Epee Grounding Issue

[malediction]

So, I've recently tried installing two wires (pre-assembled from leon paul) onto a blade (with a leon paul barrel). Both times I'd had rather mysterious grounding errors. An examination of the blade shows that neither half of the wire are touching or overlapping (except very near the bell guard, but the insulation should be sufficient), and when it was installed there were no obvious breaches in the insulation (on either half). I had this same problem with the previous wire, and before I salvage the nylon head and the contact pins, and build a new wire, I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas as to why this could be happening.

My current theories are: unnoticeable breaches in the insulation; wires getting tangled when I torque the tip on (though I haven't found evidence of this); and tiny overlap near bellguard. I'm also worried that the batch of wires I got from Leon Paul had some fault in them during manufacture (perhaps a problem with insulation), but I see this as highly unlikely.

[K O'N]

So, I've recently tried installing two wires (pre-assembled from leon paul) onto a blade (with a leon paul barrel). Both times I'd had rather mysterious grounding errors. An examination of the blade shows that neither half of the wire are touching or overlapping (except very near the bell guard, but the insulation should be sufficient), and when it was installed there were no obvious breaches in the insulation (on either half). I had this same problem with the previous wire, and before I salvage the nylon head and the contact pins, and build a new wire, I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas as to why this could be happening.

My current theories are: unnoticeable breaches in the insulation; wires getting tangled when I torque the tip on (though I haven't found evidence of this); and tiny overlap near bellguard. I'm also worried that the batch of wires I got from Leon Paul had some fault in them during manufacture (perhaps a problem with insulation), but I see this as highly unlikely.

Please describe more fully how you put the weapon together. In particular, do you set the wire down into the barrel before you screw it on? That's a bad idea.

If not, try again. Slide the wire through the barrel a few inches. Screw the barrel on. Test the ends of the wire to the blade for ground. Slide the wire down and set the point in the barrel. Test for ground. Stretch the wire, gently, fix to tang with tape. Test for ground. Push the wires down into the groove and fix with Patented LP Plastic Wire-Pushers, or an old pressure spring and electrical tape. Test for ground. Glue, flex, let dry. Test for ground.

Come back, tell us if and when the ground shows up.

On the up side, making your own wires is tres cool. I've never done that and I've been wiring epees for twenty odd years.

K O'N

[malediction]

Please describe more fully how you put the weapon together. In particular, do you set the wire down into the barrel before you screw it on? That's a bad idea.

If not, try again. Slide the wire through the barrel a few inches. Screw the barrel on. Test the ends of the wire to the blade for ground. Slide the wire down and set the point in the barrel. Test for ground. Stretch the wire, gently, fix to tang with tape. Test for ground. Push the wires down into the groove and fix with Patented LP Plastic Wire-Pushers, or an old pressure spring and electrical tape. Test for ground. Glue, flex, let dry. Test for ground.

Come back, tell us if and when the ground shows up.

On the up side, making your own wires is tres cool. I've never done that and I've been wiring epees for twenty odd years.

K O'N

Okay, I feel really stupid now. I just realized what I was doing, and I'm pretty sure I found the problem this time.

So, what I think happened this time was that I set the wire in before torquing (I was really impatient about this - it's a long story, full of passion and suspense, of course) so it is probably wrapped up inside the barrel. Man, I feel silly. This doesn't explain the previous wiring job, however, where I didn't make that mistake, but still. I'm pretty certain that's the problem. So this gives me a good 1 day to build a wire and strip my blade. Plenty of time!

Thanks

[SJCFU#2]

One other possibility (not a common one, but also not unheard of) is that an uninsulated portion of one of the contacts is touching the end of the blade, creating a short. Look for an excessive taper at the end of the blade, left over from preparation for threading. You also should be able to catch it if you check for grounds after setting the contacts inside the barrel but before actually gluing down the wires (if you really want to be thorough, fit a weight spring and tip into the barrel as well - it's possible for the weight spring to add just enough load to push the contact into the end of the blade).

[Fechter1]

Okay, I feel really stupid now. I just realized what I was doing, and I'm pretty sure I found the problem this time.

So, what I think happened this time was that I set the wire in before torquing (I was really impatient about this - it's a long story, full of passion and suspense, of course) so it is probably wrapped up inside the barrel. Man, I feel silly. This doesn't explain the previous wiring job, however, where I didn't make that mistake, but still. I'm pretty certain that's the problem. So this gives me a good 1 day to build a wire and strip my blade. Plenty of time!

Thanks

Don't beat yourself up over it. It happens to pretty much everyone at least once.

As for the prior wire job... Sometimes this exact issue (wires crossing or grounding inside the barrel) can occur as a result of actual fencing, especially from flicks (lateral stress on the barrel and wire) and loose barrels in general.