Customer Reviews

PanaVise 315 Circuit Board Holder

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been very impressed by PanaVise's products, the circuit board holder included. I purchased the circuit board holder after taking on some larger projects that were a bit to big for their small vise. The circuit board holder was a bit larger than I expected and I'm actually using it to wire some panels for an analog synth as well using for the intended pcb use. I'm using this with their 300 series base and it works well. Note that with larger projects the vise will become top heavy and its necessary to attach the base to a larger surface to get the stability you will want.

The PanaVise 315 Circuit Board Holder is a valuable extension to a standard PanaVise base. Especially the quick-release lever is very useful. The only feature that is missing is a way to quickly flip the board over. The first time is used the PV315, I soldered 64 tiny LEDs onto a Euro-PCB and I fell in love with it. I can't imagine soldering without it anymore.

Other than a problem with boards that have components really close to the edge where soldering is more difficult it's great. I wouldn't return it for the small problem. It has saved me loads of work in the short time I've had it.

With smaller circuit boards you sometimes get the two bars that hold the board so close together than the knob to adjust the bar shown on the right in the image of the product is hard to adjust because it's right up against the knob used to adjust the angle of the circuit board holder.

I have it mounted to the Panavise vacuum base and it works great on my work space.

Makes PCB repair a breeze by keeping both hands free for the iron and removing old components. Couldn't have done the last project without this gem!

The pictures provided on the product page were terrible, so I added one.
The tilt knob gets in the way of the sliders, which makes holding smaller boards difficult.

This circuit board holder is a must-have for anyone looking to solder circuit boards. All of the elements are movable and offer the right amount of flexibility. The only situation I have had trouble was on a very small board, less than 1in by 2in. The clamps were a too large in that situation. However, I found I could hang a little bit of the board off the tip. That's the kind of flexibility this holder offers.

Whether you are soldering a repair board or a kit from a store like Adafruit, you need one of these.

Currently, I am using it with a PanaVise 381 Vacuum Base PanaVise.

Had occasion to use my PanaVise circuit board holder last week. The board I was working on was quite large and unbalanced w/ some heavy components (transformers) off center in one section of the board. The circuit board holder held up fine to the rework I was doing - including flipping the board over to see its top and bottom sides.

I use my PanaVise equipment in the field - so it has to be mobile (not affixed permanently to a work bench). I have my PanaVise base mounted onto the Panavise tray base mount (model 312). The tray's generous circumference and hefty weight enabled me to work on the over-sized and unbalanced board w/o it all toppling over. It was quite stable. PanaVise offers another weighted base mount (model 308) that would also work well in this application.

In summary, the PanaVise circuit board holder works well and as intended when mounted on a stable base.

Tool for any hobbyist, saves the wrestle over holding the parts, of course additional accessories needed.

I'm picturing row upon row of Chinese techs lined up at their work stations, soldering irons in hand, maybe some hot air rework, PC boards snapping effortlessly into circuit board holders not unlike the PanaVise 315, their board holders working perfectly. Don't expect that from PanaVise though. Clamp down on one arm and it moves one way, clamp on the other arm and it moves the other way. Might be great for non-planar applications but my boards are all flat. PanaVise has been on the scene for decades and I would have hoped they kept up a little better. Instead it looks like the name of the game is make it cheap, make it cheap and make it cheap.