wireing

[Charlie Cove]

Ok i have been having a problem. My foil wires have been poping out of the grove a few days after I re wire them. I do put a bend in the weapon while wireing it and make sure the wire is tight in the grove. am I forgeting a step or am i doing something wrong? I have not come accross this in Epee only in foil

[Methix]

I'm no expert, but you might try scratching the inside of the groove with the tip of a screw-driver or some sandpaper, give the glue something to grab on to...just a suggestion...

[DamedEscrime]

Be sure that you have completely removed any old glue and debris from the groove before laying in a new wire. You can choose several methods. 1) soak the blade in an acetone bath overnight if you're not in a hurry. Then I use a dental tool to scrap out and thing that is left. 2) Use a dremel tool with a small wire brush to clean it out. 3) Do as Methix has suggested by folding a small piece of sandpaper and running through the groove.
Then be sure that you are spreading the glue evenly and not missing any spots. Then bend the blade until the glue is dry. As long as the blade is cleaned well it should stick. Good Luck.

[sallearmourer]

If the wire is popout in the same place check the depth of the groove at that point. Some blades when the groove is cut its not deep enough. I seen this alot on some Leon Paul Blades.


Tim

[mifencer]

are you bending the blade too much? if you're trying to fit 40" of wire in a 35" grove then you might be forcing the wire to come out. i found that securing the wire while the blade is straight (taping/gluing at the bottom near the tang) and then putting a slight bend is the best way -- for me at least.

good luck

[Purple Fencer]

[quote]Originally posted by mifencer:
<strong>are you bending the blade too much? if you're trying to fit 40" of wire in a 35" grove then you might be forcing the wire to come out. i found that securing the wire while the blade is straight (taping/gluing at the bottom near the tang) and then putting a slight bend is the best way -- for me at least.

good luck</strong><hr></blockquote>


Hmmm...I hadn't thought if it that way, but it makes sense. When I wire, I wrap some tape around the tang, then pull the wire tight, wrap it around the tang (on top of the tape), then secure it with another layer of tape, THEN bend the blade. The only place I have probs with wires popping out are lear the tang (on a France Lame blade...Leon Pauls seem to be milled plenty deep), or in places where there was minimal glue flow.

[neevel]

Possibilities that spring to mind (some of which have been mentioned above):

-The groove isn't totally cleaned out before glueing-- you should see bare metal along the sides and bottom of the groove, with no old glue, insulation, or grit present. A soak in acetone or a Dremel cut-off wheel are two of the most reliable ways to clean out the groove. This is usually the cause of these problems, from my experience. As an aside, a fresh Dremel cut-off wheel will also help out in the cases Tim mentioned where the groove is actually too shallow or narrow.

-You're putting too much bend in the blade. The purpose of the bend is to pre-tension the wire so it's less likely to break when the blade flexes, but if you use too large a bend when wiring, the wire will be more prone to popping out. Also, you need to make sure that the wire's well secured at the tang before bending.

-What kind of glue are you using, and are you top glueing, bottom glueing, or both? Top glueing works for cynaoacrylates (super glues, Zap CA, etc.) because they're fairly thin and will flow around the wire to fill in beneath it. With thicker glues like Duco or Cementit, you need to bottom glue first to make sure there's glue beneath the wire. Using the edge of a plastic dish scraper or the like will also help seat the wire into the groove when botton glueing.

-Dave