Can't seem to fix it!

[Kodiak Kid]

So, I'm trying to get my foils ready for a small tourny next week, 2 of them are acting a little weird in practice so I'm expecting some tip work is in order.

When I depress the tip, nothing happens (sometimes). After depressing it 4-8 times in a row I finally get a light. spring is plenty strong to raise a test weight. I took the tip apart several times looking for anomallies, sticky tip action etc. Put in new springs. Changed body cords. I finally re-wired the blade! I did use the old tip though...

Any suggestions?

[damianip]

It sounds like an intermiitent or, rather, mostly permanent short.

Make absolutely sure you're not shorting anywhere: The tip spring and where the wire passes the bell have always been a problem for me.

The barrel might be pinching or stripping the wire, and then, you get an intermittent short. Make sure there are no burrs or protrusions near the threaded end of the weapon.

Make sure that the tip and the barrel are clean if you're not going to replace them.

Dave, Tim?

Paolo

[neevel]

Wire related possibilities (I'd suspect the most likely source of the problem):
1. Insulation broken somewhere along the blade. At the guard is a likely place. Also check along the length of the blade for the wire popping up in a small spot and having been nicked.
2. Wire insulation broken in the point, so that it's grounding to the blade.

Point related possibilities:
1. Conductive grit in the tip (maybe metal flakes from the barrel, maybe graphite if you use that to lubricate, which you shouldn't).

2. If you're using French points, not all French points are the same. Old style Prieur points and Sport 7 points (what you get if you buy French from BG, Blade, among others) have thinner barrels and use shorter screws. Current (since '93 or so) Prieur points (what you get if you order French from American, Santelli, Fencing Post) have thicker barrels and longer screws. If you use the longer screws in the thinner barrels, you may get the point to stick or some shorting problems if you've tightened them down all the way. Also, Sport 7 springs are a tad longer than Prieur springs, which could also cause problems if interchanged. If you like to stretch springs before putting them in, that can bend them a bit so they don't sit and compress evenly.

3. The end cap on Prieur tips comes unpeened and starts wobbling about with use. While this normally produces white-lights, I suppose it could wobble around enough to let the spring touch the side of the barrel. If you've got a lot of up-down play in the tip, the peening is loose (may or may not be the cause of this problem, but the tip should be fixed or replaced before it pops out of the barrel).

Socket related possibilities:
1. You're leaving to much bare wire sticking out from the connecting nut, so that it's touching the metal bracket of the socket.
2. With German-style plugs, the retaining clip can start to loosen up and wobble around, and short the B-line to the bracket if it touches one of the washers on the B-plug or a bit of excess wire.

-Dave