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Page 14 of 14
Once the grip is tightened down, it’s time attach the wire to the socket. Some prefer to attach the wire before mounting the grip, since it’s easier to get at the set screws or nuts. This certainly can work, but I prefer to have the socket held down securely for the task-- the right tools will allow you to get around the tight angles. Clip off the excess wire so there is just about 3 cm or so beyond the end of the tubing. Strip the insulation off of the wire end—the 30-gauge strippers mentioned in the Recommended Tools section are perfect for this. If you don’t have a small enough wire stripper, the cloth insulation can be unwrapped by hand and clipped away (there are typically two layers, wrapped in opposite directions), or removed with sandpaper. German wires have a layer of varnish on the wire itself that must be removed with emery paper—otherwise it will act as an insulator. Some people like to use a match or lighter to burn away the insulation, but this can make the wire brittle and prone to breaking at the socket.
For 2-prong foil sockets, the wire is attached to the B-line terminal (the on for the narrower pin). German-style 2-prong sockets have a hole that lets you run the wire up from beneath, which makes it easier to put in place. Bent-nose pliers or an angled ignition wrench will make getting at the nut beneath the bracket easier. On bayonet sockets, the B-line is the screw at the side. For epee sockets, the wires run to the A and B terminals, which are the two closest to each other. It doesn’t matter which wire goes to A or B on an epee. Wrap the stripped wire around the terminal in the direction that it turns to tighten (bent-nose tweezers or a small hemostat help with this). Leaving some extra wire beyond the terminal will allow you to hold it in place while tightening. The insulation tubing needs to run all the way to the terminal. It’s useful to allow a bit of the insulation tubing to be pinched under the terminal when it is tight-- this will provide some strain relief for the wire and make it less likely to break at the socket. When done, clip off any excess wire.
Assemble the point, and you’re ready to test the weapon. While an LED tester will do to tell you if the completed weapon is working or not, an Ohmmeter is better because it will let you know about any problems that aren’t quite serious enough to make the weapon malfunction yet, but probably will before too long. The legal limit for electrical resistance in both foils and epees is 2 ohms. For foils, this means 2-ohms when the point is up, and for epees 2-ohms when the point is depressed. Anything above this means something is at least a little bit wrong. The first thing to check for is dirty point parts. Clean the tip and point, and gently sand the ends of the foil spring or epee contact spring with emery paper to remove dirt & corrosion. If you used a German wire, make sure you completely removed the varnish from the stripped end.
If the resistance is OK, test the point with your weight and shims, and make any adjustments as needed. For foils, insulate approximately the first 15 cm from the point with tape. When taping a foil, it's best to run a piece of tape lengthwise down from just the bottom of the barrel, and then wrap a second piece just around the barrel—you’ll be able to take the point apart for cleaning and maintenance. With German point, having a narrow bit of tape running just around the screws beneath the outer piece of tape can provide a little bit of extra protection for the screw-heads.
The weapon is now ready for use. While there are no guarantees, a well-done wiring-job, on a properly prepared blade, using a barrel in good shape, should hold up for quite some time. If you find you are having problems with wires popping out of the groove, the most likely culprit is the groove not being thoroughly clean before gluing. You may also not be adequately tensioning the wire and seating it in the groove. If the wire breaks at the point contact too frequently, it may be because you aren’t sufficiently bending the blade to pre-tension the wire, although your fencing style and that of your opponents may be a more significant factor.
The first time you wire a blade, you may find yourself taking up to an hour or more to do the task. As you gain confidence, this time will shorten considerably. Starting with a clean, prepared blade and using instant-curing CA glue, an experienced armorer can have a weapon wired and built in under 15 minutes. Most importantly, by doing the task yourself you won’t have to wait for someone else to find time to do it, and will probably be more diligent and careful since it’s your own gear you’re working on. And then you can get back to those Stargate episodes secure in the knowledge that your weapon is done right and set up just the way you want it.
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