random advice

[junker]

while old steel cable my seem like a good option to use for raw, low carbon, material... DON'T... when i heated it to between white and yellow and then hit it with a hammer, the thing EXPLODED!... took my 4ever to pick the little fibrous pieces out of my hand... and the hot pieces started lots 'o' little fires that took quite a quick step to put out:(

[unkle spike]

White and Yellow A little hot for working cable, especially at the start of forging. You need to first work it into a tight bundle by twisting and hammering, getting an even heat throughout the bundle before it is "gathered up" would be hard. The outside threads would heat faster before the center causing the splat when you hit it.

I am sure some more cable saavy smiths will jump in. Just my initial thoughts.

[easilyconfused]

Proper cleaning of the cable is important too so you don't have pockets of gas from grease and oil burning as well as that squirting everywhere.
I haven't worked cable but I remember seeing in a tutorial on one of the bladesmithing forums that it's easier to make the first weld or two by twisting and not with the hammer. Less missed welds because they squirt past. Anyone tried it to comment?

[Bentiron1946]

WOW! I bet that was more fun then a room full of first graders with hammers!:D

[junker]

scary****** and painfull to boot... my kinda fun :D:D

Edited April 20, 2009 by steve sells
Language violation

[Charlotte]

scary ***** and painfull to boot... my kinda fun :D:D

Hmmm, well usually when welding cable I tack the out board end to prevent it from un-raveling and tack the inbord end to a handy piece of half inch or what ever I have handy.

The next step is to heat into the red. When it gets red through out I slap it against the side of the anvil to get all the dirt and gunk out. I do this two three times.

Then I bathe that cable in twenty mule team, heat, reflux, twist as tight as seems reasonable with the tongs, bring to welding heat and begin coaxing it graduly with the twist. When it starts feel like it is compacting then I re heat reflux and start hitting with a little more vigor.

A couple of times and it beccomes a routine.

I suggest that you make a nail header instead and forge about a hundred or so nails before worrying about welding cable.

You need to hit soft and in direction to make it work right. Edited April 20, 2009 by steve sells
language in quote

[junker]

wasn't really trying to make anything... just screwing around... thinking back, not the greatest of ideas on my part... and i've had some BAD ones

[Reid Neilsen]

Ive never worked with cable...hmmm....perhaps I wont...;)

[781]

When planning to forge cable the first thing I do is check to see if the center is fiber instead of steel.
If fiber I take the cable apart
I sometimes take multible strands of the cable pieces wiring them into a larger bundle than the original cable. This bundle looks strange as I just lay multiple strands next to each other and dont try to put them back into the original cable shape. I use 3 or 4 times the original strands.

When ever I weld cable I use a half round bottom swage to support the bundle. I weld into a round bar then forge into flat stock. Sometimes after the welds are made and when it is still round I twist the bar some clock some counter clock.

I dont take the cable to white
Bring it up to orange remove the air flow to let the center catch up
Make the first blows light you can feel the bar get solid then hit harder.
This is the same if using a hand hammer or power hammer. Cable is always mushy when first starting to weld

I use anhydrous boarax from a chemical wholesaler it doesnt foam up and fall off.

[Charlotte]

Just a quick comment: Cable welding is fun once you get a handle on it.

Before I got a half round swage I used the step on my angle.

Anhydrous is better than Twenty Mule team, but a little harder to replace so I use twenty for non critical welds.