some of the isssues you have are settled with the type of cable you use i have some prestressing cable that you cant bend and is aprox 1/2 inch in dia. amd then i have used some 1 inch stuff for heavy rigging you could bend into a one foot loop. really depends on the wires the cable is made of ie. ind. dia. within the wire and the matl. the wire is made of. one minor caution the stiff cable i have will air quench to the brittleness of glass so it you weld it plan on quickly stress relieving it with oa torch and insulation to slow the cooling properties. just my .02$