How to not lose tiny springs

[ToothFairy]

Carbon brushes (in N-gauge motors especially) have tiny springs! The springs are so small that once lost they are lost forever - and none of the usual remedies really work: having hands and motor in a plastic bag is too restricting to allow the fine fiddling, and doing the job over a box lid is no help if the pinging action of the tweezers sends the thing half way across the room! (DAMHIK!)

Solution: don't use tweezers - slide the spring onto a sewing needle. Complete control, and no pinging.

[Bufferstop]

A good idea will never stay forgotten for long as someone will always re-invent it. Still well done on figuring it out and sharing the idea with those who've never heard it.
John W
aka Bufferstop.

[senorsenales]

Alternatively, and its an old idea, thread the spring onto a piece of cotton and then use tweezers, or whatever, to locate the spring. You should be able to put any cover over the spring and pull the cotton through once the spring is secure.

I have just been assembling some Kadee no7's and it saves a lot of time searching for the spring when they go 'ping' out of the tweezers.

[fratton]

i used a cocktail stick for brush springs in the same principle, i did manage to ping one still, but out of inpatience more than anything else

[Zunnan]

I use a scalpel blade (or modelling knife) inserted between the spring coils at one end to handle tiny springs, this is actually the suggested method in the Kadee (or was it Microtrains?...) instructions for replacing lost springs in their knuckle couplers. If any adhesion is required a tiny dot of lubricant usually provides enough surface tension to further hold a spring in place. When the coils are too far apart for them to hold on a fine blade, I go with the cocktail stick and use a scalpel blade to manipulate the spring off the cocktail stick.

[Essex2Visuvesi]

:(
Carbon brushes (in N-gauge motors especially) have tiny springs! The springs are so small that once lost they are lost forever - and none of the usual remedies really work: having hands and motor in a plastic bag is too restricting to allow the fine fiddling, and doing the job over a box lid is no help if the pinging action of the tweezers sends the thing half way across the room! (DAMHIK!)

Solution: don't use tweezers - slide the spring onto a sewing needle. Complete control, and no pinging.

Wish I'd seen this last week whe I was rebuilding an n gauge minitrix 060

[BROADTRAIN1979]

Heh heh yes those little springs are a nightmare, tne newer farish couplings are better although the new dapol couplings have springs, ive heard they can come off i haven't bought any yet

Mark.