Home clutch cable swaging with hydraulic crimps?

[KemppiFrog]

I went ahead and machined a ferrule to fit my hydraulic crimps. Here's a test fit on some scrap cable It looks good. I'd like to test it... can you think of some way to test it?

View attachment 320609

Back in the days when I used to rebuild aircraft, we tested the flight control cables after swaging them (and you really don't want those to let go...)
by laying them down on an RSJ with one end held, then using a lever arm to multiply a set load on the other. If you look at the cable specs on the site I linked, it gives the SWL, so you want your swage to be good up to that load. OK, it for a non critical situation, but the principal is the same.
What did you make the ferrule out of?
Just looked and let's say it is 3mm 7x7 cable/ SWL is about 85kg (sounds a bit low?) so if you can hang on it , OK.

 

[rcx132]

that crimp does not look to be fit for purpose.

Thanks! The hole is very tight around the cable but I think theres an issue with the cheap dies that don't enclose the ferrule and therefore it only gets squashed from two sides. It might be good enough for the job though.

What did you make the ferrule out of?

Initially from high carbon steel but then I thought I should use something softer that will mould into the grain of the cable. So made another from mild steel and used that for the test joint.

 

[Screwdriver]

I agree that that crimp does not look to be fit for purpose.

Thanks!

You're welcome.

 

[zeppelin builder]

nothing wrong with brass nipple and cable splayed and soldered with tinmans solder
wouldnt silver solder it it would soften
the bowden wire

 

[brightspark]

nothing wrong with brass nipple and cable splayed and soldered with tinmans solder
wouldnt silver solder it it would soften
the bowden wire

i always made my own cables up using that method on motobike . splayed it out a blob of solder in middle then twisted the splayed wire back to form like an onion heated and flux and solder and pulled it in to the nipple then ground the excess off never had one fail yet

 

[mtt.tr]

I tend to solder them

Flare the wire solder being careful to not kill the wire

 

[anto44]

I used one of these years ago to limp a car home after the end snapped off the clutch cable, managed to make it about 100 miles to home.

 

[rcx132]

FYI I put the test cable in a vice and tried to pull the swage off with a claw hammer. It wouldn't come off, so the lesson is that a small ferrule made on a lathe and pressed on with low cost Chinese hydraulic crimp designed for electrical cables can do the job.