Dear Sam, thank you for your videos, very instructive! And it was a pleasure meeting you at recent CA tournaments while testing equipments. One question... what accelerant are you using at approximately the 6:15 minute mark in the video? I did a quick google search but did not get any obvious suggestions. Thank you
Thank you for the videos. I am surprised to see you don't use some kind of glue on the threads of the blade before you screw on the barrel. I thought that was required to prevent loose tips that would cause shorts.
A lot of people use Locktite on barrels, but it's not a requirement, nor completely needed. A sufficiently cranked down barrel will hold as well as one with Locktite. Plus, I worry about too much Locktite interfering with the circuit.
Hello, you did a great video, I just have a few questions if thats okay. When you bend the blade for the glueing process, what are the various glues you use? I would like to have a smooth finish on my blade after the glueing process and was wondering what types of glue can help with that. Thanks
You can use any number of different glues...Cementit, Pilobond, fletching glue (for arrows), etc...the important thing is th the groove is cleaned properly and the glue is applied correctly. Personally, I use a rubberized super glue called "Instaflex" from Bob Smith Industries, which I get a a local RC model store. There are 2 versions...the pink label gap filler and the green label, which is very watery. I prefer the gap filler to minimize the chances of the glue getting into the tip. As for a smooth finish...with a gap filler, that's going to depend on how well you control the flow of glue into the groove and how with the opening of the tip of the nozzle on the bottle. I DO run a kleenex down the blade to smooth out any bumps that might catch a point after spraying on the accelerator (which you see doing in this vid.)
What kind of tester...a simple go/no go box? if so, there should only be one light on when the weapon is plugged in (been a while since I used one, but I think it was the green one)..push the tip in and the light should go out. Release the tip and the light comes back on. If that's what your tester shows, that's normal operation (if it was grounding, the light would stay on when the tip was depressed). So if that's what you see on your tester, that means the issue is elsewhere when you plug into a strip,and you need to track the issue down. When on the box, are you using the same cord, but still getting white lights? That likely means the issue is in the floor cord, reel, or box. To confirm that, take your weapon and cord to the other side of the strip. If the problem swaps sides, it's in the fencer's gear. If it stays on the same side, it's the scoring gear. Presuming it's in the scoring gear, unless you have the means to test the floor cord or reel, you'll be swapping out parts until the problem resolves. Do the floor cord first and check, then swap the reel if necessary. If it's the floor cord, treat it like fixing a reeeeeaalllyyy long epee cord. If it's the reel, let me know. Also, does the problem show up for anyone else, or just the weapon you're working on? Once the problem is identified, THE you can figure out how to fix it.
If you're talking about raw wire, I have no idea...I'm not good enough to actually make my own. Every vendor sells them, tho....Blue Gauntlet, Absolute, Fencing Post etc.
Thanks for everything. I'm a dad armorer and have learned a lot from you. I find that with some foils (new ones or even ones that I've rewired), I hit the foil against my shoe while plugged in the test box and it's fine. But, when I hit it really hard with another metal foil or a hard PVC, the test box briefly signals discontinuity). I set my Favero tester/hit detector from test to foil and hit the blade and it doesn't register a problem. I'm very confused and not sure if I've failed in my rewiring/ received a bad brand new foil or if I'm testing the blade too hard? Does the discontinuity have to last for a period of time before it registers a white light (like a hit on target)? I've used some of these foils that I've rewired and still fail with a hard wrap on the blade while testing but sometimes they work fine on the strip and I get no intermittent white lights and other times I get a light and I'm back to diagnosing again. Any tips would be appreciated.
The break in the circuit is 15ms or more. It sounds like something's loose somewhere in the system...and there are a lot of potential failure points in foil. It could be the tip itself starting to come apart (the little flange that sits on the spring sometimes works loose). Partially broken wire under the cup. Partially broken wire somewhere in the blade. Wire/socket connection. Loose socket parts (usually the B line, but the C works loose sometimes as well). Loose fit between the socket receivers and the body cord pins. After that, you're looking into issues with the cord, etc. intermittent probs are the hardest to nail down sometimes.
Hi there! Great video. One question though, how come you didn't measure the tip with a gauge like you did with the epee point? Meaning how many millimeters the point has to be compressed until the point triggers a light? Is there a regulation on how much a foil tip has to compressed to set off a light?
Although there IS a rule re travel for a foil tip, it's not been enforced for years....since before i returned to the sport in the late 90s, in fact. I don't even remember what it was. Also remember that the foil circuit works differently from the epee one...hence why the epee travel is checked, but the foil one isn't. Epee is a normally open circuit, hence the travel requirement so everyone is on an equal footing...important when you have only a 40ms lockout time, But foil is a normally CLOSED circuit which has to be open for 15 ms minimum to fire the light...the travel requirement isn't of much use there. Plus the lockout is 300ms and right of way is involved.
@@samsignorelli Yes. My friends are fencers on a budget. It's hard to throw away an $18.00 German/French/LP tip because the screw is munched. Reversing drill bit? Use a tiny drill bit to shatter the bad screw like a dentist drills a cavity? We even know a fencing dentist, but he does not come anymore. We'd ask him to help.
@@calfencer Ok...so now I know which screw it is. When you say broken, do you mean mashed down so the slot's not there, or is half the head busted off?
@@calfencer Ok...so there's nothing to grab. The steel on a screw is actually pretty soft. Get a razor blade or cutting knife and run it back and forth to cut a new slot deep enough to catch a driver blade, then try to back the screw out. You'll cut into the barrel a little, but not deep enough to do any real damage.
Thanks...I plan to re-shoot it at some point, with better camera work. The glue I use is from Bob Smith Industries and is called Instaflex....a rubberized superglue. Check out vid #4 -- wiring an epee blade -- for more details.
Hello and thank you. I notice a detail only you use. You glue end point and then bend while others bend before glue any point. Please tell us your choice of this decision. Thank you for your time.
I do the ends first to a) hold the wire in place for the bending part and b) any residual accelerator on the ends helps to minimize ant glue running into the top pr down the tang.
Thanks for that reply, also, i would like to know about the accelerant that you use for the Insta-Flex™ glue from (Bob Smith Industries), what exactly is it and where do i get it?
The accelerator speeds up the curing process. Normally, super glues take 24 hours to fully cure and harden...but I don't have that kind of time -- especially at a tournament. The accelerator is a chemical that cuts the cure time from 24 hours to maybe 5 seconds. Any hobby store that sells super glues for modeling or RC toys should carry it.
Hi Sam! Thanks for the video loved all the tips. But I when I am trying to test the blade wire (Foil), I have two outcomes that I do not know what´s going on :S A) WIRE A: The light on my tester goes on but when presing the tip it doesn´t goes off. B) WIRE B: The light doesn´t go on. The end of the wire is already wrapped on B and the blade is touching C. But if I also touch the blade with the Wrapped B, then I will have a ligh, and even here if I press it, the light won´t come of :/ I tried touching the inside of the tip with other metalic stuff to maybe make the ligh go off... and still it doesn´t happen. Please your help, thank you so much ! :)
For wire A it sounds like the wire is grounding somewhere. For wire B....kinda hard t parse out what you said, but it reads like the wire isn't properly stripped, so it can't make the electrical connection. Are these fully assembled weapons, or are you testing the wire before even laying the glue down? If I know where you are in the process I can probably give a better answer.
Thank you! Yes I am testing before putting the glue. I will check on A in Wich part of the tip, it could be grounding. And what I mean on B. Is that when I test it there's no light. I already stripped the end as much as I could.
@@ranatrinchada Ok....that’s what I thought you were doing...nice to confirm. For A it’s must likely the wire got stripped up in the barrel when you either pulled it through or tightened the barrel down. You can try clipping the wire to your tester so you can see it’s on when your hands are free and then back the barrel off a bit. If the light goes out, retighten the barrel. If it stays off you should be good. If it stays on....new wire. Did you butterfly the tip of the blade out or otherwise try to make sure there were no burrs that could catch the wire when you pulled it through? Did the wire move smoothly? For B...how did you strip the wire? If it was just sandpaper, you might not’ve gotten the varnish later off...easy to burn it off with a lighter. Or if you DID burn it but didn’t sand it clean afterwards there might be gunk in the way. If you did all that and still have nothing...probably a break in the wire a the solder joint between the wire and the brass hat un the cup. New wire time. And not to worry...my first foil rewire took me three hours and multiple attempts!
Well for A you were right it was grounding near the tip. And for be I trimmed it, stripped and burn. Then it work! 🙃 Thank you so much for you help! Wishing you the best ! ✨
I don't remember the gauge....it's pretty thin stuff, tho. I do'n't make the wires myself. According to my micrometer, it's about 0.48mm, but there's probably some variance there.
Dear Sam, thank you for your videos, very instructive! And it was a pleasure meeting you at recent CA tournaments while testing equipments. One question... what accelerant are you using at approximately the 6:15 minute mark in the video? I did a quick google search but did not get any obvious suggestions. Thank you
I think I'm using quick shot at the moment, but any accelerator should do the trick.
Thank you for the videos. I am surprised to see you don't use some kind of glue on the threads of the blade before you screw on the barrel. I thought that was required to prevent loose tips that would cause shorts.
A lot of people use Locktite on barrels, but it's not a requirement, nor completely needed. A sufficiently cranked down barrel will hold as well as one with Locktite. Plus, I worry about too much Locktite interfering with the circuit.
Hello, you did a great video, I just have a few questions if thats okay. When you bend the blade for the glueing process, what are the various glues you use? I would like to have a smooth finish on my blade after the glueing process and was wondering what types of glue can help with that.
Thanks
You can use any number of different glues...Cementit, Pilobond, fletching glue (for arrows), etc...the important thing is th the groove is cleaned properly and the glue is applied correctly.
Personally, I use a rubberized super glue called "Instaflex" from Bob Smith Industries, which I get a a local RC model store.
There are 2 versions...the pink label gap filler and the green label, which is very watery. I prefer the gap filler to minimize the chances of the glue getting into the tip.
As for a smooth finish...with a gap filler, that's going to depend on how well you control the flow of glue into the groove and how with the opening of the tip of the nozzle on the bottle.
I DO run a kleenex down the blade to smooth out any bumps that might catch a point after spraying on the accelerator (which you see doing in this vid.)
Thank you for the detailed reply, I will try those out.
Hi Sam. What is the best way to fix white light? My tester says the circuit is OK but kids keep complaining white light at the club. 😢
What kind of tester...a simple go/no go box? if so, there should only be one light on when the weapon is plugged in (been a while since I used one, but I think it was the green one)..push the tip in and the light should go out. Release the tip and the light comes back on.
If that's what your tester shows, that's normal operation (if it was grounding, the light would stay on when the tip was depressed).
So if that's what you see on your tester, that means the issue is elsewhere when you plug into a strip,and you need to track the issue down.
When on the box, are you using the same cord, but still getting white lights? That likely means the issue is in the floor cord, reel, or box.
To confirm that, take your weapon and cord to the other side of the strip. If the problem swaps sides, it's in the fencer's gear. If it stays on the same side, it's the scoring gear.
Presuming it's in the scoring gear, unless you have the means to test the floor cord or reel, you'll be swapping out parts until the problem resolves. Do the floor cord first and check, then swap the reel if necessary.
If it's the floor cord, treat it like fixing a reeeeeaalllyyy long epee cord. If it's the reel, let me know.
Also, does the problem show up for anyone else, or just the weapon you're working on?
Once the problem is identified, THE you can figure out how to fix it.
Hi sir thanks for this video and where I can get the new wire's is there any online web site to order the wires
If you're talking about raw wire, I have no idea...I'm not good enough to actually make my own.
Every vendor sells them, tho....Blue Gauntlet, Absolute, Fencing Post etc.
Thanks for everything. I'm a dad armorer and have learned a lot from you. I find that with some foils (new ones or even ones that I've rewired), I hit the foil against my shoe while plugged in the test box and it's fine. But, when I hit it really hard with another metal foil or a hard PVC, the test box briefly signals discontinuity). I set my Favero tester/hit detector from test to foil and hit the blade and it doesn't register a problem. I'm very confused and not sure if I've failed in my rewiring/ received a bad brand new foil or if I'm testing the blade too hard? Does the discontinuity have to last for a period of time before it registers a white light (like a hit on target)? I've used some of these foils that I've rewired and still fail with a hard wrap on the blade while testing but sometimes they work fine on the strip and I get no intermittent white lights and other times I get a light and I'm back to diagnosing again. Any tips would be appreciated.
The break in the circuit is 15ms or more. It sounds like something's loose somewhere in the system...and there are a lot of potential failure points in foil.
It could be the tip itself starting to come apart (the little flange that sits on the spring sometimes works loose).
Partially broken wire under the cup.
Partially broken wire somewhere in the blade.
Wire/socket connection.
Loose socket parts (usually the B line, but the C works loose sometimes as well).
Loose fit between the socket receivers and the body cord pins.
After that, you're looking into issues with the cord, etc.
intermittent probs are the hardest to nail down sometimes.
Hi there! Great video. One question though, how come you didn't measure the tip with a gauge like you did with the epee point? Meaning how many millimeters the point has to be compressed until the point triggers a light? Is there a regulation on how much a foil tip has to compressed to set off a light?
Although there IS a rule re travel for a foil tip, it's not been enforced for years....since before i returned to the sport in the late 90s, in fact. I don't even remember what it was.
Also remember that the foil circuit works differently from the epee one...hence why the epee travel is checked, but the foil one isn't.
Epee is a normally open circuit, hence the travel requirement so everyone is on an equal footing...important when you have only a 40ms lockout time,
But foil is a normally CLOSED circuit which has to be open for 15 ms minimum to fire the light...the travel requirement isn't of much use there. Plus the lockout is 300ms and right of way is involved.
@@samsignorelli thank you for the clarification. I've always wondered about that.
Why tape it up at the end? Didn't quite get that move..
ruclips.net/video/muNNGdTXHKc/видео.html
I go into the tape here.
Hi, trying to make my own chain, what kind of end caps size and material do you suggest? pvc copper 1" ?
Copper for durability. I go over a wiring chain at ruclips.net/video/YdkqiI_XFxc/видео.html
Hi again. How can we save the very expensive German foil barrel (threads) when the screw is broken?
Just to be sure, you're talking about the screws that hold the tip in place, not the tip of the blade that the barrel screws onto, yes?
@@samsignorelli Yes. My friends are fencers on a budget. It's hard to throw away an $18.00 German/French/LP tip because the screw is munched. Reversing drill bit? Use a tiny drill bit to shatter the bad screw like a dentist drills a cavity? We even know a fencing dentist, but he does not come anymore. We'd ask him to help.
@@calfencer Ok...so now I know which screw it is. When you say broken, do you mean mashed down so the slot's not there, or is half the head busted off?
@@samsignorelli Half the slot is gone on one and one both are gone - screw is flush with the barrel.
@@calfencer Ok...so there's nothing to grab. The steel on a screw is actually pretty soft. Get a razor blade or cutting knife and run it back and forth to cut a new slot deep enough to catch a driver blade, then try to back the screw out. You'll cut into the barrel a little, but not deep enough to do any real damage.
very useful & fantastic video.
would you let me know what kind of glue are you using for 2 steps of stick the wire on blade?
Thanks...I plan to re-shoot it at some point, with better camera work.
The glue I use is from Bob Smith Industries and is called Instaflex....a rubberized superglue.
Check out vid #4 -- wiring an epee blade -- for more details.
Thanks...the glue is perfect!
YAY! Just remember that properly prepping the blade is by FAR the most important step.
Hello and thank you. I notice a detail only you use. You glue end point and then bend while others bend before glue any point. Please tell us your choice of this decision. Thank you for your time.
I do the ends first to a) hold the wire in place for the bending part and b) any residual accelerator on the ends helps to minimize ant glue running into the top pr down the tang.
Thanks for that reply, also, i would like to know about the accelerant that you use for the Insta-Flex™ glue from (Bob Smith Industries), what exactly is it and where do i get it?
The accelerator speeds up the curing process. Normally, super glues take 24 hours to fully cure and harden...but I don't have that kind of time -- especially at a tournament.
The accelerator is a chemical that cuts the cure time from 24 hours to maybe 5 seconds.
Any hobby store that sells super glues for modeling or RC toys should carry it.
Hi Sam! Thanks for the video loved all the tips. But I when I am trying to test the blade wire (Foil), I have two outcomes that I do not know what´s going on :S
A) WIRE A: The light on my tester goes on but when presing the tip it doesn´t goes off.
B) WIRE B: The light doesn´t go on. The end of the wire is already wrapped on B and the blade is touching C. But if I also touch the blade with the Wrapped B, then I will have a ligh, and even here if I press it, the light won´t come of :/
I tried touching the inside of the tip with other metalic stuff to maybe make the ligh go off... and still it doesn´t happen.
Please your help, thank you so much ! :)
For wire A it sounds like the wire is grounding somewhere.
For wire B....kinda hard t parse out what you said, but it reads like the wire isn't properly stripped, so it can't make the electrical connection.
Are these fully assembled weapons, or are you testing the wire before even laying the glue down? If I know where you are in the process I can probably give a better answer.
Thank you! Yes I am testing before putting the glue.
I will check on A in Wich part of the tip, it could be grounding.
And what I mean on B. Is that when I test it there's no light. I already stripped the end as much as I could.
@@ranatrinchada Ok....that’s what I thought you were doing...nice to confirm.
For A it’s must likely the wire got stripped up in the barrel when you either pulled it through or tightened the barrel down. You can try clipping the wire to your tester so you can see it’s on when your hands are free and then back the barrel off a bit. If the light goes out, retighten the barrel. If it stays off you should be good. If it stays on....new wire. Did you butterfly the tip of the blade out or otherwise try to make sure there were no burrs that could catch the wire when you pulled it through? Did the wire move smoothly?
For B...how did you strip the wire? If it was just sandpaper, you might not’ve gotten the varnish later off...easy to burn it off with a lighter. Or if you DID burn it but didn’t sand it clean afterwards there might be gunk in the way.
If you did all that and still have nothing...probably a break in the wire a the solder joint between the wire and the brass hat un the cup. New wire time.
And not to worry...my first foil rewire took me three hours and multiple attempts!
Well for A you were right it was grounding near the tip. And for be I trimmed it, stripped and burn. Then it work! 🙃
Thank you so much for you help! Wishing you the best ! ✨
@@ranatrinchada So for B the wire break was at the far end....not bad for doing it remotely! You're quite welcome!
What thickness of wire is used?
I don't remember the gauge....it's pretty thin stuff, tho. I do'n't make the wires myself.
According to my micrometer, it's about 0.48mm, but there's probably some variance there.
Thank sir for information
what is the brand of the blue tape you used to cover the blade tip area?
Regular 1" gaff tape....Pro-Gaff happens to be the brand on the shelves where I buy it. You can usually get it at a camera store.
sam signorelli Thank you! Brought the tape and my foils are happy!
@@tnguyen1421 :D
how to remove the small screw in my tip
Use a small jeweler's screwdriver, like you'd use for a pair of glasses.
Or is there a different issue? Is it a German tip with the screw smashed?