Fencing.Net - Your Guide to Fencing & Fencing Equipment

tdwg83 · 01-31-2008, 03:12 PM

Where can I get good, fairly inexpensive tools for Armory testing (preferably online)? Particularly an ohmmeter and micrometer. Also digital is obviously more expensive but would there be a good reason to get them?

brtech · 01-31-2008, 04:03 PM

For multimeters, I like these guys:
http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/analog.htm

I'd recommend analog for armory work. Intermittent connections are something we deal with all the time, and analog is best for that. You MUST have an Rx1 scale.

I think a micrometer is not a tool for a beginning armorer. If you want one, inexpensive ones are available from Harbor Freight. I do like digital micrometers, but analog is just fine.

See the sticky thread about tools for suggestions on what you should have before you get a micrometer.

tdwg83 · 01-31-2008, 05:10 PM

I'm working on acquiring all that list but after reading the rigging tip tread I don't know where my shim set falls as far as compliance. Its an FWF shim I bought from Absolute a couple of years ago. Several of those other tools haven't been necessary since I only work on my personal equipment and thats all epee. Hoping to become more experienced all around though.

SJCFU#2 · 01-31-2008, 05:15 PM

Check at Home Depot - I've seen an analog meter there with a x1 ohm scale for about $15. If you cut off the probes from the ends of the test leads and replace them with banana plugs you can then plug them directly into a socket.

As far as a micrometer goes, usually about the only thing you would use one for is to check the accuracy of a set of shims. For that you might want to simply try dropping by a machine shop and asking them to measure the shims measure for you (you might have to tell them where to take the measurement). For precise setting of an épée tip you may be better off with a set of automotive feeler gages - that way you can distinguish between 0.3 and 0.4 mm.

brtech · 01-31-2008, 05:17 PM

Any machine shop has a mike. Ask them nicely, and I'll bet they will measure it for you.

Another idea is to get a metric ignition shim set. Use a small C clamp as an adjustable epee simulator, and use the shim set to get an idea of where your fencing shim sits. You can use the ignition set to set an epee to the real limit. An inexpensive set isn't gonna be all that accurate, but the small shims are not going to be 50% off either.

Pescados666 · 02-01-2008, 11:51 AM

http://www.harborfreight.com/

If you want extreamly exact, look at cnc machining tool websites. I doubt you need to be that close though. A simple micrometer from Harborfreight will work fine. Multimeter Cheap Multimeter, measures ohms and 6 other things. Only $2.99.

SJCFU#2 · 02-01-2008, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pescados666

A simple micrometer from Harborfreight will work fine. Multimeter Cheap Multimeter, measures ohms and 6 other things. Only $2.99.

The problem with most inexpensive digital multimeters is that their sample rate is relatively low (in this case 2.5 hz). When the meter only takes a reading every 400 ms an transient problem can easily be overlooked.

yeoldearmourer · 02-01-2008, 02:29 PM

I carry some nice screwdriver for sell on my website and some other tools as well that I have found usefull. Home Depot carry some nice small anlog meters as well

campb1pr · 02-01-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brtech

For multimeters, I like these guys:
http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/analog.htm

I'd recommend analog for armory work. Intermittent connections are something we deal with all the time, and analog is best for that. You MUST have an Rx1 scale.

Warning - small scale thread jack:

We have set up overhead bungee reel systems, and I now have a couple of sides where there is an intermittent fault in one of the lines of that reel. It has been definitely narrowed down to the specific line in that cord.

My question - what kind of device, if any, can I use to measure the continuity in a single strand of floor cord/reel wire? In other words, in this wire, I know the A line is intermttent, and has a break or stress point somewhere. Can I find out where that break is without having to just start at one end of the wire, and start cutting off lengths? Is this what a clamp ohmeter is for? Forgive the ignorance, and I tried searching the forum, but was not successful. If this was discussed before, please let me know when and where.

Thanks!

brtech · 02-01-2008, 03:27 PM

Ah, well yes, there is such a tool.

It's called a "Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR), and it will tell you how far in from the end a fault is located in meters. It can be tricky with intermittents, because TDRs really work best with a short, but the effect of an intermittent is often something you can see with a TDR.

Now, TDRs are pretty pricey. Not the kind of thing that Radio Shack, let alone Home Depot carries. Your local cable TV senior troubleshooter carries one though.

Now, back to practicalities. You hook the wire to a tester (a Favero 4 light tester is best). You short A to B to C. You see red and green on the tester. You walk down the cable, flexing the wire, until you find the place where the lights start winking at you. Thats the break point.

fencerbill · 02-02-2008, 01:30 AM

Is it jacketed cable? If not, you can chase it with an open safety pin clamped to your meter lead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by campb1pr

Warning - small scale thread jack:

We have set up overhead bungee reel systems, and I now have a couple of sides where there is an intermittent fault in one of the lines of that reel. It has been definitely narrowed down to the specific line in that cord.

My question - what kind of device, if any, can I use to measure the continuity in a single strand of floor cord/reel wire? In other words, in this wire, I know the A line is intermttent, and has a break or stress point somewhere. Can I find out where that break is without having to just start at one end of the wire, and start cutting off lengths? Is this what a clamp ohmeter is for? Forgive the ignorance, and I tried searching the forum, but was not successful. If this was discussed before, please let me know when and where.

Thanks!

Robert Smith · 02-04-2008, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fencerbill

Is it jacketed cable? If not, you can chase it with an open safety pin clamped to your meter lead.

Done that, and on jacketed cable too, where flexing the cable wasn't sufficiently precise. Make a small longitudinal incision to expose the insulated conductors, and stick the pin through the jacket of the suspect line. Repeat as necessary until you find sufficiently proximate points of signal / no signal. Dress the incisions with electrical tape.

That's the easy part. Then you have to repair the break. Difficult to do without creating a lump like a swallowed mouse. The best I've managed thus far is to cut out the flaky part - it's rarely a point source -, stagger the joints so that the exposed portions don't overlap, and solder with as short a join as possible, as the soldered part is not going to bend around pulleys any more. Tape individually and en masse, and you're done.

better solution, though, is to use cable with redundant cores. then when you get a break in one, you simply switch to a spare.