Soldering Cable Ends

After reading hundreds of posts concerning this for a couple years, I
finally did it.

http://llatikcuf.home.comcast.net/cableend1.jpg

For anyone that was wondering, it's very easy. Nothing expensive
involved, I used a $2 butane pencil torch without trouble and $8 worth
of supplies. Took about ~30 seconds per cable.

Results were very good, better than expected. I tried a bunch of
cables: cheap, expensive, brand name, generic and could not find one
this combo did not work with.
I used:

-18 gauge silver solder/braze alloy, 45% silver, 30% copper and 25%
zinc, cadmium free.
- Borate fluoride mix, black high temperature flux (use in a well
ventilated area, a respirator wouldn't hurt.)

The guy I bought my supplies from said this combo will work on copper,
brass, steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

-nate

Llatikcuf wrote:
After reading hundreds of posts concerning this for a couple years, I
finally did it.

http://llatikcuf.home.comcast.net/cableend1.jpg

For anyone that was wondering, it's very easy. Nothing expensive
involved, I used a $2 butane pencil torch without trouble and $8 worth
of supplies. Took about ~30 seconds per cable.

Results were very good, better than expected. I tried a bunch of
cables: cheap, expensive, brand name, generic and could not find one
this combo did not work with.
I used:

-18 gauge silver solder/braze alloy, 45% silver, 30% copper and 25%
zinc, cadmium free.
- Borate fluoride mix, black high temperature flux (use in a well
ventilated area, a respirator wouldn't hurt.)

The guy I bought my supplies from said this combo will work on copper,
brass, steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

-nate



It looks nice....but why? I still don't get it.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:51:44 +0100, Lou Holtman
wrote:

Llatikcuf wrote:
After reading hundreds of posts concerning this for a couple years, I
finally did it.

http://llatikcuf.home.comcast.net/cableend1.jpg

For anyone that was wondering, it's very easy. Nothing expensive
involved, I used a $2 butane pencil torch without trouble and $8 worth
of supplies. Took about ~30 seconds per cable.

Results were very good, better than expected. I tried a bunch of
cables: cheap, expensive, brand name, generic and could not find one
this combo did not work with.
I used:

-18 gauge silver solder/braze alloy, 45% silver, 30% copper and 25%
zinc, cadmium free.
- Borate fluoride mix, black high temperature flux (use in a well
ventilated area, a respirator wouldn't hurt.)

The guy I bought my supplies from said this combo will work on copper,
brass, steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

-nate



It looks nice....but why? I still don't get it.

I think you just did ;-)

It's a tweak, you know? A minor "modification" (notice I didn't use
the words 'improvement' or 'upgrade') when the rest of the bike is
perfect.

For good or for ill, I think it shows a person who is fastidious,
conscientious, and proud of their bike (notice I didn't use the words
'anal retentive' or 'obsessed').

Nice job, Nate. She's a beauty. Should also be good for a few
ten-thousandths in a 20k time trial....

Lou Holtman wrote:
Llatikcuf wrote:
After reading hundreds of posts concerning this for a couple years, I
finally did it.

http://llatikcuf.home.comcast.net/cableend1.jpg


It looks nice....but why? I still don't get it.

Lou

Maybe I'm just a spas, but when I'm threading used cables (through
housing and those little holes in frame stops, shifters and other
parts) one strand always catches and bends out of place making it
impossible to thread it back through without cutting the end off the
cable, reducing the length every time I re-thread it. Then I usually
end up poking myself on that FU**ING little single strand and leaving
small blood spots on the yellow handles of my wrenches. This is a
simple fix to prevent the fraying, especially when threading cables.

-nate

come back next month with a further review!
waht you need is or are (the plurality is {are?} under discussion) -
lineman's plier - has square blunt end(s)
and
vicegrips
the vicegrips are cheap at walmort buy 2, the lineman's pliers are not
cheap but wonderfully useful (i got mine from a drunken fisherman)
hold the proximal unfrayed section with vicegrips - place grips on
cable manually then screwdown and increase pressure - avoiding a flat
end cable
take lineman's plier and twist the cable - and twist it in the proper
direction stupid
then cap with a cable cap
cable end caps are available at the LBS
try not to be an IA asking for one cable cap - buy 20 cable caps - or a
"handful" and leave the change.
crimping cable caps is an art: as you managed to solder, I leave this
to your imagination and intelligence

Neil Brooks wrote:

Nice job, Nate. She's a beauty. Should also be good for a few
ten-thousandths in a 20k time trial....

Who cares about time or speed. Two items that are overrated in the
cycling world, what happened to cycling for fun and recreation?
I only did it because I think it makes cables easier to deal with and
last longer (for me anyways).

-nate

one works the frays in segments from a point below(or above)the
plier(s) holding the unfrayed cable still (!) and retwists, down a
section, retwist - then maybe retwist the entire once frayed in its
entirety from the distal end.
you'll get the hang of it thru practice.
this skill is a "priceless" cycle mechanic - and you'll find out why!!

Lou Holtman wrote:
Llatikcuf wrote:
After reading hundreds of posts concerning this for a couple years, I
finally did it.

http://llatikcuf.home.comcast.net/cableend1.jpg

For anyone that was wondering, it's very easy. Nothing expensive
involved, I used a $2 butane pencil torch without trouble and $8 worth
of supplies. Took about ~30 seconds per cable.

Results were very good, better than expected. I tried a bunch of
cables: cheap, expensive, brand name, generic and could not find one
this combo did not work with.
I used:

-18 gauge silver solder/braze alloy, 45% silver, 30% copper and 25%
zinc, cadmium free.
- Borate fluoride mix, black high temperature flux (use in a well
ventilated area, a respirator wouldn't hurt.)

The guy I bought my supplies from said this combo will work on copper,
brass, steel, stainless steel and cast iron.

-nate



It looks nice....but why? I still don't get it.

It allows the cable to be unanchored, removed and reinstalled in
housing, etc, more easily since you don't have to mess with removing
and reinstalling crimped on tips, nor with trimming off the squished
spot if it doesn't wanna go back through the housing. This loses some
relevance if you're one to be fastidious about no previously clamped
section of cable being between the anchor and the head, since cables
become much less re-usable then.

Some people think it's a signficantly better way of keeping the cable
from fraying. There's probably some truth in that. Crimped tips can go
MIA. Crimping technique and how well the tip fits the cable play a
role. My cable tips don't seem to go anywhere although this wasn't
always true.

Personally I'm in favor of skipping it for the sake of having a little
less toxicity in life.

One thing I'll note is that there are teflon coated cables that you
wouldn't necessarily know are coated by looking at them. No idea what
happens when you take a torch to teflon but I wouldn't particularly
want to breathe it.

I don't know if all the things I've seen about how it's really toxic to
weld zinced stuff would apply here (most cheap cables have a zinc
coating).

wrote:
...cheap at walmart...

Sorry, I won't even enter that store. Below-industry standard pay and
poor benefits. On NPR the other day they said 46% of Walmart employees
and their children are uninsured or on taxpayer funded public health
care programs. You and I pick up the heath care tab and they make
millions. Not a good practice to support IMO.

-nate

On 24 Mar 2006 11:08:28 -0800, "Llatikcuf"
wrote:


Neil Brooks wrote:

Nice job, Nate. She's a beauty. Should also be good for a few
ten-thousandths in a 20k time trial....

Who cares about time or speed. Two items that are overrated in the
cycling world, what happened to cycling for fun and recreation?
I only did it because I think it makes cables easier to deal with and
last longer (for me anyways).

The time trial comment was a (obviously failed) attempt at humor. I
think your solder job looks quite elegant....