oil.

[@dreamcat4]

those look somewhat similar to the $20 chinese kelvin clips, which are used in electronics for doing 4 point measurements. if you search aliexpress for kelvin clips you will see what i mean

[@YourScaryMother]

Adam, as someone who has worked on and off in the electronics field for 30 years, they do make non-corrosive flux. It was a necessity for making repairs to delicate components and imperative for replacing chips where the contacts are underneath (like a BGA for example).

[@jimreed3916]

Been wishing on these for a while. Ordered!

[@longphan4691]

I just love listening to Adam talking so passionately about a simple tool

[@dstrome]

He's talking about me!? ;)

[@FlashGamer521]

bruh, it’s just an ad.

[@TheGreatAtario]

Doesn't look that simple to me

[@SCULPTURAMAplus]

I have these and a quick tip for tensioning if you're not familiar with them and think they won't tighten up: the washer on the side of the nut has a thread on it so matter how much you tighten the nut it won't have an effect unless you back off the nut first and tighten the bolt instead. Then tighten up the nut when the joint is as tight as you want it and it'll all hold together nice and tight. Hopefully that'll be useful to someone. Van

[@faresontherise]

I have been looking for this since I was 14 and started working with model trains. So many helping hands have been utter failures and some have caused damage to my trains during repairs. Thank you Mr. Adam

[@nuwandawc]

These have been on my Wish list for two years as I watched the price slowly fall. This morning? Sold out and higher than the original price when I added them. Awesome.

[@tested]

Oh no!

[@3nertia]

@@tested You did that ...

[@3nertia]

@@GeneCash You must be so rich that you don't have to budget or deal with unexpected expenses ...

[@edtordahl]

@@3nertia Maybe he's a better earner than you. Get a better paying job.

[@3nertia]

@@edtordahl Maybe he's a better capitalist - nothing I'd be proud of :) Thanks for your valuable contribution to the conversation though ...

[@speedwaynutt]

Honestly I kinda want to see a Adam Savage Worst Tools. Stuff he thought was going to be great but sucked/didn't like

[@faresontherise]

This I need in my life!

[@ShriKaav]

Absolutely agree

[@Craftlngo]

He made a Video recently where he told when to buy cheap versions of a tool and when to upgrade them. In this video he told about tools he thought were useful to him but he used them only once and never again. I would say this comes pretty close to the worst tools, he has ever owned.

[@briansavage932]

Yeah I agree. Sometimes cheap tools can be great introductory tools that you can upgrade later. However, sometimes a cheap tool (just like a musical instrument) can turn you off of using that tool altogether for the rest of your life.

[@PatJones82]

That's a great idea.

[@zf4120]

Oh man, I recently bought some utterly crappy, yet highly rated, Weller helping hands and I just threw them in the recycling bin a couple weeks ago. I had given up hope of finding truly usable helping hands... and then magically today here's this video in my feed. Thank you Adam!

[@Cahos_Rahne_Veloza]

Adam Savage's Tested IS my Favorite Tool and Food for thought and Adam Savage is definitely one of my very most Favorite persons in the world 😊

[@hakonsoreide]

For alligator clip wires, I swapped to ones with banana jack connectors on the back. They are sometimes a bit on the big side when working on cramped breadboards, but when they're not too big, it's so much easier to work with, and I can also connect my multimeter directly to them with a banana cable when needed. It works particularly well for me since I already have a ton of banana cables that I use for modular synth music making.

[@TorrentialDowns]

ive been tearing my hair out trying to get these harbor freight helping hands to hold my probes and these look like a breath of fresh air thank you!! Little pricey but they will be added to my wish list

[@TheHylianBatman]

I hadn't really considered how necessary holding things still was. Yet, now that I see it, there's no way I could ever unsee it!

[@profosist]

I bought this the first time he shared this year's back. Still have them, they work great!

[@rusemers]

YES!!!!….I have been going to do something about dodgy alligator clamps for the past 50 years. It took me all of two minutes to find an Australian supplier and place an order. Thank you so much Adam for your sharing of ideas and methods.

[@Sceme1991]

I could listen to you talk about tools all day

[@Cubicle23]

These finally arrived this week. While a bit pricy, I am "kind of" happy with it. The overall quality is better than I expected but some parts are suspect. As Adam noted the screws probably should be swapped out (5mm x 16 button heads). The acorn nuts on the armature clamping plates are being used as they are intended, purely decorative. At each joint one of the plates is a through hole and the other is tapped, this is what provides the clamping force, the acorn nut would be working to pull on the treaded plate not adding clamping pressure. That being said I would have liked to see the clamping plates a bit thicker to get a few more threads in them. The stock plates are 2mm thick so with a standard 5mm 0.8 thread pitch you are only getting 2 1/2 threads to take all the clamping force.

[@adamspecht5150]

My shop hasn't had these in it for decades so I guess I can wait until sometime in January for them. Thanks for doing this video. I've been wanting those clips since I first saw them used on this channel!

[@nerdingforfunprops4487]

As a UK resident, it's so funny when Adam says "shite". It's such a British word. 😂

[@stevengrosse2166]

What?! It's been 9 hours and they are still available on Amazon!! Finally a tool that doesn't sell out before I see the video.

[@rmwright70]

Yea, I went and purchased a set, on your recommendation. Late January delivery. Good things come to those who wait.

[@samdonutarnold]

Been doing jewelry work for a while and recognised those right away! GRS even makes pure tungston tips for soldering or fusing metals like platinum that need high heat. Love these things!

[@EMSGillians]

Been wanting these since I saw your first solder station video. They were just on sale for prime day and picked a set up for like $35! Thanks for sharing, these things are SWEET!

[@ryan_j_peck]

Loved the pause moment and the welcome back! Adding these to me growning Amazon wish list of tools I need.

[@leemarch7487]

Got mine. Thank you Adam.

[@TheBurnsStuff]

Just ordered those. I've been looking for them forever myself. Thank you, Adam!!

[@imfrcd]

can confirm

[@MatthewMe]

Got them today. They took a slow boat from overseas, and the packaging was pretty crap. But the items were exactly as advertised, and of very good quality. I'm very happy with them.

[@Quackfly]

LOVE the use of the word SHITE! A daily word here in Ireland 🇮🇪

[@beachbumghostwriter9042]

We need you guys back on tv!! 2023 🎉let’s go fellows

[@gharel396]

For smaller work, there's a small company called Omnifixo that makes the most incredible little kit. Can't recommend it enough.

[@skateboardingfish5468]

Yep. Huge fan.

[@warrenout4893]

Tensioning ball and socket joints properly is never easy. Whenever I can, I add a pair or two of Belleville washers to the hardware assembly to "spring load it". I find the initial adjustment lasts for quite some time and is much easier to fine tune the resistance.

[@KuttersVideos]

My wife bought me your savage industries tool bag, holy crap it's too nice to put tools in.

[@onezerotwo]

That's it, I worked it out. Tested is a show for all the people out there without grandparents or with boring grandparents who are yearning for the cool granddad experience. If we all had an Adam Savage granddad there'd be a lot more astrophysicists AND creative geniuses in the world.

[@yorkshirebikerbitsnbobs]

Wow! It's as though this video was personalised! Been looking to purchase decent helping hands for many moons, but never purchased any as they are all for the most part? Crap. Now I know which ones to buy! Amazing... Thanks Adam.

[@jozefa1234]

Hi Adam i make 2 for myself after seeing the on your chanel a year ago , with som extra grips of different forms. they are great for brass soldering. It was a lot of work but they are just great. thank you very much.

[@Lordofthepixel]

I think one of my favorite parts about these videos is any time Adam moves the camera on his mount, it makes that crackle sound, and he usually moves it so aggressively it's like a POV of him snapping your neck to get you to look a certain direction, it's hilarious. Lol

[@Joe___R]

Thanks. After your video on remaking your salder kit, I was looking for those.

[@LoneWolf-ex5um]

Got nothing but and love and respect for this man, Happy Holidays people 🙂

[@Thin447Line]

GOT MINE! Awesome Adam! Thank you. I always struggled with the same crappy "radio shack" brand "helping hands." Great Amazon find! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

[@PaigeMaker]

Hehe, glad i bought two more of these yesterday, after watching your solder station rebuild! 😊 I agree they’re quite nice, and i picked the new set to give to my nephew for use as stop motion armatures.

[@dustinwilson492]

Thank you! I've been wondering since the soldering station rebuild

[@crabbyninja1375]

There was this polishing shop that catered to Jewelers and I remember my first time seeing those and going "Aha!". Like you, they're almost too perfect.

[@geanhitchcock1170]

county comm sells the single hand version for about $25 in stainless steel hope that helps

[@SSecret_Hugz]

thanks for sharing, i've always wondered where those pretty clips cane from.

[@mspacone]

Got ‘em! Always on the hunt for good helping hands. Thanks for sharing!

[@MatthewMe]

So glad you were able to share a source of these! Just ordered some myself. Thanks!!

[@lyianx]

Let us know if/when you get them. The seller looked shady.

[@MatthewMe]

@@lyianx Got them today. They took a slow boat from overseas, and the packaging was pretty crap. But the items were exactly as advertised, and of very good quality. I'm very happy with them.

[@CutTransformGlue]

I use these cheap alligator clips to hold tiny model pieces, when painting. For that they're really useful!

[@InstantCasette]

Whenever I'm on the cusp of buying something tool related, I do a quick search for Adam here on KZbin to make an informed buying decision.

[@KylejvT]

If you need another search term for these clamps look for "Jewelry Welding Fixture", even Walmart has it when looking for that term

[@sherp3000]

What a coincidence. After i watched this video a 12 Year old video of Tom Sachs was recommended to me called "10 Bullets. By Tom Sachs". In the thumbnail and at minute 9:00 you can see those helping hands being used. I am actually amazed. Thanks Adam.

[@tuhkathri9126]

This is great! I've been looking for a good pair of helping hands! What a great Christmas gift 😄👍🏻

[@garrett9186]

For you dewalt battery drain issue you can add a light to the top of the station so when a battery is pugged in it is red.

[@willynebula6193]

I see an awesome little lathe project right there!

[@chrisclikks]

Countycomm makes a really high quality low cost version of these that are stainless.

[@WilyTuber]

Thank you for your enthusiasm and joyful discovery. You have been by default, elected president of the propeller-head hobbyist society of America. Stand up and be recognized. And those helping hands are not cheap either, sigh. What I want is the OTHER version you have adapted from machining station flexible lube delivery arms.

[@ozarkmountaintravels]

Awesome Clips

[@Hellseeker1]

OMFG direct to cart, thank you ADAM!

[@kennethkehmna1237]

Acorn nuts. I needed some a while back and I had to figure out what they were called before I could find them. Now it’s a random fact locked in my brain!

[@hockeymachine]

For anyone looking to get these after Adam's link sells out, there's another seller who was mentioned in the comments of the first video where Adam showed these off. They are also sold on Amazon although for a significantly higher price point. They're called "Double Third Hand Soldering Station - G04-570". Your welcome!

[@Aikano9]

Those are $200 + shipping, “Jewelry clamp” on Aliexpress is the same thing, but ~$40 including shipping

[@MyFingerLakesRailwayLayout]

The cheap clips are okay when crimped onto the end of a skewer, to hold little stuff while airbrushing.

[@edtordahl]

Would love to see a video regarding the "Loc Line" mod. Kudos on tip.

[@AnashaCummings]

@CountyComm makes a good helping hand using clips like these as well. Though the arms are a bit fiddly. It would be awesome to see you work together on an ideal one.

[@Haru-XIII]

A bit late to the party on this video BUT I happened to find these clips and this video in the same search so it's great to know these are good quality, however I was looking for something that I couldn't remember the name of that was slightly more compact. Since I fly drones for a hobby and having helping hands that will easily fit in a backpack is ideal, these wern't going to work. The Omnifixo helping hands was what I was looking for when I found this video and now I'm really curious to see what Adam would say about this set also 😂 In short, thank you Adam, now I have 2 sets of helping hands that I want to buy. This set that you posted may be my new set for the work bench!

[@VastCNC]

For smaller more delicate work, you may find a new favorite in the Omnifixo system.

[@jakebarshick]

Just checked this out and it looks awesome. Thanks for the tip!

[@amoose136]

I got one about 1 year ago. For small work I’m not sure I could think of any way to even hypothetically improve Omnifixo. It’s just that good.

[@TrondOleJensen]

You should also look into a fly tying vise, great for small things.

[@mickeyfilmer5551]

Those clamps are fantastic but pricey- but hey... I'm a maker, so I'm going to make some .

[@davandstudios]

I got my first set of helping hands from Radio Shack over 30 years ago

[@digitaIgorilla]

5:00 "Change Deez nuts..." 😇

[@TinkerTweakFPV]

They look legit! Def could use some in my workstation for fixing up my drones!

[@toxicmatrix1337]

Id love to see adam make a tool for the edgun easy trigger air fill unit.. It has 2, 2.5 mm holes in base of a plug on the bottom of the unit. No spanner wrench I can find will work on this thing. I have to custom make a tool to loosen/tighten a plug. lol

[@dougckelly]

If you search for "Jeweller's third hand" you will find loads of these on amazon and elsewhere. Seems like this type of clamp is designed to withstand heat, hence the jeweller connection.

[@StingrayOfficial]

Great suggestion! Was thinking if you also solder PCB's looks like these might be strong enough to hold them high and flat.

[@Enterprising_Aim]

Dang, I was hoping for a 1 day build of him machining himself a second pair of the helping hands with some well thought out upgrades. Nice to know where to get them though!

[@Maker76]

These are not cheap in the uk, so although I would dearly love to add my tool collection, I sadly cannot justify the cost based on the amount of soldering I do, great vid though thanks once again Adam for a very interesting year

[@Captain_MonsterFart]

Same problem for Canadians, as usual!

[@rong1924]

Who else would like to see 12 months of Adams "Your Orders" list on Amazon.

[@mkwetherell]

FYI to everyone interested... Since publishing this video, the helping hands recommended have gone from $63.54 to $79.54 on Amazon. Maybe hold off until the hype dies down if you're interested in purchasing.

[@zerodegreec]

Noga arm plus single welding work clip head...... You're welcome! (Best articulation "second hand" anyone could ever ask for)

[@stepheneberly275]

Yes! Finally! 🤘

[@MGlass-xg9no]

Thank you!!

[@patkane5018]

I ordered it the other day!!!

[@Never-mind1960]

Easy on the expresso there Adam. 😉

[@hilaryboardman7167]

Adam, to make the clips even better: replace the (steel) rods in the clips with titanium rods. An inexpensive upgrade but, instead of a heat sink holding your piece, you will have all the heat from the torch concentrated on what you are soldering. As you know the heat conductivity of titanium is considerably less than that of steel. 😊

[@nicksavage4763]

Beautiful 🎉

[@lisasharpe-me3zj]

That is perfect! exactly what i needed. Can you tell me what soldering iron you would use to solder 3/16" brake line tubing for non stress applications (I do miniatures). I cannot use a flame where I am. My friend has done this successfully with a 50 year old american beauty iron

[@biglouie69]

ARRRRRGH! They raised the price on Amazon by over $10 while I was trying to order. Will wait until sanity returns (if ever)

[@tested]

Oh no!

[@xxskippernate409xx6]

Sponsor 🚫 Favorite tool ✅️ I just got a pair of helping hands yesterday. All i can think of for it is soldering rings. But surely, ill find some more uses for it with jewelery. Theres also gunsmithing, or model planes that i might use it for. I like the magnifier on that one, i might try to add one to mine. Oh yes, and if you do any angling, then it also works good for holding hooks for tying flies. Havent tried that yet, but i can totally see it. As for soldering rings, it sure beats putting tweezers in the vise. Now i can do two or three rings at a time 😅

[@rpmurphey1981]

@adamsavage "Short third hand" is what they are called. You can find a lot more when searching for this. Looks like GRS tools is the maker of a lot of them.

[@deathstalker0000]

I wonder how many vendors of items, amazon store, Ect. every once in a while, goes "HOLY CRAP, WHY ARE WE SELLING SO MANY OF (BLANK) ALL OF A SUDDEN!!" =P When Adam likes something, he REALLY likes something, and isn't afraid to share =D

[@chris-hayes]

4:58 did Adam just tell us to change "deez nuts"? 🤣

[@user-ii8dz4vu7n]

Never in my life have I rushed so quickly to buy something LOL. I'm going to put these on ripoff Noga arms! It'll be rock solid and easy to adjust!

[@NajmanAlpha]

While I will absolutely still buy at least 1 pair of these someday...they both went up in $$ the day this video posted. The pair went up about $16 and the single went up about $7.

[@nathkrupa3463]

Nice Video Sir

[@Vexcenot]

What's the camera stand you're using?

[@mrford116]

Welp, there's me buying another tool with the fear of them going sold out, as Adam mentioned. Mostly out of the shared hatred of the crappy alligator clip versions, but also FOMO. Thanks, Tested!

[@tested]

Sorry!

[@mrford116]

Haha, my "thanks" is genuine! This isn't the first time this has happened and it wont be the last - these tool shout outs have really helped improve my time in the shop, which is important for a home gamer with a young kiddo.

[@fbstarwars]

May I just Mention that this the funiest afiliation Link shout out that I have ever heard of !!!

[@PaulSteMarie]

Those clips actually look pretty easy to make. Some square bar, a few minutes in the lathe, and a couple of tapped holes. There might be some subtleties that I'm missing, but it's hard to tell because you're whipping them around like you just downed five pots of coffee.

[@deathwisse]

listen to this man if you deal with small things that need to NOT MOVE

[@cordoroy9515]

Crocodile clips! 🐊 Surely. Well they are in the good auld UK.

[@robertlittiken394]

Anyone know what the 2 angled brackets on the base are for?

[@Mystic_Christopher]

Is the measuring device tattoo accurate after having it for a period of time? Doesn't the tattoo shrink a little bit?

[@txkflier]

I take wooden clothespins apart and turn the springs around so that they close the handle end. They won’t make teeth marks in the insulation of the wire(s) I’m soldering. Buy a bag of wooden clothespins and make jigs with them.

[@ccoder4953]

For electrical work, I absolutely hate alligator clips - so bulky and they always fall off. What I use at work are the mini grabbers. Don't get the cheap eBay ones. Get the ones from Pomona. Nice small clip and they basically don't fall off, yet they make good contact. Also, if you're doing SMD, Keystone electronics has these really nice test points that work really well with the mini grabbers and they don't take up much board space.

[@carlosr.2027]

What’s a good Pcb 3rd hand work station you recommend

[@ccoder4953]

@@carlosr.2027 I don't really like those very much (too flimsy). I usually use a PanaVise 324 or 350 to hold my PCBs while I work on them. As far as holding stuff on the PCB while you solder it, I've very rarely found that necessary. Usually, if you have the PCB firmly held and you need to solder a wire, you're either putting it through a hole, in which case the hole will often hold it while you solder, or you're soldering to the surface of the PCB, in which case, you hold it with one hand while you solder with the other (just need a little puddle of solder and pre tin the wire). Similar situation with components - it's either not necessary or you can hold with one hand and solder with the other. For through hole, just bend the leads after inserting in the holes (though I prefer surface mount when I can get it).

[@carlosr.2027]

@@ccoder4953 cool, thank you