Repairing Favero Fencing Reels

[bagelybagel]

Hello, hello. I'm in a bit of a pickle.

The fencing club I'm representing has a couple of busted Favero reels (one doesn't appear to conduct any lines at all, and the other is constantly off target). I've done some reading around and will try to specifically diagnose the problem, but unless it is a quick and easy fix I would much rather prefer to mail them off to someone with a check and get a working reel back in a few weeks.

Does anyone have any experiences in mailing off Favero reels for repair, good bad or otherwise? I'm looking for, in order of importance;

-reliability (The damn thing gets fixed)
-cost (reasonable)
-timely (several weeks tops)
-preferably in North America

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

[SJCFU#2]

Favero reels usually aren't that difficult to fix, although many repairs do require a certain amount of soldering, so you might try looking for someone local (at the least it would have to avoid some of the time and cost associated with shipping).

Continuous off-targets usually indicate a break somewhere in the C line - most likely place would be the cable but I did see once see the jack break loose from its circuit board inside the fencer end socket and it's possible that one of the springs has broken (at which point Favero recommends replacing the other two as well). It's difficult for me to picture all three lines without something else obviously being wrong, such as a broken cable or in the case of a Favero, maybe three broken springs.

You might also try contacting YeOldeArmorer (Tim is one of the few full-time armorers out ther - although I'm not sure if he's taking on new work these days) or Twisterfencer (even if Gary isn't available he may be able to recommend someone closer to wherever you happen to be).

[Mergs]

I can meet at least three of your criteria; the fourth, Cost (reasonable) depends on what your definition of 'reasonable' is vs what mine is. PM me for details.

[bagelybagel]

Thank you very much for the responses. We've contacted the set of armorers recommended/have contacted us, and are evaluating options. Will post here again when we've gotten our reels fixed to reflect on the experience