Tighten Coil Couper Rivet

I've had a Hobby Horse press for close to thirty years. It comes in handy for all sorts of repairs, and not just for trains.

I would use the splaying clincher to tighen up a loose coil coupler head for a functional repair. It would not look factory, but the head would be tight.

You can achieve the same results by using a small cold chisel. Just be certain to find a way to support the coupler head that won't damage it. Perhaps a bit of wood.

Hobby horse makes anvils to hold coupler heads for restakiing. There are seperate anvils for coil couplers and magnetic couplers. They are not part of the 15 piece basic set, rather they are one of the many accessory anvils that Hobby Horse makes. I have and use them. I built up my tool set over many years.

Many times a tool will be useful for something beyond its designed purpose.

On magnetic couplers the head is also held in place by a couple of upsets in the ridges that run along the metal tab. I am not certain whether the factory did this operation on coil couplers. You can add this to them to make the joint nice and tight.

Once again, these fixes will not look "factory".

Another option that's really handy for repairs is The Brakeman's Riveter at http://rivetin.com/ .

I have the Brakeman's Riveter, it's a very useful kit.  I'd love to have the press and a bunch of anvils, but it's pretty pricy.

In addition to having arbor presses, I have both the large and small brakeman's riveter. I don't use them very often because I don't think I have very good control with them. It seems to take a lot of pressure to make them fire. (Probably poor technique on my part)

Sometimes I will use a tool from the Arbor press outfit without the press.

I hold the tool, and strike the back with a rawhide hammer.

(one should never strike a tool with a hard metal hammer. It does not take much of a burr to make a tool get stuck in the ram)

After doing this for many years, I am confident in my control.

Among my brakeman's riveter tools are the large and small anti-spin anvils for drilling out rivets. Of all the brakeman's riveter stuff, these are the tools I use most frequently.

If it’s a small bit of wiggle room, I’d let it be, especially if the piece has any collector value. Flying shoe coil couplers often had a bit of slop in them, and the 1946 slide shoe coil couplers had less. In order to get rid of that very problem, Lionel added 4 little stake marks on the flange along the coupler head in 1947 about 1/8 inch from the rivet. In old vintage, a wee bit of wiggle wouldn’t be considered much of a defect so I’d return it if you deem it excessive. If you attempt to fix it and things go south, you own it with little recourse.

Thanks all for the info!

Best Regards,

Luther Stanton