Rewiring Questions

[Dunar]

Hello everyone. For a good long while I have been doing most of my own armory for whatever problems I have with my foils, except for rewiring them. The main reason I have not done so is because I do not have most of the equipment I would need on hand, but I am woking on changing this as I am tired of paying my club's armorour $15 bucks every time I have a wire break, I would really like to spend less on new blades by wiring them myself, I'm thinking of switching all my french tips to GT, and I am going to try to start a fencing club at my college when I start in the fall, so this will probably come in handy for that as well. (That was a really long sentence..... )

Before I just dive in to doing this I do have a few questions. First off, what do you find the most effective way to remove old wire and clean the glue out? I have a couple of old blades I did this too (they were all either unsafe or unusable) and the glue came out very cleanly just by pulling on the wire. No heat or chemicals were needed, and I cleaned out any little bits of residue with an old eyeglass screw driver. Is this a somewhat frequent thing or was it just the old glue?

Are there any glues that are better to use in terms of how long they hold? I don't care how long it takes to dry, just how durable. On a similar note, what type of wire is better to use for durability? Or is there any specific wire I should use if I want to switch to GT tips?

Is a point setter really neccesary, or can I just use some other sort of stick to poke the contact and the cup into place?

Oh, and, is there any place that sells those nifty chain contraptons with the cups at the end to hold the blade in place as it dries, or do I have to make one of those myself?

I know all of this is probably in some forum somewhere, but that would be alot of reading for somewhat specific questions so no need to tell me to use the search function. I already know I should not be so lazy, so please just refrain from posting if thats all you want to say.

To anyone who does offer some advice, you have my gratitude

[keith]

Are there any glues that are better to use in terms of how long they hold? I don't care how long it takes to dry, just how durable. On a similar note, what type of wire is better to use for durability? Or is there any specific wire I should use if I want to switch to GT tips?

People swear by everything from fletchtite to secret recipes made from the blood of unicorns - as long as the groove is clean and grease free pretty much anything will work. If you are getting GT tips (which are good) get the LP wires as well. Also if you make the switch do it completely throw out all your french contact springs, barrels & tips (or donate them). Nothing more embarrassing than having a bunch of foils fail weight tests because you had the wrong springs in them

Is a point setter really neccesary, or can I just use some other sort of stick to poke the contact and the cup into place?

Best $10 you will ever spend.

Oh, and, is there any place that sells those nifty chain contraptons with the cups at the end to hold the blade in place as it dries, or do I have to make one of those myself?

Make it yourself - consider it the first rite of passage.

[Purple Fencer]

Check out these 2 fairly recent threads:

Wiring Blades flexibility and rewiring

[larkmaj]

Best $10 you will ever spend.

Try $2.14 for LP point setters, (this loveley website).

Make it yourself - consider it the first rite of passage.

I would agree. While you can find these at a few vendors the vast majority that I've seen used are home made. Although my one personal chain was a gift...

When wiring foil blades make sure all parts, wire, barrel, tip, screws, spring, are all from the same manufacturer. If you're switching to LP, use all LP parts. Also makes things more convenient if you also work with epees.

[Dunar]

When wiring foil blades make sure all parts, wire, barrel, tip, screws, spring, are all from the same manufacturer. If you're switching to LP, use all LP parts.

Well, I can' find the wire on either leon paul usa, or the british site, but I can get the rest of the parts.

[keith]

Well, I can' find the wire on either leon paul usa, or the british site, but I can get the rest of the parts.

here;

http://www.leonpaulusa.com/fencing/a...Points_21.html


no picture listed as; Foil point wire with brass contact + nylon cup

[Dunar]

Thanks, I can't believe I forgot to look there. I should probably take an IQ test to make sure it didn't drop a few points...

[Chafunkta]

The rewiring chains are definitely a rite of passage. I used some rubber chair leg footies and some small gauge chain. It just takes a quick trip to the hardware store.

I used to use a Q-tip with the fuzz taken off as my point setter. It'll work fairly well, but it's not as good as a point setter. Spend the $3.

I swear by fletchtite (in the archery section of a sports store), but it's also the only glue I've ever used. Never really had any problems, so why switch?

I use an acetone bath to clean the blades. It's kind of a pain in the butt getting the piping for it and storing it. Plus, it's not really that cheap. If you rewire a lot of blades, though, it can be pretty useful.

[Craig]

Well, I can' find the wire on either leon paul usa, or the british site, but I can get the rest of the parts.

Leon Paul Wire: http://shop.fencing.net/Leon_Paul_Fo...e_p/lp-f25.htm
Full Leon Paul Re-Wire kit: http://shop.fencing.net/product_p/lp-f20.htm

Cheers,
Craig

[fencerbill]

From time to time I make up blade benders. I use just about the smallest figure 8 type chain that Home depot sells. You take off the end link and put it in the middle with the other end open to adjust the length.

I like to use 35 mm film cans. I pop rivet a 1/2 inch copper pipe cap into the film can top holding one end of the chain and pop rivet a fender washer holding the other end of the chain into the bottom of the film can. The fender washer keeps the blade from pushing through the plastic film can. When you are not using it, you can shake the chain into the film can and close it.