Review: Bernstein Spannfix 9-205 Multi-Angle Vice
Look at it from my angle
The key feature of this vice is the flexibility and security with which it can hold an item; connectors can be clamped and optimally angled for easy access by a soldering iron tip and cable, for this sort of application it really is like having a — steady — third hand.It can be frustrating working with poorly made tools but I can already tell from the build quality of this vice how handy this is going to be in any electronics lab environment. I took a series of photos so you see what this vice is capable of.
As you can see, the Spannfix -205 is really very flexible. My old blue vice has now finally been put out to pasture (actually donated to a friend who has put it to good use).
N.B. One thing to note with the Spannfix is that the jaws are made of plastic; this can be an advantage when gripping material that may be marked or scratched by metal jaws but these are made of a thermoplastic material that will melt at soldering temperatures. The Spannfix is ideal for holding delicate work; other workshop tasks like shortening bolts using a hacksaw should be carried out on a standard vice with metal jaws.
When you use the vice to hold items for soldering the temperature of the metal clamped in the jaws can quickly exceed 100 °C. For these jobs I have cut some pieces of epoxy PCB material to put over the jaw faces and protect them from the heat.
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