Wire rope question

Sep 26, 2005 6 Replies

I made up a wire rope cable to put across a driveway. One end was already looped with a thimble and ferrule.



On the other end, I was trying to cut the cable with some good bolt cutters, but couldn't get it good enough to fit through the tight ferrule.



Am I missing something?



Do I need to put solder on the wire rope, then cut it with a grinding wheel to get a nice enough end to put through the ferrule? I am using the ferrule that has room for two cables in it, and they fit tight. If there is ANY frayed wires, it won't go through.



Do I need a better pair of bolt cutters? Mine is American and good, but it just smashes them down. This is pretty tough cable, and has several strands around an inner spiraled core strand. It is 1/4".



Suggestions?



Steve


You *might* be able to cut it with a very fine toothed hacksaw, or you can cut it with a dremel tool or die grinder with a cutoff wheel.

Any of these will be a cheaper than a proper cable cutter.

Best regards, Bob

Wrap it with duct tape first

buggers to cut... I If you have a friendly hardware store you could carry cable in and they have a cable cutter, usually tied down near thier cable selling area. Any HW store that is worth their salt will do it for free... especially if they know your face.. (or slip it into Home Depot and use theirs... there is never anyone out on the floor there anyway so who would be there to object.)

Or use a crosby clip instead of a ferrule.

You need cable cutters:

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Cable cutters won't crush the cable.

Rich

I'd wrap it with electrical tape, cut it with a hack saw or with a cut off wheel on a die grinder. Then I'd use a Crosby to secure it.

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