Hey, Neevel! Fix a metal piste?

[HilandDoug]

This post isn't just for the esteemed Mr. Neevel, it's for anyone with experience in this matter.

The Michigan Division has one particular metal screen piste that has a few very large tears in the strip, and we are wondering how we would go about fixing such a whole. It almost swallowed Ladybug last season, and has grown in size since then. We had been putting silver metallic tape on it for a while, but it has grown so big that the tape is no longer a viable option. Is is best just to solder it closed? Should we weave some type of metallic thread back and forth to close the tear? Any advise on how we can fix it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Doug McLaren
Schoolcraft College Fencing Club
Livonia, Michigan USA

[DJ Apostrophe]

i have seen bill hall (not trying to down neveel's yet-to-be-posted-opinion, i personally think he is great, i just know that bill has fiexed them himself) fix them with solder... but only small tears... he would probably be quite willing to let you know what to do... he reads rec.sport.fencing all the time... if you post it there he'll get back to you im sure.


[ 09-26-2001: Message edited by: DJ Apostrophe ]

[Stryder]

If the strip is really messed up, you may be advised to cut it in half, and solder the ends together. I know it sounds crasy, but it works. The ends of the strip get much less wear than the center so that part of the copper is not as torn up.

Dave, tell 'em.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Remove the tape, solder the holes.
If there are a lot of holes in the center of the strip, cut the strip in half, flip the centers outward, solder the holes.

[Mergs]

You might try to "sew" the hole closed with 24 ga copper wire and then solder over the tear. Other than that, the previous suggestions are all viable. (Uh, remove the insulation from the wire first! HEY! I know there are some Aggies out there that read this stuff, wouldn't want to confuse them.)

[ 09-27-2001: Message edited by: Mergs ]

[HilandDoug]

So soldering would seem to be the way to go, then. That's kind of what we thought. Any more advise would still be appreciated. I'm kind of fuzzy on the "cut it in half" idea. Do you mean length-wise? Please expand on that idea.

[DJ Apostrophe]

my understanding of the cut in half deal is this
slice it across the center line (you now have two half length strips)
flip them around so that the endlines is now the center line
join them back to gether with solder
so you go from
ABBA A=end B=center
to BAAB
thus the holes near the center are now closer to the ends.

[Moonitic]

We would have to see exactly WHERE the hole was in order to make that kind of determination. I'm not sure if a hole THAT big would be acceptable on any part of the strip.

Doug, maybe we should ask Jim's advice too?

[HilandDoug]

Mary, as far as I know, Jim didn't have a solution. And the hole that almost swallowed Ladybug is between the on-guard line and center strip, so the cut in half idea might work. But if soldering the hole will do the trick, it would save a lot of hassle cutting the piste in half.

[neevel]

Well, guess what-- I spent this last weekend in Iowa City with Ron Herman, Chris Green, and Fernando Delgado making repairs on the USFA and IL Div. strips that were in such crappy shape by the end of Nationals, so this particular item is especially fresh in mind.

First off, you need the right tools:
1. BIG soldering iron-- were talking 120-140 watts (smaller than 120 just isn't going to work). It's unlikely that a hardware store will keep one this size in stock, so they'll need to order, and they cost about $60-70. A professional plumbers' supply place might have them.
2. Some scrap wood to serve as backing for the work, so you don't burn whatever surface you're laying the strip out on while soldering.
3. A good amount of 50/50 Lead-Tin Solder (works much better than lead-free) in a large gauge.
4. Acid-flux solder paste. (Be careful not to rub your eyes if you've got some on your hands!)
5. Metal shears and a utility knife for cutting mesh.
6. A metal putty-knife or painters' spatula for holding soldered areas down.
7. Brass wire brush.
8. Something to rest the hot iron on while you're not soldering with it.

Basic soldering technique: put the wood under the spot to be soldered. Clean the area with the wire brush. Apply flux to the mesh. Press the edge of the iron tip to the fluxed area to heat the flux and strip. With the tip still on the mesh, press the end of the solder to the upper side of the tip, so that it'll melt on the iron. Keep the iron angled so that the melted solder will flow down onto the strip, sliding the iron to place the solder flow. Use the side of the putty knife to press the strip and solder down firm until the solder has solidified (this keeps the hole or tear from popping open again while the solder's still liquid, and prevents a big glob of solder that sticks up above and below the mesh). After the solder is solid, use the wire brush again to smooth it down. Use the minimum amount of solder necessary.

Small holes and tears can be fixed by just melting the solder over them so they're filled in. For larger holes and tears, you need to put a patch of copper mesh underneath the hole and solder it into place. If the hole is badly frayed, it's best to just cut that part out put an appropriate-sized patch in.

To get copper patch material, you generally need to cut it from an old strip. If you don't have junk strip available and you've got enough run-off space at the end of your piste(behind the end lines), you can cut a strip from the end there to use as patch material.

Cut the patch so it's a bit larger than the hole your fixing. Clean it with the wire brush and apply flux. Clean the area of the strip to be soldered. Slide the patch _under_ the strip to the hole and align it. Flux the area.

Holding the patch in place with the putty knife, 'tack' it down at one corner or edge with some solder-- you may want to use a second putty knife to press down the solder as it's applied. Then solder along the edges of the patch until the patch is fully soldered in. Once the solder is solid, smooth it down with the wire brush.

I'm not very enamoured of the 'cut-and-flip' approach, at least for strips that are getting moved around a lot to different venues and being frequently set up and taken down. Your're going to continually be getting failures at that big joint. For a strip that's mostly going to stay set up in one place (such as at a club) it may be okay.

Note that if the strip in question is a stainless steel mesh rather than a copper mesh, you're SOL-- you won't be able to heat the steel enough to solder it.

-Dave

[ 09-27-2001: Message edited by: neevel ]

[Moonitic]

::smooch:: Thanks Dave!

If we can't fix it, I think it's time the Division invests in a new strip. Maybe we can have some type of fundraiser if we don't have the money. That could be something the publicity group works on.

[swordsen]

Speaking from sad experience, if it is a big tear the solder will begin to crack when you roll the strip up and in a very short time you will be having dead spot problems and it will need continual touch up work.
sigh....