Working on equipment - in an apartment??

[wingnut]

I'm curious how people (like me) work on their blades, etc, while living in an apartment. I am finding it tough to try to bend the tang of my foil blades since I don't have a vice/workbench setup.

Those of you who have the same living situation as I do, how do you do it????

[needle]

Originally Posted by wingnut

I'm curious how people (like me) work on their blades, etc, while living in an apartment. I am finding it tough to try to bend the tang of my foil blades since I don't have a vice/workbench setup.

Those of you who have the same living situation as I do, how do you do it????

Bending the tang without vice - easy: put it between the door and doorframe, or use a kitchen drawer, or ... - possibilities are endless

[wingnut]

You're kidding, right? That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.....

[needle]

Originally Posted by wingnut

You're kidding, right? That just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.....

Nope, I've done it that way. Not kitchen drawers, but front door - yes and also between planks on the back of a chair. Just need to make sure to position it so it bends where it should and press slowly and carefully, not to damage the wood too much.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I use a table.

[needle]

Originally Posted by D+F+P=Hadouken!

I use a table.

Oh, yeah - if you have a folding table, that can be perfect.

[yeoldearmourer]

Get a box end wrench slide it over the tang and using you forearm brace the blade and use your other hand with the box wrench to bend the tang. Do it all the time I perfer this mentod. Sometime using a vice you can break the tang.

[edit]

[Larrison]

Originally Posted by wingnut

I'm curious how people (like me) work on their blades, etc, while living in an apartment. I am finding it tough to try to bend the tang of my foil blades since I don't have a vice/workbench setup.

Those of you who have the same living situation as I do, how do you do it????

Long handled pipe wrenches (I've seen guys do it with 2 vice grips).

If you want more of a vice situation, there are some "portable" vices, that clamp onto any wood surface, like a countertop. Just make sure you pad underneath it if is a rental apartment countertop.

In the past, I've made "worktables" out of large boards put across 2 filing cabinets -- or you can just buy a solid core unfinished door (basically a large, door-sized piece of wood) and do the same. In that case, you can install a vice on it.

Side note: 4x 12's cut to length make the basis for a great work table. Except you know that you have too many books, when the table starts to sag...

[wingnut]

Originally Posted by Larrison

If you want more of a vice situation, there are some "portable" vices, that clamp onto any wood surface, like a countertop. Just make sure you pad underneath it if is a rental apartment countertop.

Cool! Thanks for the info!

[Frank Pratt]

I used the window sill in my dorm room to hold a bend in blades when I started fencing. I dug the tang into the carpet and taped the tip to the sill to prevent it from popping off. This might not work well if you don't have carpet, though. I have a workbench and vice nowadays, but I never use it for fencing-related stuff. I use two pipe caps connected by a chain to bend all of my blades while the wire glue dries. This is easy an effective method, no matter where you are. I like using the "nail hanging" hole on the end of a big wrench (as Ye Olde described above) to bend tangs.

The only thing I use that might cause problems in an apartment is a Dremel tool. Your neighbors might complain about a grinding wheel as well, especially at 1:00am, when I tend to do my armory work. You could always use these tools outside, though.

[fencerbill]

One variation suitable for an apartment is to use nail polish remover to clean out old glue. It does take a while. Just don't start at 1 AM.

Keep putting it on with a Q-tip every 5 minutes while you are watching TV. May take an hour but minimizes neighbor complaints.

[yeoldearmourer]

To have a work bench in a apartement if you have room to store it the folding workbench from Black and Decker is a handed item to mount a small vice on I think they run about 40.00 at Home Deport

[Sboard1019]

You can always get a small hobby vice for less than 20 bucks. They mount to almost anything. I take a drawer out of my dresser and mount it there when i work on blades. Works quite well.

[andrewmcleod]

I just put my foot on the vice... I also have a length of square iron tubing which I put down the blade to bend it near the bottom rather than just pulling on the blade. The extra leverage makes setting even maraging weapons easy.