Magnetic Base, MGBR-04, Flexible Arm Magnetic Stand for Digital Dial Indicators, 176lbs Max Pull

It isn't. It is MUCH better than I thought it would be. I figured for the price it wouldn't be substantial, or the mechanism would be cheap & finicky, or that the magnet wouldn't work correctly. None of this is true. This thing is awesome. It is larger than I imagined it would be, and much more stout. The mechanism that allows you to reposition the arm & then lock it into place works very well and the magnet is simply amazing in its ability to switch from no magnet to lots of magnet with just that easy-to-swivel switch. FINALLY somebody making something that works well & provides value for the dollar.

Much sturdier than my previous setup. I use this often at work doing line bores. The magnet is strong and arms lock up solid. I'm always surprised how adaptable this is if you use your imagination.

Very soon after I'd written my original two-star review (see below), the seller (Clockwise Tools) reached out to me to get more information and to do his best to resolve the problem. He initiated a new shipment from Amazon, which arrived the very next day. I tried it out, but unfortunately the new one has a different issue. On it, the wrist locks solidly, but the knee is weak. But I noticed two things about this "new" one: the packaging had obviously been opened (presumably this was a return from another customer and re-shipped), and the construction of the knee is different from the first one. On the first, there's a reddish-orange hard plastic (delrin?) washer between the knee joint surfaces that is missing on this new/returned/reshipped one. I'm guessing that the person returning it may have disassembled it and put it back together incorrectly. The first one may have also been a return that was defective and re-shipped. I see now that the tolerances of the knee parts and the and pushrods need to be pretty accurate for everything to tighten at once, without one rod tightening too much before the other. And of course it's important to have all of the parts assembled correctly. Upon hearing this, the seller offered to ship me yet another one, directly from the factory (so that it can be guaranteed to be assembled correctly with all of the proper parts) for another test. They currently have none in stock so it could be a while before I get a chance to update this review again. Meanwhile, I thought it appropriate to update my review to four stars because of the truly excellent customer service from Clockwise Tools. And if the third one works properly, I'll be sure to update it again to five stars. ---- Original two-star review below ---- I really wanted to love this. It's all metal, seems solid and well made, and is a terrific bargain. However: - As others have said, it's certainly not a 176 pound magnet. I'd guess more like 40. I was able to pull it off of my mill (a big hunk of very flat steel) without too much effort. I own another magnetic stand half this size with easily twice the holding force. Still, it would almost certainly be strong enough for most needs. But... - No matter how tight you tighten the knob, you can still easily rotate the "wrist". The foot and elbow joints tighten up nice and solid but the wrist rotates easily, rendering the unit pretty useless for resisting anything more than the lightest of force at its tip. So after my 5 minute experiment, I've just cleaned and boxed it back up carefully for return to Amazon.

Already used it and it works as expected. Just as good as high cost ones. Why spend $125 or more when these do the exact same thing. Quality is there, adjustment knob strong magnet. Not on this yet but I work with chemicals and sometimes the colored coating come off but I didn’t buy those for looks so. I have had many for years and these are great

This is a good solid base. It has just one knob to turn and it locks all joints. My only complaint is the bracket where you mount your gage to. It's hard to get it tight enough so the gauge doesn't slip or turn.

Not an expert. In fact, I'm actually using this instead of helping hands for soldering. Great seller who got back to me in mere hours to address the stuck switch. He mentioned the dry lube, and after using a pair of pliers in the initial activation the switch worked freely. While I don't have the more common red arm versions, from what I read this has the 3/8" clamp as opposed to the smaller 8mm. The arm moved freely until you tightened it down. Something the slightly cheaper red ones are reported to not do so well. In my opinion, the few extra dollars is worth the quality control and this is several times cheaper compared to some of the other brands. Buy with confidence.

Strong magnetic base, but the fine-adjustment hinge is loose and wobbles unless the adjustment screw is fully tightened. In that position, the clamp is secure, but no longer adjustable.

EDIT: Since the first mag stand worked out so well I've bought a second and it's as good as the first one. If you're looking for a decent stand at a great price, give this unit a try. ****** This magnetic stand is working out very well for what I needed it for. Attached it to the base of my grinder and am using it to measure how much the table moves while adjusting for taper. While the tightening action of this unit isn't as smooth as my Noga stands, it's about one quarter of the price. It has the same movement range allowing for a great variety of positions, making it just as useful as the Nogas. And, as you can see in the picture, the magnetic base is strong enough to support its own weight even through the paint on the machine. I'll keep buying Nogas as I need them for every day use since I don't expect this to last as long, but for the price, it's doing what I need it to. Overall, highly recommend