I bought a few sets of the Shelf Couplers from Jimmy Booth to check them out. I’m not sure of all the varieties he is selling, but I bought 2 pairs of double shelf Type E, 2 pairs of lower shelf Type E and 1 set of Type F.
They are cast brass with 5 parts - the receiver, the knuckle, the tongue, the pin and a spring for draft gear. I also ordered the draft gear boxes - They are 3d printed resin in 2 parts a top and a bottom. The draft gear boxes have some detail including a key slot.
The couplers took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to assemble. Simply slip the tongue into the receiver and push it all the way up open position. Then push the knuckle into the receiver. Then pass the knuckle pin through the receiver and the knuckle to hold the knuckle in place. That’s it. Push or pull the tongue up and the knuckle opens, close the knuckle and the tongue drops and locks the knuckle closed.
I have yet too install them or operate with them so can’t really comment there yet. A few I’ll have to tackle are
1 - limited swing distance, what will the minimum radius with these installed.
2 - bottom operated or modify to top operate. I’m thinking I can install a small steel ring on top to the tongue to operate the couplers with a magnetic wand.
3 - finishing and lubing them. I’m thinking chemically blackening the couplers and applying graphite to the moving surfaces as well as the striking surfaces.
Definitely beautiful. Thank you Jimmy for this beautiful product!
And thanks again JayC for the tip.
