Doug mentioned vices ( PCB Holders ) , and I picked up a small tool vice recently. It’s low-cost (£15) which is good, but very small, therefore it is a niche product. It won’t hold boards greater than about 49-50mm long, so that’s a showstopper for a lot of PCBs.
The photo below shows how it could be used (but not how I will use it).
The tool is lightweight (220 grams) but shouldn’t slide around on typical ESD mats.
Is it any good? I’d say it is average. On the plus side, the finish is excellent. It’s all aluminium. The sliding jaw moves with very little effort, it is easy-to-use.
The decent finish extends to the underside.
The knob is aluminium too.
All the topmost surfaces have M5 tapped holes (spaced 20 mm apart), which is excellent, although you might find (as I did) that some of the holes need re-tapping if you don’t want to force the screw in. The base of the vice has M5 clearance untapped holes.
What’s not to like? I think the main Achille’s heel is that the vice uses a simple threaded rod that is quite thin (just under 6 mm). A slight knock will probably bend it. However, until that time comes, I think this vice will be quite nice to use. High-end clamps will be of all-steel construction, and will have a proper leadscrew.
Another negative is that the jaws, as supplied, are not fit for PCB usage, but I knew that at the time of purchase from a visual inspection of the product photos. My plan is to make plastic jaws that will screw onto the top.
Is it worth the £15? I think it’s worth £8.99. If you want a ready-to-go tool vice, and don’t really need such a compact one, and prefer an aluminium one that is slightly larger and more practical, then such tools are already available at a similar price (or less).
If you want very stable mounting to build a testbed, then there are no two ways around it. You'll need to skip the alu and go for decent steel tool vices; check out the photo by michaelkellett in the comments here: PCB Holders
Thanks for reading!
