gandydancer19 It's not the mechanical connection you need to worry about with rail joiners. It is the electrical connection. The choice is: 1. Solder the joiners to make continuous track sections about six foot long and add one pair of feeders to each section. These long track sections can be joined together with un-soldered rail joiners. 2. If you decide not to solder rail joiners together, then solder a pair of feeders to each and every piece of track.
It's not the mechanical connection you need to worry about with rail joiners. It is the electrical connection.
The choice is:
1. Solder the joiners to make continuous track sections about six foot long and add one pair of feeders to each section. These long track sections can be joined together with un-soldered rail joiners.
2. If you decide not to solder rail joiners together, then solder a pair of feeders to each and every piece of track.
Third alternative (my personal preference) - solder a jumper around EVERY uninsulated rail joiner. For reasons having to do with the potential 100 degree annual temperature range in my non-climate-controlled layout space, soldering rail joiners is a non-starter. I need the expansion joints - ALL of them. What I don't need is a lot of rail power drops.
My longest electrical section is about 18 feet, the length of six sections of Atlas flex, fed from the jumper soldered between the third and fourth section. I run analog DC, MZL system, so there is no pair of bus wires to which to attach a string of rail drops.
And now, back to the original question. There is no rule that says you can't take cheap needlenose pliers and reshape the working ends into whatever you need. Just work slowly, especially if using grinding tools. You don't want to overheat the metal and draw the temper.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I understand that the recommended action is to solder all of the connections, but I am wondering if a pair of pliers exist that can be used to press together the rail joiners between N scale track. I have started looking around and am not sure if it even exists. Thanks for your help.