rcs7 Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Since I haven't posted in several weeks I thought I would ask about some sections of steel cable i picked up a while back. I know it's fairly hard, a hack saw would only scratch it. I'm guessing after working with a section of it today I should probably anneal it before trying to work it. It also seems to be magnetic too since it was picking up filings after cutting off a chunk with the chop saw. There are 7 strands .200" in diameter each. I was hoping to make some handles out of and perhaps a knife at some point. Any ideas or suggestions would be great. Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 If you are going to forge weld it to itself, heat it, twist it open a little, flux, and repeat several times to get it cleaned out down inside, first. I didn't with my first cable knife weld. It didn't totally weld because of some dirt and oil that didn't get cleaned out. Now I heat, twist and flux a couple or three times, first. Now the blade comes out more solid. Also, be careful. IT WILL splatter flux, when hit with the hammer!!. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcs7 Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Thanks, I did try to apply flux, but only to the outside. The other problem i have is keeping it all together without falling into individual pieces. I tried welding the ends, but my arc welder just wants to melt everything which was sorta what I wanted. Did you take the temper out it before welding? Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Russell , sounds like you have some structural cable there. Good stuff! I been working with it this summer and find that it welds pretty easy. If your pieces are long enuff(2'+), ya only need to weld one end to start with. Otherwise just tack the ends a little. Cut the heat back a bit on yer arc welder. 3 heats should weld up a piece about 6", enuff for a blade. Then take it to the anvil and hammer it well while rolling. Hard part is closing up those places between the individual strands. Seems like it takes a little more work than fine stranded cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer3j Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Thanks to Bruce who kindly sent me some sample pieces of cable. I used my aircraft safety wire pliers to bind at the ends. That was before I re-carbureted my generator so I could power up my mig. I did the reverse twist after wiring and dumped the flux in it. A couple of pieces went into an engine block cooker-speed shop relationship from the old days. Bruce sent me one honker with 4 strands of about 3/16 diameter- torch welded the ends on that devil.mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcs7 Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 Sounds like a plan. I do have a few pieces that are more than 2ft long. I could just kick myself for not getting more of it. They had piles of it laying around. There was guy walking around with a monster cutting torch chopping it up into smaller chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 The stuff I have is made by Scanada and hes .89 Carbon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcs7 Posted September 7, 2008 Author Share Posted September 7, 2008 The stuff I picked up was ala Comal Ironworks/scrap yard.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruityloops31 Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 i have been trying to weld some cable together, to say the least i am having a very hard time. Ive only been able to weld a small part of the cable (using 20 mule team borax) and it seemed as if it were only partly welded. i see you mentioned unwinding it and cleaning it up, i will try that. Ive also seen a video on you tube where a guy melts some kind of metal in a crucible and dips the cable in it before welding it? just wondering about that technique and what type of metal it was. (YouTube - Cable forging 002) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateDJ Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 According to the guy in the video it was brass, I have no idea how well it works but it seemed to do ok in the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbob Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 try using anhydrous borax instead of 20 mule team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynjr Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 The way I was taught and did again successfully last night is to heat the cable to red, then clamp one end in you vise and with tongs or visegrips or pliers of some sort, twist the cables tight in the direction they are already twisted. Then place the end you were twisting onto your anvil and lightly hammer the loose ends back together. Wirebrush and return to fire, remove, wirebrush and flux it, return to fire until you see little bubbles forming between the twists. Be sure to twist the cable counterclock wise as you are forge welding it so it does not come apart again. Start at the very end of the cable first to tack it all together. I use 20 mule team when I do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Getting it clean enough can be a problem, some has nylon, manila, etc. for stress strips or cores. Getting the crud out in this case can be a pain. Another method of welding cable is: flux, bring to welding heat and twist it tight in the vise, a few repeats and it's done. Done a couple, few inches at a time of course. Another trick is to hammer weld in a swage so it doesn't spread the wires. Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triw Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 The way I was taught (by a master bladesmith) to weld cable is to either weld the ends or tie them with wire to keep them from fraying out as you hammer them. Also heat to a dull red and tighten the twist of the cable before forge welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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