Eensy teensy coupler pocket screws

[Robert Grace]

OK, so I have chubby fingers, bad eyesight and a small screwdriver.How the heck do I get those tiny little screws in those tiny little coupler pockets? Would using a tiny magnetic phillips head screwdriver mess up the magnet with the ez-mate knucklers?
(I may just give this a rest and work on dioramas till I can see again)

[Craig]

Robert,

Here's what I do:

I move my rolling stock to a large, flat area with plenty of light. If I drop the screw it doesn't hit the floor and I can see exactly where it ends up. I use a magnetic screwdriver (no, it won't hurt a thing) to remove the screw and I use a screwdriver with a bit of duct seal stuck to the tip to reinsert it. Then I use the magnetic one to set the screw. If you have a local sign shop you might pick up a scrap piece of magnetic vinyl to use on your work bench.

Craig

[Jonathan MacCormack]

Robert,

Check Micro-Mart, page 86, Winter 2007 Catalog, for the "Gripster", #21116, cost $5.65

Telephone = 1-800-225-1066

Should solve your need without a "rube goldberg" fix!

Jonathan

[NelsOn-30]

Another trick is to have a clean smooth floor then when a small part is dropped holding a strong flash light at a shallow angle creates a very visible shadow. I have a tool similar to the one Jonathan steered you towards and it works.

[Jim Banner]

There are a great variety of teeny weeny screws and that means a wide assortment of screw drivers.  Rather than buy a magnetic one of each, I use a small rare earth magnet take I stick to one side of the screwdriver shaft.  Even several inches up the shaft from the tip it gives a good strong grip at the tip for both removing and installing screws.

When I drop a screw, I stick the same magnet in a plastic bag and go fishing.  By the time the outside of the bag is covered with iron filings, drill swarf, iron saw dust, and hopefully the screw, it is easy to get it all off the magnet by turnig the bag inside out and removing the magnet.  Without the bag, cleaning off a rare earth magnet is about impossible.

If the small magnet doesn't work, I break out the big one.  Just a little larger than a quarter, you need special tools to separate two of these babies if they ever get together.  Again the plastic bag trick.  These rare earth magnets will even pick up "non-magnetic" stainless steel nuts and machine screws.  Sorry to say, with brass and nylon screws, it is down on the hands and knees with a flashlight. 

[Robert Grace]

It wasn't the dropping the screws and pockets on the floor that was getting me--it was merely getting the darn thing in the hole so I could screw the thing in--luckily, a lady at work who makes jewelry came up with the solution, which I did tonite and successfully attached all eight couplers and pockets to my Bachman Southern Line passenger car set: Merely dip the tip of the screwdriver a little in a Elmer's gluestick and then the tack on  it holds the screw long enough to get it started in the hole in the coupler pocket. Now, I really feel silly--seems like such an obvious solution

[Jim Banner]

I used to use glue - Goo, hot glue, rubber cement, you name it.  I still do for non-ferrous screws.  But the magnet on the screwdiver shaft is much cleaner when you can use it - no residue to clean up after installing the screw.

[Bill Baker]

Do any of you guys have a small black hole at your work bench that swollows up tiny screws, springs and tiny accessories?  I hate to think how many KD springs I have bought from my local hobby shop. I have a well illuminated area I work in and several flashlights, but still these items disappear.

Do you think its my glasses? 

[Craig]

The glue stick is the same concept as the duct seal I suggested. 

Craig

[CJCrescent]

I use a little thing called a screwsticker made by the old Perfect Model Co. They was always the greenbacked display in hobby shops that had things like gas tanks, tires, proprlellors and small modeling tools like scrrewdrivers, pliers, drills etc. Hadn't seen the display in a while.

But anyway this has 2 small spring loaded flat wires that can grab screws down to 0-90, and as large as a 2-56. Walthers sells a similar tool, as does KD, but their's don't work as well as this little jewel.

Meant to add, it can also hold them well enough to screw them in almost all the way, depending on the size.

[brad]

I have a pair of tweezers with one side of them that is magnitised, great for holding small parts and screws.

brad

[Paul M.]

That's an interesting idea. I'll use it...