When soldering, one of the hardest things to do is keep your components in place. Most people solve this by simply buying a commercial pair of "helping hands" to hold their parts while they work. However if you do not solder very often, it's not really worth it to spend $10+ on something you will use only once. In this Instructable, we'll be making some quick-and-dirty "helping hands" out of commonly found household items in less than 5 minutes.

Step 1: Tools and Materials:

2 regular pliers
2 needle nose pliers
8 rubber bands (at least)

Optional:

2 alligator clips

Step 2: Assembling the "hands"

For this part you need to take one pair of pliers and one pair of needle nose pliers and put them together like in the picture.
Once you have done that u need to use the rubber bands to hold the 2 pairs of pliers together (the picture does a better job of explaining this then i do). it may be necessary to use 3 or more rubber bands to get the pliers to stand by themselves (i used 2 going in one direction and one going in the other).
At this time you also need to use a rubber band to hold the handles of the regular pliers together (this is what allows you to use the plier to hold something).
After completing one hand do the same thing with the other 2 pairs of pliers

Step 3: Optional: Alligator Clips

If you decide to add alligator clips to hold more delicate items, you must first flatten out the back end of the clip (as pictured below). Then, fold it over itself to create a lip. This helps keep it in place when u put it in the plier. Lastly, put the clips into the pliers and you're good to go!

Step 4: Finished Product

When you're done, your helping hands should look like this.

Step 5: Final Thoughts

The great thing about these is that when you need them to solder, you can put them together quickly, and they'll work just as well. If you want, you can also adjust the height of them by moving the legs further apart or closer together.
Thanks for reading and please rate :)