Soldering Cable Ends

spin156 said:

john said:

Nate L said:

(It's the right temperature when it gets that silvery/white sparkle to it.)

You mean the flux, when you say silvery/white sparkle, not the metal,
don't you?

Also in an earlier post you mentioned a $2 torch. Where does one find a
$2 torch? Hell, I'd be happy to settle for $5. I know you are not going
to say "WallyWorld" :-) I bought a lighter for sizing the ends of nylon
cord & it was over a buck.

Thanks again for all the info, John

I don't know about $2, but I found a couple of different butane torches
in the tool section at Home Depot for less than $10. I got one for
$7.95 and it's refillable with standard butane canisters. It will
heat up to 1700C/3100F - plenty hot enough for tinning cable ends.

y'all need to be very careful using torches to tin cable ends. if the
cable is over-heated, the metal strands start to soften and that can
have dire consequences for your health and/or dental plan.

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The only goo reason I can think of for futzing with those silly little

crimp

Quoted message said:

caps instead of soldering is that one isn't comfortable with or doesn't

have

Quoted message said:

soldering equipment.

The only reason I can think of futzing with a torch is removing and
installing the cable again and again. I see no reason to do that. Even if I
would, leaving an extra 5 cm of cable gives you enough length to do that 3
or 4 times. After that it is time for a new cable. They are cheap. Crimp
caps solves the problem of fraying but also get rid if the sharp ends. YMMV
though.

Lou

Michael said:

As the nays seem to have it thus far in the thread, I'll pitch in a "well done!"
I solder my cables too. Those silly little caps are one more special thing to
buy, store, and DROP!, and they don't fit through any hole or cable housing. A
soldered cable can be whipped right off the bike and put back on very easily.

Sure, but how often do you need to remove and refit the same cable? It's
a blue moon situation and doesn't do any harm to replace the cable. If
you're really that frugal, you can solder just before that rare R&R
operation.

Quoted message said:

The only goo reason I can think of for futzing with those silly little crimp
caps instead of soldering is that one isn't comfortable with or doesn't have
soldering equipment.

I have soldering (and welding and brazing) equipment, but it's a lot to
fuss with just to install a cable. A lighter and glue stick work as well
but are still a bother, if I don't have a cap, I just use a spoke nipple.

On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 03:17:46 GMT, RonSonic <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

It is the duty of the English-speaking peoples to amuse one another with their
accents and regional abuses of the mother tongue.

Yes, that means I'm obliged to say things like "Howdy Ma'am."

Ayup. Thatch you are.

On 24 Mar 2006 10:41:10 -0800, "Llatikcuf" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

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.

Same torch and a piece of thermoplastic plastic like polyethylene. I
use an old, black water bottle cap. I was using hot melt adhesive
stick 'til I read someone here using plastic.

Lou Holtman said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The only goo reason I can think of for futzing with those silly little

crimp

Quoted message said:

caps instead of soldering is that one isn't comfortable with or doesn't

have

Quoted message said:

soldering equipment.

The only reason I can think of futzing with a torch is removing and
installing the cable again and again. I see no reason to do that. Even if I
would, leaving an extra 5 cm of cable gives you enough length to do that 3
or 4 times. After that it is time for a new cable. They are cheap. Crimp
caps solves the problem of fraying but also get rid if the sharp ends. YMMV
though.

Lou

If you don't remove and replace, then fine. Keep right on crimping. :-)

Since you mentioned sharp ends, I will mention that tinning a cable and then
cutting and dressing with a Dremel-type tool leaves no "needles" that stab one.
A cable prepared in that way slides back into cable housing "a treat" (as Brits
say).

--
Michael

Michael said:

Lou Holtman said:

"Michael" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

<snip>

Quoted message said:

The only goo reason I can think of for futzing with those silly little

crimp

Quoted message said:

caps instead of soldering is that one isn't comfortable with or doesn't

have

Quoted message said:

soldering equipment.

The only reason I can think of futzing with a torch is removing and
installing the cable again and again. I see no reason to do that. Even if I
would, leaving an extra 5 cm of cable gives you enough length to do that 3
or 4 times. After that it is time for a new cable. They are cheap. Crimp
caps solves the problem of fraying but also get rid if the sharp ends. YMMV
though.

Lou

If you don't remove and replace, then fine. Keep right on crimping. :-)

Since you mentioned sharp ends, I will mention that tinning a cable and then
cutting and dressing with a Dremel-type tool leaves no "needles" that stab one.
A cable prepared in that way slides back into cable housing "a treat" (as Brits
say).

Again more work ;-)
Doesn't your cable gets 'damaged' under the attaching bolt?

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

Lou Holtman said:

Again more work ;-)
Doesn't your cable gets 'damaged' under the attaching bolt?

No, just watch the torque when tightening it down.

-nate

Llatikcuf said:

Lou Holtman said:

Again more work ;-)
Doesn't your cable gets 'damaged' under the attaching bolt?

No, just watch the torque when tightening it down.

-nate

When I torque my brake cable according to spec (5 Nm), the cable gets
flattened and difficult to pull through the casing.

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

spin156 said:

john said:

Nate L said:

(It's the right temperature when it gets that silvery/white sparkle to it.)

You mean the flux, when you say silvery/white sparkle, not the metal,
don't you?

Also in an earlier post you mentioned a $2 torch. Where does one find a
$2 torch? Hell, I'd be happy to settle for $5. I know you are not going
to say "WallyWorld" :-) I bought a lighter for sizing the ends of nylon
cord & it was over a buck.

Thanks again for all the info, John

I don't know about $2, but I found a couple of different butane torches
in the tool section at Home Depot for less than $10. I got one for
$7.95 and it's refillable with standard butane canisters. It will
heat up to 1700C/3100F - plenty hot enough for tinning cable ends.

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

$1.99 at local Ace Hardware. I guess if you include tax (6.6%) then
it's over $2.

-nate

Lou Holtman said:

Llatikcuf said:

Lou Holtman said:

Again more work ;-)
Doesn't your cable gets 'damaged' under the attaching bolt?

No, just watch the torque when tightening it down.

-nate

When I torque my brake cable according to spec (5 Nm), the cable gets
flattened and difficult to pull through the casing.

I give up. My method works for me, I will cease to make claims that it
might work for others. My cables don't get flattened or dis-formed.
There's a little rounded indentation on my components that the cable
fits into, it doesn't get smashed. I have cables that are 7-10 years
old on my bikes, no reason to replace a gear cable that's not broken or
fraying, that would just be wasteful. Of course I also pickup tubes off
the side of the road (left by other cyclist [censored], you know the
racer type that can't be bothered to carry their own trash), I patch
them and use them. Haven't bought a tube for quite some time. Call me
crazy.

-nate

jim beam said:

y'all need to be very careful using torches to tin cable ends. if the
cable is over-heated, the metal strands start to soften and that can
have dire consequences for your health and/or dental plan.

Very true my friend. Only heat the tip of the cable. An advanced move
it to "try masturbation" while soldering the end.

-nate

Llatikcuf said:

jim beam said:

y'all need to be very careful using torches to tin cable ends. if the
cable is over-heated, the metal strands start to soften and that can
have dire consequences for your health and/or dental plan.

Very true my friend. Only heat the tip of the cable. An advanced move
it to "try masturbation" while soldering the end.

-nate

Oops, sorry Jim. For some reason I thought your post was authored by
Bill Sornson, who seems to have an obsession with "masturbation" in a
previous post.

See: "Is bike riding much more physically demanding than driving a
car", if you feel the need.

apologies,

nate

Llatikcuf (AKA 'Nate') said:

Llatikcuf said:

jim beam said:

y'all need to be very careful using torches to tin cable ends. if
the cable is over-heated, the metal strands start to soften and
that can have dire consequences for your health and/or dental plan.

Very true my friend. Only heat the tip of the cable. An advanced move
it to "try masturbation" while soldering the end.

-nate

Oops, sorry Jim. For some reason I thought your post was authored by
Bill Sornson, who seems to have an obsession with "masturbation" in a
previous post.

And this represents your usual level of honest disclosure? A) Someone
posted that rigorous bike riding just wasn't hard enough for their exalted
physical demands. B) Among the many sarcastic and/or trolled replies, I
suggested the OP try masturbation while training to not only increase the
level of exertion, but difficulty as well. But don't let that stop you from
posting a needless insult in a completely separate thread some three or four
days later. Yeah, *I'm* obsessed...

Quoted message said:

See: "Is bike riding much more physically demanding than driving a
car", if you feel the need.

Wow, you really hang on to stuff, doncha? (Whoever the hell you are,
"Nate".)

Quoted message said:

apologies,

That's a start.

Quoted message said:

nate

Who?

Sorni said:

Not hot-headed at all. Just curious why someone I don't know or recall
interacting with would drag me into a completely unrelated thread, using my
full name for some reason known only to you (it sure SEEMS to have a point,
although what that might be I do not know).

Bill,

I have been around for awhile, but probably not as long as you have.
Again, my mistake, I already explained my error in mistaking Jim for
you. I used you full name because you usually sign your full name and
there might be more than one bill on this newsgroup.

Quoted message said:

Now, I'm sure you can produce
some exchange between us, but I just sort of tune out all anonymous g- and
hot-mailers and yahoos as apparently they have stuff to hide.

Or they just hate getting a ton of spam in their e-mail. Google Groups
tied to a Gmail address works very well for people who post from
multiple locations from multiple computers.

Quoted message said:

(And they ALL seem to over-snip to obscure content, which to me seems less
than honest.)

I usually only include what I am directly replying to, I feel that the
previous post is easily accessible should someone have a question.

Quoted message said:

All I see is an anonymous g-mailer. I'm really not in to sleuthing headers
(as you say, it's just Usenet).

Like I said, what more do you want? What's the difference between a
gmail account and me creating an account on my server to post with? I
can create and delete a server account just as fast as a gmail account.
Hell, with my server account I could have different name everyday and
bounce the post through a proxy and have a different IP everyday. Does
it really matter? In the end, I like the gmail web interface and it
automatically forwards my unread mail to me at home.

Quoted message said:

If all this was because you mistook a poster for me and referenced something
I wrote, then I'm sorry for any over-reaction. (Still don't "get" using my
full name, though. Care to explain the point of that, "nate"?)

Quoted message said:

From now on if I should feel the need to refer to you, how would prefer

I do it?

Quoted message said:

Bill "left scratching head (and no, that wasn't yet another masturbation
reference)" S.

-nate

Llatikcuf said:

Sorni said:

Not hot-headed at all. Just curious why someone I don't know or
recall interacting with would drag me into a completely unrelated
thread, using my full name for some reason known only to you (it
sure SEEMS to have a point, although what that might be I do not
know).

Bill,

I have been around for awhile, but probably not as long as you have.
Again, my mistake, I already explained my error in mistaking Jim for
you. I used you full name because you usually sign your full name and
there might be more than one bill on this newsgroup.

I sign my name "Bill {insert pithy comment perhaps} S.", not my full name.
The only people I recall USING my full name do so out of antagonism (usually
due to political stuff).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now, I'm sure you can produce
some exchange between us, but I just sort of tune out all anonymous
g- and hot-mailers and yahoos as apparently they have stuff to hide.

Or they just hate getting a ton of spam in their e-mail.

Exactly why I went back to "Sorni" as a user name and sign Bill S. But
thanks for putting the full version out there again for the bots to pick up.
(Not that I'd be spam-free if you hadn't. I used to get almost zero, but
last year or so I get tons.)

Bill "last name 'sitooya" S.

Sorni said:

I sign my name "Bill {insert pithy comment perhaps} S.", not my full name.
The only people I recall USING my full name do so out of antagonism (usually
due to political stuff).

Well bill, with all due respect, a strong personality like yours is
bound to rub a few the wrong way. Not much we can do.

Quoted message said:

Exactly why I went back to "Sorni" as a user name and sign Bill S. But
thanks for putting the full version out there again for the bots to pick up.

No problem, in the future I will try to refrain.

Quoted message said:

(Not that I'd be spam-free if you hadn't. I used to get almost zero, but
last year or so I get tons.)

It's a never ending uphill battle my friend, as long as e-mail is free
spam is never going away.

Quoted message said:

Bill "last name 'sitooya" S.

-nate

Llatikcuf said:

Of course I also pickup tubes off
the side of the road (left by other cyclist [censored], you know the
racer type that can't be bothered to carry their own trash), I patch
them and use them. Haven't bought a tube for quite some time. Call me
crazy.

-nate

Nope! Just smart, frugal and "environmentally green". Carry on :-)

Ken

RonSonic said:

It is the duty of the English-speaking peoples to amuse one another with their
accents and regional abuses of the mother tongue.

Yes, that means I'm obliged to say things like "Howdy Ma'am."

Ron

So be it, but last time I checked I can say for certain that I ain't NO Ma'am. :-) That
isn't what you meant by your comment is it ;-) and ?

Ken

Nate L. wrote

Quoted message said:

$1.99 at local Ace Hardware. I guess if you include tax (6.6%) then
it's over $2.

$2.12 is fine. I'd briefly looked for a butane torch, & hadn't found
anything <$15. Admittedly it was a casual search, & was left w/ the
mistaken impression that none were available, anywhere near that cheap.

Again, I appreciate all your info very much, John