Home-made wires

[fencinman89]

Today i bought "magnet wire" from radioshack, and it is coated in enamel. i was wondering if anyone has used such wire with any positive results. Please respond because i would like to make wires for the team.
-Tre'

[Artisan]

This has been covered before... If I recall, the consensus was that its not worth the trouble. First, soldering or crimping to the contacts is tough, tiny work. Second the varnish insulation on the wire is easily scratched off, causing shorts, and lastly, without the fiber jacket of a regular wire it will be harder to get the glue to hold down the wire. IMO, It would only be worth the trouble if you got the raw materials for real wires and cups and assembled them yourself en masse with the correct crimping tool (which can be expensive)

[neevel]

A much better choice is Kynar-insulated wire-wrap wire, which you can also get at Radio Shack (or, in larger quantities at better prices, from real electronics suppliers like Digi-Key, Mouser, or jack-of-all-trades McMaster-Carr). It's not as strong as the wire used by fencing manufacturers, but it's adequate to the task, and the insulation is much better than the varnished magnet wire. I know many people who use the wire-wrap stuff with good results.

You can also buy OEM wire, contacts, and cups from Leon Paul.

-Dave

[Windsor]

Anywhere else to get the oem wire like Leonpaul sells? Itd be nice to have but somehow I have a feeling the shipping costs of that would make it a little pricey... Actually its about 5 bucks apparently, is this worth it for 10 meters?


Bah correction again, they say oders under 10 pounds can't be accepted.

[fencinman89]

Today i made a few wires with the magnet wrap, and instead of cripmping them i soldered them, and it seems to be holding together.
-Tre'

[gojujay]

I usually solder the wire to the pin. It works in a pinch and is fairly durable

[rvergara]

I used magnetic wire and it works fine, you just need to pay attention to details.

- Be careful not to make angles on the wire while you hold it for the soldering, if you do it'll probably break the enamel and might snap on tension.
- To solve the insulation problem, I covered the entire wire with a thin layer of the glue I use for wiring, and because it's a contact cement, works like a charm.
- Magnetic wire is not as flexible as foil wires so don't tense it too hard on the blade.

[mhoneth]

I recently used the inner wires from a telephone cord for my practice epée, and it seems to work. Insulation is good, size is OK, but we'll see after my next few bouts, how well it stands up to wear and tear.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I recently used the inner wires from a telephone cord for my practice epée, and it seems to work. Insulation is good, size is OK, but we'll see after my next few bouts, how well it stands up to wear and tear.

On your practice epee... how does that work out of curiousity. Are you talking about a dry epee? without the screws and crap, because you have most certainly confused me.

[mhoneth]

Sorry for the confusion, I should have been more specific. When I wrote practice, I meant my el cheapo electric epee on which I dare experiment without costing a fortune.

[MyraTrue]

I HAVE used the magnet wire (same stuff, use the red), I HAVE soldered to the pins, and I've had no problems. The enamel has held up quite well. Wired my first epee with "home made" wires back in... August, used it heavily, it still works without a flaw. I've also wired others, and the wires have held up nicely.

It depends on how well you can coordinate soldering the contacts, and how much its worth to make your own instead of spending to buy. Depends on the day. Foil wires are may times easier than epee wires, however. They're a snap.

[geezer]

Our club armorer solders Kynar wire into old epee pins for replacement all the time, his work great. I use it for foil, but under tension it snaps, very fragile. Also, since it can't absorb glue, a little goes a long way (runnung down the blade). And...the wire FLOATS in the groove, so it has to be 'persuaded' to stay put.

Have a nice bout.

non illigitimi carborundum

[mifencer]

Our club armorer solders Kynar wire into old epee pins for replacement all the time, his work great. I use it for foil, but under tension it snaps, very fragile. Also, since it can't absorb glue, a little goes a long way (runnung down the blade). And...the wire FLOATS in the groove, so it has to be 'persuaded' to stay put.

I use Kynar for foil blades, it works great.

[Windsor]

Yup, Kynar here too

[Mergs]

Ditto here, too.