John,
I've never seen the need to do any of that. I bead blast the pin in the cap, get it super clean. Gently push the wire against the pin to set a mark. Then lay the cable on the table and use a sharp awl to pierce the wire, through the center. The cable will now push on much easier. Unless the pin is broken off, it is plenty long enough to pass the center of the wire, touching the copper. Install the screw on plate tight. I took a wooden block, turned it to the ID of the face and filed two crossing slots in the face. This made a nice tool to grab the plate and screw it in or out. Crimp and solder the terminals in. Measure resistance from brass contact to plug terminal, should be virtually 0, use an accurate meter.
If you'r having new starting issues, something changed..... be sure the float level is as high as possible and the idle circuit is on the rich side.
When prepping my 24 chief for the 18 Cannonball, I was having starting issues when I went to a lower altitude. It was all carburation, lean in fact. Howard Wagner pointed out the correct starting procedure, which solved the problem:
1. Full choke, throttle CLOSED, 2 or 3 stiff priming kicks. Should pop, or drip from the carb.
2. Choke closed only 1 notch, slight throttle, spark retarded just a bit, ignition on (if applicable) and strong kick.
Usually works great, often popping on the prime kicks. The most important thing he pointed out was that during priming, the throttle MUST BE CLOSED with FULL CHOKE. This allows the idle circuit to draw up a rich charge. If the throttle is open, even a little, the idle circuit doesn't do much of anything.
Also, close the plug gap to as low as .015, makes a mag model fire much easier!
