Overhead "reel" setup?

[damianip]

I know this has probably been posted before but does anyone know of an URL for a diagram of an overhead wire system.

I've had it with our reels, and I want to see if I can cobble up my own system armed only with my McMaster-Carr catalogue. We use shared space so they have to go up and down quickly and easily.

The problem is, I never take a close look at the systems when I'm at other salles (too busy panting and trying to not get killed).

We're considering the Triplette "bungee" system, but I'm wondering if I can pull off a cheaper DIY.

Anyone? Dave Neevel?


Paolo

[oiuyt]

Don't know of any URLs, but I haven't seen any overhead systems that were designed to go up and down quickly anyway. I've fenced at about 4 different places that used some type of overhead system (mostly the same but with slight differences) but they were all designed to stay in place. Wouldn't really want to be trying to attach things to ceilings in several different places before fencing every night, which is what would be required.

-B

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"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"

[Zelda]

I used to Fence at a place that had an O/H reel setup. It was in a school hall so it had to be taken down. The big thing was getting permission for the anchoring bolts in the walls. I dont Mind O/H systems generally but this one had its bungee elastic a tad too short so if you werent into resistance training you were doing very good PEter Pan impressions.

[neevel]

Gotta love McMaster-Carr-- if you can't get it there...

Parts you need:
->14 meters of bungee cord
->2 14 meter lengths of cable-- this can be the tough thing to find. Triplette has a good price on Priuer-style braided cable, and can sell it with an outer sheath. Flat, 4 conductor phone cable works and is cheap & easy to find, but it's not that strong and so will need to be replaced/repared more frequently.
-> 2 large (3.5-4 inch diameter or so pulleys). If you're looking for what you can find at a hardware store or Home Depot, garage-door-opener pulleys will work. Plastic pulleys are lighter and cheaper (marine supply stores are a good place to look for pulleys).
-> 2 smaller (~1.5 inch) pulleys.
-> 2 body-cord sockets-- either buy them from a vendor, or if you're feeling cheap you can modify epee sockets to work by putting snap-hooks on to clip to the lame.
-> 2 3-prong plugs
-> 2 bolt snaps to hook onto the end of the large pulleys.
-> 2 eye-bolts placed at the end of the strip to anchor the system (obviously, you'll need to get permission to screw them into the baseboards of the walls).
-> some method of anchoring the cables just after the come out from the scoring machine.

Run the length of bungee cord through the two big pulleys. Attach the bolt snaps to the back of the large pulleys. Attach the small pulleys to the ends of the bungee cord. Run the cables through each of the small pulleys, and put the sockets and plugs on. To set up, Clip the bolt snaps of the large pulleys to your anchoring points, and anchor the cords near the box. Should look something like this:

   ************************************
--*O                                     O*--
   *                                     *
    *                                   *
     o------------[box]-------------o
     \                               /
      \                             /
      [fencer]             [fencer]

Cost will be $100-$170, depending on the materials used (cheaper than what Triplette charges).

An easier-to-build option is to use retractable clothesline reels in place of the bungee cord and large pulleys. They cost $15-$20 apiece at hardware stores. Just anchor the reels, then hook the small pulleys and cables to the end of the clothesline, and anchor the cables by the box:

[reel]****o-------[box]-------o*****[reel]
          \                       /
           \                     /
        [fencer]      [fencer]

I've got a few of both types laying around that I've built. No matter what anyone says, they're still more time consuming to put up and take down than reels-- we end up using reels at my club for just that reason. They are potentially more reliable than reels, however, if you use good quality cable.

-Dave

[This message has been edited by neevel (edited 05-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by neevel (edited 05-28-2001).]

[Link14]

We have a Triplette set up in a shared gym and got permission to leave it up. We put hooks about 12 feet up on the ceiling and use a pole to hang the wires up every night.

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If the pen is mightier than the sword, the writer must have a heck of a reach!!

[Stryder]

Dave-
I've found that the larger the pulley used, the longer my cables last. I use a light plastic pulley with a diameter of about 3.5 inches.

Damian-
If these are going to be portable reels, maybe you should think about setting them up on the floor instead of overhead. They work just as well, and you just use a little duct tape to attach them to the floor every night.

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www.geocities.com/strydermike

[Gajuith]

We used to use a fairly simple and easily put up and down overhead system. It was basically a normal reel system only the reels were very light hand had a pulley attached to the cord instead of a plug. Then the "floor cord" ran straight from the box, through the pulley, and into the body cord. You just hang the reels up where ever. The problem with ours was that the springs had worn out and would not maintain tension and therefore would build up a lot of slack on the strip causing tripping and such. I do not know how long the reels have been around but they did look a little old. I also have no idea where they came from.

[neevel]

Gaijuth--

That's the same type of setup as the clothesline reel system I described above-- you could just run out and spend $30 on a pair of the things and have it working again. Challenger (the same company that made the scoring machines back in the '80's) made a setup like that-- it may be what you have. The little plastic clothesline reels are less durable than the ones Challenger used, but then they're also really quick and cheap to replace.

-Dave