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04-26-2003, 02:02 AM
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#1 | | Member
Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 64
| Salvaging a tip
My Uhlmann tip flew off in a bout on Wednesday night, leaving those two little bits at the base still in the foil. I found it and managed to put it back together, but this morning it lasted about half an hour before flying off again. Is this tip gone for good? I could try hammering the base back on instead of screwing it back on (I suspect the thread may be worn as the tip has flown off twice!) or something I suppose...any more experienced fencers got some tips for me? I have three or four spare tips, but I only changed this one a month ago! The previous one lasted six months.
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kini mini
"I don't like rap 'music', but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like rap,denigrate means 'put down'."
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04-28-2003, 01:09 PM
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#2 | | Armorer
Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Long Beach, CA / Las Vegas
Posts: 3,405
| There are two things you can do. First use a center punch to expand the post. Then VERY carefully add a little solder to seal it. Both steps must be done carefully. If you hit too hard, it is possible to bend the post. If you put too much solder you can jam up the tip. I usually use one of the spring loaded center punch and put a little solder on the soldering iron/gun tip.
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Donald Hollis Clinton, Jr. DHCJr@juno.com
To Teach is to Learn (Japanese Proverb)
Knowing the rule book by heart means nothing, if you don't understand the rules.
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04-28-2003, 01:21 PM
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#3 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Milwaukee
Posts: 974
| peening the contact
What has worked well for me when the point separates from the contact, is to reassemble the tip and hit the dimple on the shaft of the tip with a center punch ever-so-carefully. What you need to do, is to expand the diameter of the tip shaft slightly on the end, and I believe the process is called peening. This is a precision operation and it is easy to destroy the tip if not properly centered or you hit too hard. It is best to start off with a small hammer against the punch and using several gentle taps to get the feel. Once the contact can no longer be twisted by hand you are ready to go. Also, there is no need to wait until the end of the point falls off. You can usually feel the tip looseness just by tapping the blade. You will usually start having intermitent off targets before it completely falls apart. One other thing to test is to "roll" the tip in your fingers (in both directions) to see if there is any noticeable looseness.
Joe B. | |
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05-01-2003, 03:20 PM
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#4 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pacoima, ca USA
Posts: 5,756
| I use a spring-loaded center punch. In fact, I peen ALL the German tips in my inventory when they come in. | |
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05-02-2003, 06:51 AM
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#5 | | Member
Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 64
| Thanks guys  . I'll definitely try the peening idea. BTW, is this a common problem with German tips in particular?
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kini mini
"I don't like rap 'music', but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like rap,denigrate means 'put down'."
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05-02-2003, 10:40 AM
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#6 | | Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Michigan
Posts: 606
| Wow, you guys are way to dedicated! I would've replaced that tip a loooong time ago.
For me, that situation comes in batches. Once (about 8 years ago) I bought 5 tips, 4 went bad, 1 was ok. Ever since then, it happens about once a year.
I also replace my tips with new tips for major competitions and use the older ones for practice. But, I'm a anal that way. | |
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