Putting together an electric epee

[jamaya]

What is the best way to learn how to put together an electric epee? I'm wanting to buy online a wired BF Uhlmann blade with a Visconti grip. I'd like to know what else I need and how to put it together. Do some websites make it easier to buy everything you need?

Side Note: I assume a 35M fencing jacket will be the same size as a 35M shirt, is this a safe bet?

[CvilleFencer]

Leon Paul has some good info as does the armoury section of this website. As to what you will need here goes:

Guard
Socket
Pistol grip Nut and washer
bellpad.

The short version is this: put on your guard, slide the socket down the tang (make sure the wire is also going through the socket opening) and then slide the (insulated) wires through the little groove on the side of you epee socket. Put the socket in place with a bit of wire sticking through the socket opening and slide on your bell pad. Put on your grip, making sure that the wires are in the groove on the grip so you do not pinch them between the socket and the grip. Put your washer and then your nut on and begin to tighten them down. Before you get it really snug make sure the guard and grip are where you want them and then tighten them down all the way.

Remove the insulation from the wires by gently abrading the wires with a razor blade or exacto knife. Some wires have a lacquer coating on them so if the copper wire is the color of an old penny gently rub it with your razor on all sides until it is shiny. Loosen your socket plugs a bit and loop your wire under them. You do not want more than one loop of wire under your socket plugs. Tighten them both down gently and test your weapon.

There are lots of tricks and such that folks like to use but that is the short version. You can always look at an assembled weapon for reference.

Best of luck!

[oiuyt]

Best way is to get someone who knows what s/he is doing to show you.

You'll need wired blade, bellguard, bellpad, grip, pommel nut, lockwasher, and socket (assuming pistol grip, other wise replace pommel nut and lockwasher with pommel). Spagetti tubing if not already on the wires (typically a wired blade will have the wires already encased in the tubes).

Put blade into vise with the tang sticking up. I'm not going to covering canting of the blade but rather assume that you've already got it angled as you want either because that's the way that it came or that you've followed other directions available by searching fencing.net. Unwind the wires from the tang and straighten as needed. If they aren't already in tubing, run the tubing over them now. Put bellguard on over tang, making sure that both wires run through the appropriate groove cut in the bell (that's what it's there for). Put socket on over tang, make sure that wires also go through hole in socket so they don't get pinched between socket and bell. Add grip and pad. I generally push the pad up onto the grip (so I can easily see below the pad to make sure I don't pinch the wires), and the put grip on over the tang. Make sure the wires run through the groove cut in the grip. Get the idea that you don't want them pinched between anything? Good. put the lockwasher on over the tang. I generally thread it onto a small screwdriver and then put the end of the screwdriver onto the end of the tang and let the washer drop from the one to the other. Put pommel nut on end of tang. Tighten with appropriate tool (inside hex, outside hex, screwdriver) as appropriate. Hold grip in place to make sure it doesn't shift and pinch the wire. Once everything is tight remove insulation from ends of wire and cut the to slightly longer than the spaghetti tubing. Attach wires to the socket posts and tighten them down. Test to make sure everything works.

But yeah, best way is to ask someone who knows what s/he is doing, at least the first time. Easier to figure it out from seeing it than from reading.

Follow up questions here will likely get fairly speedy answers.

-B :)

[kalivor]

Originally Posted by CvilleFencer

Leon Paul has some good info as does the armoury section of this website. As to what you will need here goes:

Guard
Socket
Pistol grip Nut and washer
bellpad.

You might want an epee blade, too ...

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by jamaya

Side Note: I assume a 35M fencing jacket will be the same size as a 35M shirt, is this a safe bet?

Don't make that assumption. Look at the sizing chart.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by kalivor

You might want an epee blade, too ...

He already said he was getting a wired blade and grip. No need to be banal!

[DHCJr]

One thing that was not mentioned and I only mention, because you have indicated you are very new at this. The hole for the tang is not in the center of the guard for a reason. It is done to help protect the outside of the hand. The largest quadrants will be to the outside (Right for right-hander, Left for left-hander) and down.

As indicated earlier, the Leon Paul site has a good introduction for building a weapon, co-wrote by Ted Li, one of our top US Armorers.

[CvilleFencer]

Originally Posted by DHCJr

One thing that was not mentioned and I only mention, because you have indicated you are very new at this. The hole for the tang is not in the center of the guard for a reason. It is done to help protect the outside of the hand. The largest quadrants will be to the outside (Right for right-hander, Left for left-hander) and down.

Thanks for catching that. I did not even think off it... (hangs head in shame)

[HDG]

Follow up question:
I have always had a hard time with wiring a bare epee blade; if I set the tip in the point and then tighten it, the wires tend to twist and break. If I tighten the tip and then try to set the tip, the wires tend to fold / crimp or break. What am I doing wrong.

[CvilleFencer]

Not sure exactly, by what I do it put the barrel on fairly tight with just a bit of the wire sticking through (the bottom couple of inches that you cut off anyway in case it pinches) and then just gently pull on the wire until the cup is inside the barrel down past the screw holes. Then, while keeping tension on the wires I use a point setter to gently push it down and get a good seal.

I will then put on just a dab of blue locktite to the final thread or so of the barrel and tighten it down with a small (2mm I think) wrench and vise to hold the blade after I have the wire glued in. I keep meaning try to try torqueing down the barrel completely before I wire/glue the rest of the weapon but I have been doing it this way so long I always forget.

I have also found that it is much easier to wire a blade it you spend some time straightening the wires before you try to install them. I just unwind them all the way, run my fingers up and down them a few times to help get the kinks out and then if it needs it run it over the edge of my work bench at a very shallow angle a few times till it is nice and straight.

[geezer]

Thread the barrel with the wire, leaving the cup out of the barrel about a couple of inches or so. Screw on the barrel SLOWLY, make sure the wires are in the groove and are not twisted, tighten the barrel, (thread goo is personal preference, I can't stand the stuff, makes my wires ugly), pull the wires and cup into the barrel and set them with a setter, untangle, untwist, lay them in the groove side by side, pull them tight (this is a subjective thing), wrap them around the tang side by side, bend the blade in some sort of rig and start gluing. Did I mention getting the groove clean enough to eat out of...?

Monkey see, monkey do...look at someone's setup, make them take the grip off and show you what it looks like...this IS rocket surgery!! Getting it right is simple, getting it wrong is even easier....attention to detail!!! Good luck!

[neevel]

Originally Posted by geezer

Thread the barrel with the wire, leaving the cup out of the barrel about a couple of inches or so.

The approach Cville mentioned, of threading just a bit of the end of the wire through the barrel before tightening, is the better choice. That way, if you do damage the wire, you've only done it to a bit that was going to be snipped off anyway. If you have the wire pulled almost all the way through like you describe, the wire is a loss if it gets damaged (unless you want to go to the effort of re-attaching the wire ends to the contact).

-Dave

[DHCJr]

The usual size for the wrench for Epee barrels is 6mm and Foil is 5mm.

CvilleFencer, 2mm made me smile. I'm not sure if it was you who caught me when I mixed up mm and cm. The threads for Epee are 4mm x 0.7, so 2 might be too small. It just proves we all make mistakes.

[CvilleFencer]

Doo! 5mm for foil, 6mm for epee. Thanks DHCjr. me =

[Torg]

a wonderful site i found tells you what tools you need, diagrams of the tip, etc, troubleshooting, and step-by-step instructions. it's from the universite of florida and can be found at this site

[geezer]

Never has a problem. Tighten a bit then giggle, tighten and gigglle,...no sticky, no twisty...all you do is keep the wires in the groove, no problem. Sure, you can start at the far end if you like, but the only screw up I've ever had was pulling the rest of the wire(s) through the thread groove (slowly) and scraping (and ruining) the insulating threads and creating a short to ground. I guarantee I won't do that again. (But that's not ment as a criticism of anyone else's methods.)

[CsmaCD]

That PDF is great! I love the pommel descriptions. Heck, that was even funny enough to forgive the UF logo on the cover!

Roll Tide!