How to make a simple Cable End Mold.

this should definitely be a sticky especially for those who like to Diy. I think im going to make me one of those for each end, like for the end going into the carb for the throttle cable. nice way of fixing a pain in the a$$ problem
 
for sure i would love to be able to adjust the throttle length add a brake noodle or simlpy make one from good cable material
 
Wow, that's great. I was just working on a yard equipment that uses a bike motor carb, and I've been having trouble with getting the right lenght of cable and keeping the cable from slipping in crimps. I thought I would just have to wait and order another of those clutch cable ends, but this looks cool. I can make one of these when I find a piece of aluminum scrap in my bin.

This is a good idea for making extra long throttle cables. I used a gear cable and ground the ball to fit the carb slide, but have to make one of these cable ends now. great! :-||
 
Hmm, I'll try that! I can easily get a brake cable to length for my project, and just size it by using your technique to make the carb-side cable end. Thanks! That sounds way easier than making the big ball end. The throttle cable doesn't have to have huge strength, just needs to stay put or that end might suck into the motor!

flybytaco said:
baird i like your brain lol. you know what works good for the end of a trottle cable the end in the slide
? take a red loop from a electrical kit strip the plastic off and solder it to end of cable and cut off the loop and file the end nice n smooth
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Though I love DIY solutions and this is a year old topic do any of you know know where I can buy a machine and the ends to make my own cables like a throttle with a connector on each end?

I have a cable cutter and most everything only has the big end so I can handle that with ease and can get the cables cheap but it's that damn small end on on the carb cable that gets me.

I actually had good luck just using a cable end knobby but not quite the quality standrd or flexibility I need.
 
KCvale said:
Though I love DIY solutions and this is a year old topic do any of you know know where I can buy a machine and the ends to make my own cables like a throttle with a connector on each end?

I have a cable cutter and most everything only has the big end so I can handle that with ease and can get the cables cheap but it's that damn small end on on the carb cable that gets me.

I actually had good luck just using a cable end knobby but not quite the quality standrd or flexibility I need.
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The ultralight aircraft vendors sell small cable ferrules that are soldered or swaged onto the end of throttle cables, to fit slide carbs. I've built several in the past, with the solder method. You can prolly make your own ferrules from some small dia. brass tubing from a hobbyshop.
 
wayne z said:
You can prolly make your own ferrules from some small dia. brass tubing from a hobbyshop.
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Actually I am looking for some sort of 'waffle iron' type machine that will heat and bond whatever size lead cable end I care to put on the cable where I want it, and of course those blank ends I'll need like the barrels for levers and the little throttle/choke ones.

Handlebar Cable Matching is a real pet peeve of mine. 'Spilled Spaghetti' looking front cables especially when there are over 5 just don't make the cut with me.

(1/2 an hour of late night thought later...)

I have a waffle iron I don't use.
With some cable ends, tooling a new iron mold, and all I need is a supply of the ends.
This could work ;-}
 
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I am still using that cable that I soldered the crimp-connector onto. It has held up over more than 500 miles. I used a "red" crimp connector with the loop/eye on it, held by a pair of needle nose pliers as I soldered it in place (marked cable with a sharpie first). I clipped the loop off with cable cutters, but that could be used for other applications such as home-made levers. I had to file it quite a bit to get it to sink into the carburetor lever pivot. (What's the name for that?) I made it so it was pulled tight by the cable and does not move freely, but is pressed into place. I have taken it out a couple times with the pliers, for carb upgrades (boost bottle project), and it still fit tightly and stayed put.

One I made on another bike, from a brass tube that came from an ink pen, has also held up well, used with a v-brake lever. I heated the tube until all the ink burned off or dripped out, and assembled it similarly to the crimp connector one. It did not require much filing, and is held in place by cable tension.

For simply making cable ends to prevent fraying, and not to relay tension, you can crimp old spoke nipples onto the cables, or solder them on.
 
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That is nice, there are some jigs to make fishing weights that work kinda the same way (split press on weights)
 
Clever Rob, there is usually always a way 'to make go' with whatever I can find around the shop here too and dandy for my personal ride, just not the solution for customer builds so I am still searching for the right tool and blanks.
 
my kid brothers chevy pickup needed a custom length e-brake cable.
i bored a hole in a piece of bar steel,and countersunk one end,slid cable in and tack-welded it with my mig welder.works perfect.
i have done the same with throttle cables too.works great.
never thought about lead.
will have to make something and try it.
also,bending a short hook in the cable may be better than fraying the end.
 
I worked for an elevator company in the late '60s. The pieces that bolt to the elevator "cab" and counterweights are tapered where the cable goes in. It's close to a 2-1. We would pull the cable through, separate the strands, and bend them back on themselves, pull it back into the wide end, doubled. Then we filled it with babbit. Our needs are not as great as the elevator in that they are built so they can't fail at that point.
What I take from that experance is that if we could/would just spread our cable strands at the point of solder, it would make it even more difficult for the cable to pull out. It would require an untwisting of the cable where you are soldering.

That's a great tool you built, bairdco!
 
I made a cheap mold out of aluminum Mardi Gras doubloons. I took 4 doubloons and super glued them together cut a groove to lay the cable in & drilled a hole down to the 3rd doubloon. Works great & the thing fits in my shirt pocket.
 
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