Epee Wire Won't Lay Down

[chinbeard]

OK, I finally figured out the point-setting issue, and now, I'm about to glue the wire down. Though I straightened it out, there are still many small kinks, which I am unable to completely flatten. As a result, the wire does not look as pretty as my pre-wired blades. Is there something I'm missing?

[keith]

Is there something I'm missing?

Other than a potential diagnosis of OCD? No.

Relax.

[Purple Fencer]

So long as it's functional, don't worry about it for now.

In the future, however...did you straighten the wire before threading it through the barrel? French wires have a greater tendency to tangle up because of the cloth wrap.

Also...are you bending the blade after laying the wire in and securing it to the tang? That helps pull the wire to the bottom of the groove.

[Rockstar44]

Have you ever curled ribbon on a Christmas present?

Instead of scissors, use something like a large shafted screwdriver and place the wires between it and your thumb. Then gently pull the wires through and voila! Pretty wires.

[chinbeard]

Does the double-insulation of my AF wire satisfy rule M.5?

[Asking this because the glue ran down the base, and although I've been able to separate the wires, there's still a lot of residue on them.

[twisterfencing]

chinbeard,

OK, not pretty?

Loosen the wires that you have fastened to the blade so far(not glued that is).

Right under the barrel, take a look and see which wire is suppose to be on the left and right side.

Now that you have them straight, use your fore-finger and thumb and grab the wires and pull them down keeping them straight. Go all the way past the tang. Make sure that there is no criss cross of wires going on. Now, pull/place them tighter together to fit into the channel at the base of the blade (don't let go of them yet). Now, with your little finger, tighten the wires just a tad, use your thumb and hold it (wires) against the threads of the tang. With your other hand, wrap the wires in a reverse motion around the tang back on top of the already pulled wires. This gives you a tight hold to keep them in place. Dont worry, they will not breakl.

Now, put the blade into your chocker. You most likely will notice that there are two spots the wires are not making contact on the blade. 1. About 2 inches from the base of the blade and the 2nd, at the end of the blade at the tang end. Try this, get some wooden matches, most likely two of them and hold the wires down with the matches while gluing.

You now have a clean, straight, well glued wire. Makes it look real pretty!

Hope this helps.

Gary Spruill

OK, I finally figured out the point-setting issue, and now, I'm about to glue the wire down. Though I straightened it out, there are still many small kinks, which I am unable to completely flatten. As a result, the wire does not look as pretty as my pre-wired blades. Is there something I'm missing?

[crquack]

Instead of scissors, use something like a large shafted screwdriver and place the wires between it and your thumb. Then gently pull the wires through and voila! Pretty wires.

Done that. Stripped the cotton insulation. Enamel underneath would help...

Dont worry, they will not breakl.

My concern always is pulling the wires out of the cup (LP). Would it help once you set the cup and pulled the wires through to glue down the first two or three inches below the barrel? Then one should be able to pull at the wires with impunity.

[thekoby]

Patience is a virtue in this aspect. Go slow when you run the wires down the blade. I usually follow them with my thumb and work out any kinks, binds, or twists as I go so it's nice and straight.

How far up the wire is the glue you are talking about? I had the same issue, but it was where the spaghetti tube covered the wire. It was a pain to get it over the glue, but since any possible bare wire was covered by the tube, it followed m.5.

Is this your first wire job? If so, don't fret too much. Everybody makes mistakes the first time. My first wire job was utter crap and the club armourer had to redo the whole weapon a few weeks later.

[Purple Fencer]

Everybody makes mistakes the first time.

And the 2nd
and the 3rd
and the 4th
and the...you get the idea!

[thekoby]

And the 2nd
and the 3rd
and the 4th
and the...you get the idea!

Yep. My most recent wire job I spilled some glue on the blade outside the groove so had to wait for it to dry and clean it off with my Dremel tool and then test with my multimeter to make sure I got it all off.

[brtech]

I'm betting that when you started wiring, you took the coiled wire and just pulled the ends out. That's how you got the kinks in the first place. Next time, unroll the wire and it will come out straight.

[michaelheggen]

Does the double-insulation of my AF wire satisfy rule M.5?

[Asking this because the glue ran down the base, and although I've been able to separate the wires, there's still a lot of residue on them.

Sorry, but no that will not satisfy m.5, if for no other reason than that the referee has no way of knowing that the wires have a clear enamel coating underneath the cloth.

(Aside from that, you really want spaghetti tubing covering those wires to protect them. The clear enamel is not intended as primary insulation.)

If you don't think you can get your crusty wires through the spaghetti tubing you have, go to a geeky electronics store—even geekier than Radio Shack (think soldering irons and bins full of capacitors and other electronic parts)—and buy some heat shrink tubing. It has a slightly larger inside diameter, so your glue-y wires will fit.

-Mike

[Nolano]

You'll get better at it. I'm only just getting to the point where my wires look like they're done by a real armorer, and I've wired at least 20 blades now.

Small numbers compared to the people who've been doing it for years.