Prieur Body Cord Screws

[N00bArmorer]

We've had a few Prieur style orange body cords lose the brass set scew over the years. I've decided to remedy this problem by applying heat shrink tubing around the entire body of the two prong connector. The other problem is the screw itself. The screws are made of bass and in more than one case has snapped apart when being tightened (often times by overzealous fencers who borrow my screwdrivers without asking). I am planning on ordering replacement screws. These will be of the headless hex set screw variety which will be stainless steel. Here comes the question part:

1. Any problems with using these type of screws besides the fact that most likely the tightening device will have to be an allen wrench rather than a screw driver.

2. Does anybody know what size I should be ordering? I'm away from any and all Prieur body cords for the next couple of weeks and in addition don't have a set of calipers handy. I'm thinking they are 3mm Diameter by .5 pitch and 5 mm long, but that is just a shot in the dark guess. Could anybody help with a definitive measurement?

Thanks in advance.

[Purple Fencer]

Close....they're 3.5 X 0.6....which, by the way, is the same pitch as the foil tip!

As for solving the problems (which I have seen as well)....check your PM in a few minutes...

[Cerian]

Yeah, 3.5 mm. Non-standard size. Hooray for monopolies...

[foily]

Brass = evil, brass in setscrews = more evil.

A good hardware store may well have nice steel setscrews in the size/thread you need, "good" defined as, the kind of place that has a standard and Metric thread gage handy - there is some overlap between fine and coarse metric and fine and coarse SAE, and sizes, and you "should" be able to find what you need.

Too bad you got the name n00barmorer first lol. When I find out more about this perverse equipment, I'll be able to help ppl out with inph0z.

[KD5MDK]

Well, if you have allen wrenches with you at all times I guess its ok, but I'd be leary of anything that makes field repairs more difficult (my Negrini bodycord the exception)

[Purple Fencer]

Well, if you have allen wrenches with you at all times I guess its ok, but I'd be leary of anything that makes field repairs more difficult (my Negrini bodycord the exception)

I just hope your Negrini cords don't have a wire break at a tourney...very few fencers carry a soldering gun with them, and soldering a stainless steel wire is a major pain...and time consuming.

[KD5MDK]

Then I'd swap it out for a backup. When I asked Gary Spruill which I should get, he told me he has well over $1000 tied up in them. I'll trust that.

[Purple Fencer]

Then I'd swap it out for a backup. When I asked Gary Spruill which I should get, he told me he has well over $1000 tied up in them. I'll trust that.

Gary's a good source....they're good cords, but I thought I'd point out one of the pains-in-the-butt about them -- the soldered connection makes a fast repair at a tourney very difficult.

His german wires are great, tho...I'm using those now instead of the Uhlmanns...

[KD5MDK]

Yeah, he's a great guy, and the repair thing is why I have one Negrini, my backup is a Favero, and my spares are homemade and accustomed to being repaired in the field.

[fencerbill]

A good source is Metric Screw and Tool in Wakefield, MA; 781-245-2507

www.metricscrew-toolco.com

They also have the 3 mm x 4 mm flat point set screws which are used in other brands of body cord pins.