Hi All:

I'm having a go at building a Cafe Racer. Due to the clip-on handlebars, my cables are way too long. I'm going to evetually order custom sized cables, but in the mean time, I'd like to ride the bike around the neighborhood.

So to shorten the cables, my thought is to solder new ferrules on. Does this sound OK? If so, what type of solder do I use? I take it I dip it in flux prior to soldering? Any help on how I should approach (or NOT approach) this is greatly appreciated.

--Thanks, Chris

Have you got any bolt croppers?

On my handbrake cable, I bought a cheap (soft) long M8 bolt. Cut off the head and threaded part to leave me the smooth shoulder (about 15mm long).

Drilled a hole through the middle of it (along it's length).

Threaded it over my cable.

"Crimped" it with some bolt croppers, but not hard enough to chop it all in half.

Hasn't budged yet.

Pat...

[Edited on 26/8/07 by Avoneer]

That's a good idea. I'd like to have a mechanical connection, as well as a brazed/soldered/welded connection. I don't have any bolt croppes, but could borrow some.

Any other suggestions?

--Thanks, Chris

I had a BSA Bantam (a few years ago ) and soldered a nipple onto a brake cable.

Guess when the solder failed ?

Yes, at the very moment I needed all the braking available .

Silver solder maybe, braze maybe, but your ordinary solder is not noted for mechanical strength: it's designed for low resistance.

When I was being taught to solder in electronics, the principle was make it mechanically secure first, then add solder to ensure low electrical resistance

That doesn't sound good. What I meant was to braze the joint with with silver solder, not solder it like electrical wire. I got my terms mixed up.

I'm now thinking Pat is on to something. Mechanically clamp it. Is it possible to hit it with the MIG? That seems like it might work after clamping as well.

--Chris

[Edited on 26/8/07 by chrisf]

Mechanical joint is preferable as silver soldering often makes the joint very brittle and will probably snap when you need it most

You can (or used to be able to) buy nipples with a screw to clamp the cable, rather than having to solder them. Or you could solder them as well I suppose.

I have soldered many brake, clutch and throttle cables, during (too) many years of biking. Always used just stick solder, the trick is not in the soldering, its in how the cable is held in the nipple. The hole through the nipple needs to be a good fit on the cable, and the hole should be drilled larger, (countersunk), on the side that the cable terminates at. The cable is passed through the nipple and the core seperated and spread out into the countersink, fluxed and soldered. It is not a good idea to use any method that puts too much heat into the core as they can become brittle, and snap, usually when you need them most. HTH Ray

Heat = brittle = bad mojo.....
Method of failure is as described above.
Enjoy
Mechanical crimping rules with thermal adhesion as a back-up.....

Thanks gents. What did you use for the nipple and how did you mechanically attach it?

--Thanks, Chris

http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=68725
Recent thread on the subject.
Wherever possible, particularly safety critial applications (read BRAKE CABLES!!) solder is secondary or possibly complimentary to a mechanical method (crimping or splaying) of keeping the cable end in the nipple

I've done this successfully by using the following method.

Get a small crucible (I welded a small 30mm piece of 19mm tube to a plate of steel)

Cut the cable to length and put it through the nipple (cable end) then fray the end and pull it back through NOT ALL THE WAY

Dip the end in flux

Put some solder in the crucible and heat with a blowtorch/cooker

Dip the end of the cable and the nipple in the solder and remove

Job done.

HTH







[Edited on 27/8/07 by RoadkillUK]