FastCap 3rd Hand Support System 57-to-144-Inches, 2-pack #3HAND5

by Fastcap

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

If you ever wished you had an extra hand, here it is. Starting at 5-feet and reaching to 12 feet, the 3rd Hand provides support, brace, or clamp for whenever you might need an extra hand. Great for installing upper cabinets, crown molding, and window coverings. 3rd Hand supports drywall, plastic barriers, ceiling panels, and light fixtures.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B000067S12
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 3HAND5
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,241 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #3 in Home Improvement > Hardware > Nails, Screws & Fasteners > Braces

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saved my back!, December 29, 2003

By 

Danny Fixit (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FastCap 3rd Hand Support System 57-to-144-Inches, 2-pack #3HAND5 (Tools & Home Improvement)

Got 4 of these units. Have used them for installing kitchen cabinets on two jobs so far. WOW! once you get the hang of adjusting it and getting it in place, they are better than having a work partner. They don't give opinions. They just do their job. The loads I have put on them have been fairly heavy and they still held it using multiple jacks.

Found them very useful too for acting as pushers when installing a deck to push some deck boards into line when they are a bit warped.

Used these jacks as floor to ceiling push clamps during a wood floor installation. After gluing in place the wood flooring, placed a scab 2x6 plank on leading edge of new floor and used these jacks to apply some downward pressure keeping all the installed floor snug and down tight until the adhesive set up. The floor is beautiful.

Expect to also use them soon to hold up a plastic barrier around an area I will be working in order to control dust and dirt migration. Could work very well if you are spray painting indoors.

Always carry at least two of these with me at all times now.

109 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Details lacking, August 1, 2002

By 

AL (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: FastCap 3rd Hand Support System 57-to-144-Inches, 2-pack #3HAND5 (Tools & Home Improvement)

For some reason, they do not want to provide many details about this product. So I'll fill in the blanks. The maximum weight limit is 70 pounds. The blue body is made out of steel. The top and bottom plates, and the squeeze handle are made out of plastic. There is a non-marring rubber pad on both the top and bottom plates. The plates swivel on a plastic ball joint. The total shipping weight is 13 pounds. Made in China. Overall I'm quite happy with it. The reason I gave it 4 stars is I'm not sure how long the plastic ball joints are going to last. Time will tell.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great tool, poor materials, January 6, 2006

By 

Bobb L. Bittner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: FastCap 3rd Hand Support System 57-to-144-Inches, 2-pack #3HAND5 (Tools & Home Improvement)

Problem 1: There is a small plastic bracket that attaches the bottom foot to the steel pole. This bracket was damaged during shipping on both poles. On the one it had shattered in 10 pieces.

Solution: I just used epoxy to glue the brackets into the pole.

Problem 2: The little spring-loaded nubs that lock the pole open are way too stiff. It actually makes it difficult to adjust the length of the pole, especially when it is in the shortest position and there isn't a good handhold on one end.

Solution: I removed the nubs. They were easy to pop out the bottom of the pole (due to the conveniently damaged bottom foot brackets). There is a tension-screw that can also be used to lock the pole open and it works just fine. If you were planning on putting a heavy load on the pole, it would probably be a good idea to put a small bolt through the nub holes, just to make sure the pole doesn't slide closed.

Once I got past these problems, the poles actually work really well. They are long, sturdy and easy to adjust. The pole body is steel, so my magnetic laser level will clip right to it. The top foot has a pump mechanism that makes it easy to lock the pole into place between floor and ceiling. The bottom foot has a threaded rod that you can use to easily micro-adjust the height, for hanging cabinets or such.

If the pole feet were made out of better materials, this product would easily be a 5-star. The plastic brackets and fittings are very brittle, though, and I doubt that they would survive any serious abuse.