Was your piece of metal between the pins on the DB37 connector, or the pins on the IDC side of the connector?
If it was on the DB37 side of the connector, then a female crimp DB-37 housing like
this or
this would work even better. You could probably find one at your local fancy electronic components store, or just order from Mouser above. I think I'll be getting one to help with repair at the regionals I attend.
Also, it seems a mite riskier, but you could use the female side of the cable you're repairing to act as the support as well. Plug the female side into the male side, line up the red stripe with the opposite red stripe, and squish in a vise.