Circuit board vise

MJHanagan

I'm thinking about buying a circuit board vise (my little bench-top vise doesn't cut it anymore). All my boards to date have been under 5" max length.

Any suggestions for the home hobbyist?

Lev

I like the PanaVise. The PanaVise Jr is great for smaller projects. For larger projects, like your 5" boards, they have other vises that might work. I use the #396 a lot. Radio Shack was selling some #324s at clearance prices, but that might be over.

http://www.panavise.com/index.html?pageID=1&id1=1&startat=1&--woSECTIONSdatarq=1&--SECTIONSword=ww

TC

I have this. It might not be a vice, but it is heavy, I can put anything in the jaws(wires, parts, etc..), and the solder block can take some heat(saves my table).

Too_Many_Tools

MJHanagan wrote: »

I'm thinking about buying a circuit board vise (my little bench-top vise doesn't cut it anymore). All my boards to date have been under 5" max length.

Any suggestions for the home hobbyist?

RS just clearanced the Panavise setup you need...I would try checking at your local RS stores for one (it is not on the website any longer).

Clearance cost $20 or less...regular price close to $100.

MJHanagan

Too_Many_Tools wrote: »

RS just clearanced the Panavise setup you need...I would try checking at your local RS stores for one (it is not on the website any longer).

Clearance cost $20 or less...regular price close to $100.

Thank you, I'll check it out.

Duane Degn

I have a gizmo that holds a PCB in place and lets you flip it over while still clamped. I thought it was really handy when I needed it.



I found the link. IMO, it makes working on a board a lot easier. I like being able to flip the board while it's still secured in the holder.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

I've had a Panavise for many years. (Mine has the model 315 jaws.) 'Couldn't live without it, although Duane's looks like it's easier to flip a board quickly.

-Phil

davejames

...these are pretty nifty:

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_null_684844_-1

SRLM

Duane Degn wrote: »

I have a gizmo that holds a PCB in place and lets you flip it over while still clamped. I thought it was really handy when I needed it.

I found the link. IMO, it makes working on a board a lot easier. I like being able to flip the board while it's still secured in the holder.

I like that! Thanks for posting.

I have the PCB Panavise head and it works best for larger boards.

LoopyByteloose

Much depends on how much actual board building one does. If you are going to do a lot, finding a set up with a very good 'flip feature' that will handle your largest boards down to very tiny is important.

if you don't do a lot of board soldering, just having something that holds the board tightly will suffice.

PanVise has always been a favorite of hobbyist.

But when I got to Taiwan, and looked around for a vise of sorts, I ended up buying a machinist vise that is just plain heavy and intended to be bolted to the table of a drill press or a milling machine. It is so heavy, I don't need to clamp it to my work bench.

Something as simple as what is in the attached photo is very handy.. works for me.

Tracy Allen

I have a machinist vise like Loopy's, very good for pressing IDC connectors onto flat cable. My favorite for electronics is one I picked up at our local mom and pop electronics store, Al Lasher's. It is similar to a Panavise, ball swivel and lock, but I much prefer the long throw of this one and the convenient working angles. It has seen a lot of use, and the rubber boot is long since split, but I don't care about that. Ellen Lasher told me that they couldn't get these any more, but a few days ago I spotted something much like it at Orchard Supply Hardware, from Olympia Tools.

Another circuit board holder I like is the Visegrip sheet metal tool. Easy to flip, and it can be held in the drill press vise for added heft.

LoopyByteloose

Al Lasher's ! !!!! I have been in there a few times nearly 30 years ago. Sublimely wonderful. There are several places in Oakland as well that offer a lot more than I could ever wish for, but not as good as Al Lasher's.

I guess you now know why I think Radio Shack a little silly. I was spoiled early on in geekhood.

Real electronics shops don't have everything in bubble packs, they know what's in stock, and customers are all smiles..

Tracy Allen

Al Lasher's, a real mom and pop operation, still going after 53 years, despite a new Radio Shack having opened up a block further down University Ave. Al himself passed away years ago, but son Bob and daughter Ellen, and now her daughter, keep it going, a community resource. It's sobering to think, I've been patronizing them for a good fraction of that 53 years. I was in there Friday because I needed a dual modular RJ11 jack with all the wires accessible, and Ellen found the perfect thing somewhere in the back. They keep modern stuff from the likes of Sparkfun and Velleman, stuff for your Burning Man project, nice tools and bins and bins of parts for repair shops or University contraptions, and they still have a rack at the front with fading retail packages of HEP series RTL logic chips (so, if you just have to have that to complete your Radio-Electronics code practice oscillator...). Not to mention all the vacuum tubes. The old tube tester finally gave out though. They bought up a lot of stuff when Electronics Etc. went out of business, another local establishment you might recall.

A nod to topic, they keep a collection of Panavise products clamped to a table up front. When choosing a vise (or vice?), it is helpful to see the selection and get a feel for how they work.

xanadu

Build this --

[video=youtube_share;FxwYCq1QPkA]

I haven't used anything else for small boards since.