Soldering cable ends?

[531colin]

IMG_5413 by 531colin, on Flickr

Well, I learned something today.
It isn't necessary to make a flux slurry for this job.
Those are mucky old galvanised cables from a mucky old secondhand bike I'm messing with.
Get the end of the cable red hot, the oil burns off. Dip the hot end in flux powder a couple of times, enough sticks so you can get the end red hot again and run silver solder in.
Clean up with a file.

[531colin]

What are you lot doing to fray the ends? ............

I normally seem to gather undergrowth on mine. Heather will rip off alloy crimps, no trouble.

[2_i]

How far you need to go in securing the cable ends depends on what you actually want from that securing. If the cable is just threaded through once, cut to length and then replaced once it wears out, you can put a crimp, heat shrink, superglue or maybe even nothing at all especially if you can place the cable end out of sight. If you want to be able to pull the cable out and then reroute it back, you actually need to solder the end and do it neatly. If you cut the cable poorly, you will likely not be able to solder it neatly enough for the rerouting.

[francovendee]

What are you lot doing to fray the ends? I just use a normal alloy cable end and squeeze it diangonal with what ever is handy. Sometime I leave the end of the cable a cm long to allow for cutting back but generally I just yank the end of with some pliers and jobs done.

Once the crimped cable ends comes off, and they always have done for me, the cable has already been distorted by squeezing the cable end onto the cable.
When I used galvanised cables soldering the end was quick and foolproof but S/S is better in so many ways.

[531colin]

......... If you cut the cable poorly, you will likely not be able to solder it neatly enough for the rerouting.

Don't knock it until you've tried it!
Once you have soldered the frayed cable end, you can file it....as in my picture above.

[531colin]

What are you lot doing to fray the ends? I just use a normal alloy cable end and squeeze it diangonal with what ever is handy. Sometime I leave the end of the cable a cm long to allow for cutting back but generally I just yank the end of with some pliers and jobs done.

Once the crimped cable ends comes off, and they always have done for me, the cable has already been distorted by squeezing the cable end onto the cable.
When I used galvanised cables soldering the end was quick and foolproof but S/S is better in so many ways.

Stainless cable, silver soldered. Job done.

[Pebble]

Not as good as silver solder but;

I have found some success with a hot melt glue gun, you need to make a clean cut to start with then a dab of hot melt holds it all together until you need to reuse, then the hot melt is ease removed with a match. the blob of glue on the end is a nice safety covering too.

It is also good for cutting cables, get the cable nice and warm, run some hot melt round it, then cut the cable through the glue after it cools, get a clean cut with no frays every time.

[Jdsk]

What are you lot doing to fray the ends?

Good question.

Perhaps some photos for comparison...

Jonathan

[Cowsham]

I like the idea of the heat shrink with glue on it's inner surface. Can you buy that or do you mean put some glue like evostick contact adhesive on the cable first?

[tatanab]

I like the idea of the heat shrink with glue on it's inner surface. Can you buy that or do you mean put some glue like evostick contact adhesive on the cable first?

If you use decent heatshrink which is shrunk well, then it should not slip off. I've certainly had to peel it off in the past.
Do an eBay search for RNF100. This is decent Mil Spec heatshrink, not the cheap plasticy stuff that Maplin used to sell. If you want to glue it in place, a dab of super glue on the cable before fitting the heatshrink will do well.
Adhesive heatshrink - eBay search for Atum. Again, decent stuff but a bit pricey.

[Cowsham]

I like the idea of the heat shrink with glue on it's inner surface. Can you buy that or do you mean put some glue like evostick contact adhesive on the cable first?

If you use decent heatshrink which is shrunk well, then it should not slip off. I've certainly had to peel it off in the past.
Do an eBay search for RNF100. This is decent Mil Spec heatshrink, not the cheap plasticy stuff that Maplin used to sell. If you want to glue it in place, a dab of super glue on the cable before fitting the heatshrink will do well.
Adhesive heatshrink - eBay search for Atum. Again, decent stuff but a bit pricey.

Thanks

[Pebble]

What are you lot doing to fray the ends?

Good question.

Perhaps some photos for comparison...

Jonathan

It is not necessarily the cutting that causes the fraying.

When you remove a protective crimp off the end, then the cable is likely to fray, if you don't put a protective crimp on the end then at some point during riding, cleaning, or other maintenance something will foul the end and start it to fray. If it starts to fray then you can't always reuse the cable if you remove it from the bike during maintenance.

The idea of gluing soldering etc is to protect the end of the cable that will allow dismantling without the 50/50 chance that you will need a new cable. thus protecting the environment by reusing rather than landfill/recyling/remanufacturer

[francovendee]

I remember buying some soldering rods that were advertised as being able to solder S/S and aluminium. The rods looked to be of an alloy, possibly aluminium. I can't remember why I bought them and have never tried them.
I'll dig them out and try soldering a S/S cable.
I don't expect it'll work as I think the instructions said it didn't flow like normal solders.
If they do work I'll report back.