ATTEN FT-90A Magnifying Frame 3x with Clips
ATTEN FT-90A magnifying frame: 3x 90 mm lens plus two sprung clips on fully adjustable arms over a steel base. Holds the board and magnifies it at once.
The third hand,
and something to see it with.
Soldering asks for three hands: one for the iron, one for the solder, and one to hold the board still. The ATTEN FT-90A supplies the third. A pair of sprung clips on an adjustable arm grip the work, and a second arm swings a 3×, 90 mm lens over it.
Both arms clamp to the same column and every joint adjusts, so the lens can be set square to whatever angle the board is held at rather than the other way round. Underneath is a flat steel base with a recessed dish, which keeps the weight low and gives small parts somewhere to go.
More than the name suggests
ATTEN calls it a magnifying frame, which rather undersells the clips. Four parts, and the combination is the point.
Steel base with a dish
A flat steel plate keeps the weight low and the frame stable, and a recessed tray in the base gives screws, spare tips or a cleaning sponge somewhere to live instead of rolling off the bench.
Vertical column
Both arms clamp to a single column on thumbscrews, so each one slides up and down independently and locks where you leave it.
Two sprung clips
The lower arm carries a pair of insulated crocodile clips. They hold a board, a wire or a connector steady — the job your other hand cannot do while it is holding an iron.
The lens arm
The upper arm swings the 90 mm, 3× glass over the work and out of the way again. Every joint adjusts, so the lens can be set square to whatever angle the board is held at.
Move the board, not your neck
The reason every joint on this frame adjusts is so that you can bring the work to a comfortable position instead of bending down to it. Set the clips first, at the angle that suits the job. Then bring the lens down to meet the board, and only then sit down.
Done in that order it is a genuinely comfortable way to work on small parts for an hour. Done the other way round you end up craning over a fixed lens, which is how people decide they dislike bench magnifiers.
3× sits close
Higher magnification means a shorter working distance and a narrower field. Expect a small, close, very clear view — ideal for a joint, not for a whole board.
Light from the side
There is no lamp on this model, and a close lens shades the work. Light coming in from the side beats light from behind your head.
Swing it away
The lens arm moves aside without disturbing the clips, so you can solder unmagnified and swing the glass back to inspect.
Technical data
| Magnification | 3× |
| Glass diameter | About 9 cm (90 mm) |
| Adjustment | Multi-direction — height, rotation and angle on every joint |
| Construction | Steel base, movable mechanical arms, fixed lens frame |
| Clips | Two insulated sprung clips on the lower arm |
| Weight | 516 g |
| Illumination | None — this model has no lamp |
Not sure 3× is what you want?
Tell us what you are working on and how close you like to sit. Magnification is a personal choice and the wrong strength is worse than none — we would rather talk it through than have it come back.
Frequently asked questions
Is this just a magnifier, or does it hold the work too?
It does both, and the name undersells it. The lower arm carries a pair of sprung clips that grip a board, a wire or a connector, and the upper arm swings the lens over them. In practice it is a third-hand stand with a magnifier attached — which is more useful than either part on its own, because the thing you are magnifying needs to stay still.
How strong is 3× magnification?
Strong enough for fine-pitch work and SMD parts, and stronger than the 2× or 2.5× that many bench magnifiers use. There is a trade-off worth understanding: the higher the magnification, the closer the lens has to sit to the work and the narrower the area you see through it. At 3× you are looking at a small, close, very clear field — ideal for inspecting a joint, less suited to watching a whole board at once.
Does it have a light?
No. This model is the frame, the arms, the clips and the glass — there is no LED ring or lamp. With 3× magnification the lens sits close to the work and will shade it a little, so a decent bench lamp, or any light coming in from the side rather than from behind your head, makes a real difference.
Will it hold a large circuit board?
The clips hold a board by its edge, so it is the weight and balance that matter more than the size. Small and medium boards, modules and connectors are exactly what it is for. A large or heavy board is better supported flat on the bench with the frame used purely as a magnifier over it — ATTEN publishes no jaw opening or load figure, so if you have something particular in mind, ask us and we will try it.
How tall is it, and how much bench space does it take?
ATTEN publishes neither the column height nor the base footprint, and we would rather say so than estimate from a photograph. What is published is the weight — 516 g — so it is light enough to move aside or take to another bench, and the flat steel base keeps that weight low down. If the exact dimensions matter, ask and we will measure one.
Can I leave a soldering iron resting on it?
No — the dish in the base is for parts or a sponge, not for a hot iron. An iron needs a proper cradle: the S11 stand is the one to use, and it sits happily next to this.
Specifications are taken from ATTEN's product documentation and are provided for guidance only; they may change without notice. ATTEN does not publish the column height, base footprint, focal length, working distance or clip jaw opening for this model, and we have not estimated them from photographs — where a figure is not published we say so. If a particular measurement matters, please ask us before ordering and we will measure a physical unit.