Brazing Stainless Steel

[Beltzington]

I need to attach a terminal lug to the end of a new 1/2" winch cable and the end result should be as pictured. Any concerns with brazing the lug on with a brass rod? Can I just use my cutting torch (sans blast) to heat it up without damaging the cable? It has been 35 years since I last brazed so I won't be insulted with the basics. Thanks.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Why not just crimp it on like in the photo. Depending on the amount of force being exerted on it, that should work. I think if I were to try brazing, I would use silver solder to do it rather than brass. I think it would adhere better to the SS cable.

 

[Beltzington]

Why not just crimp it on like in the photo. Depending on the amount of force being exerted on it, that should work. I think if I were to try brazing, I would use silver solder to do it rather than brass. I think it would adhere better to the SS cable.

Crimpers for this size lugs AWG 4/0 run over $100, based on my research simply crushing the lug with a vise or hammer does not provide a reliable connection.

 

[Shield Arc]

I've been involved in putting eyes on wire rope. But the wire rope was 3-inches in diameter. We slide the eye on the wire rope. Unwrapped the strands of the wire rope. Had a mold that went around the wire rope. Then we poured an epoxy resin in the mold. This was for the anchor wires on floating bridges.

 

[Rock knocker]

I need to attach a terminal lug to the end of a new 1/2" winch cable and the end result should be as pictured. Any concerns with brazing the lug on with a brass rod? Can I just use my cutting torch (sans blast) to heat it up without damaging the cable? It has been 35 years since I last brazed so I won't be insulted with the basics. Thanks.

That lug looks to be an electrical fitting. Why do you need it?

 

[Rock knocker]

Had a mold that went around the wire rope. Then we poured an epoxy resin in the mold.

I'm sure you know those are called spelter sockets, and can be zinc, babbit or epoxy. I grabbed one that Ben at Sunnen Crane in Tacoma had just poured, you don't want to do that.

 

[Shield Arc]

I never did a lot of that kind of work.
Sunnen Cranes. A good friend of mine worked at Sunnen for years. His dad was a crane operator for them. One day he turned a hydraulic crane over. The out rigger beams held the crane up in the air. When dad climbed out of the crane, and got on the ground the hydraulic cylinders inside the out rigger beams failed, and the crane fell on him. Killed him!

 

[Beltzington]

That lug looks to be an electrical fitting. Why do you need it?

Used to attach the cable to the spool to start first wrap, the tension of the cable over the first wrap keeps the cable on the spool during a pull not the lug. Even so, I believe it will take a good connection to get that first wrap tight on the spool, it is 1/2" wire rope we are talking about.

 

[Shield Arc]

the tension of the cable over the first wrap keeps the cable on the spool during a pull not the lug.

The marine construction company I worked for, had a policy of leaving no less than 5 wraps of wire rope on the drum.

 

[Gordon Gould]

There must be a threaded bolt hole to attach the lug. Could you just make ( or buy) a cable clamp that bolts into the same hole to do the same thing ?? Or stick the cable thru the hole and put a clamp around it on the inside of the drum. That is how it is often done.

gg