See post #22 for silver solder and flux that work fine.

I use Stay-Brite silver solder Amazon.com : stay-brite solder

Wow... that stuff is expensive! I don't know what I paid for mine, but at 1/8" and 3 ounces, there's not a lot of silver there.
I bought it for some plumbing projects many years ago, and I still have plenty left.
That said, I don't know why regular "lead/tin" solder couldn't be used for this. According to the Web, Pb/Sn solder can bond to stainless steel if a strong flux is used to overcome the oxide barrier layer (same applies to silver solder). Sn (tin) may also have an adverse effect on stainless steel, but this would probably be negligible on cable ends.

There isn't just one type of silver solder, there are different grades with different silver content and melting point, also flux cored and flux coated as well as those requiring additional flux.

What am I missing? Cable end crimps are $0.06/ea.

Someone pointed out that a cable with a nicely-soldered end can be removed and easily re-introduced into the housing.
Not sure how often that needs to happen, based on my limited experience.

True. Also true:

A crimped-on cable end can be gently crimped at 90 degrees to the original crimp, slid off the cable, and then, after the repair is done, slid back on and recrimped.

Hey, and lighter than a crimp-on tip! Save, what, .07g?

There's a bottle of 500, nine cents each...

i saw some others offered at 30 cents each, in a lot of ten... multiple outlets, some of which also asked for shipping.
saw these on Ebay just now... 53 cents each, roughly.. "50pcs Bike Cable End Caps, Black Bicycle Cable Ends Crimps, Bike black（50pcs）US $26.57
last time i restocked, i bought 1000 decent ones at about 1.5 cents each.

there are some even cheaper, but my fingers kept smushing the ridiculously flimsy things just trying to slip them onto the cables, and they refused to stay put once crimped...
rolled aluminum foil would have worked better.
i recycled them.

not everyone wants a thousand end crimps at once.

soldering control cables is not a time-viable option in a busy shop... and solder doesn't stick to Stainless cables well.
i've also fought to get "just the right amount" on a cable... too much sees you just re-heating and removing the excess...

as to the mention of removing /re-using cables... it happens during various repairs, Painting Frames, and general parts replacements.
a well clipped/crimp-covered end can be re-inserted.
bypass cutters mangle the very end of the strands, IME.
i use premium 8" side cutters, exclusively.

Glad I've never had those problems.

Though sometimes I'll use a new one instead of reusing one after servicing the cable. I bought a pack of 100 for $6 several years ago.

they were the plain straight tube style, and should be avoided.

Back in the early 80's I soldered the ends. Now since I'm using stainless and the slippery cables, I just use the crimp on cable ends. If I need to remove the cable and plan on re-inserting it, I just cut it near the crimp.

One other thing that I did try is using wiring ferrules. I was working for a machine builder. We use stranded wire on projects. The old solution would be to dip the wire end in a solder pot or leave the end loose. While that may be quick, both techniques have their problems. Nowadays the preferred method to gather up and secure the end of the stranded wire is to use a ferrule and crimper. The better crimpers have dies on four or six sides and put a series of crimps down sides of the ferrule. I tried this on my Lambert and it works good.



A kit with the crimp tool and an assortment of ferrules is about $35 US. Automation Direct sells 500 pieces of 16awg ferrules for $8.75 in either red or black. That is not bad if you decide to commit to this. For me, I'm still sticking to the crimp on cable ends. But if I get a kit for home, things could change. This could work for a bike shop or co-op.

We replace hundreds of new cables per month. We are not going to break out a torch or soldering iron each time we need to trim and cap a cable.

We buy a very nice crimp end by the 1,000's at less then $.02 each (shipped), quick and easy to install with a very solid set of electrical crimp pliers. it's done, no fuss, no muss and nobody gets burned. Quick and easy

When I experiment with cable routing, I may take the cable out of its housing 10 times per evening. If the end is soldered, it is a bread-and-butter operation. If it is not, I may succeed once, provided I take a lot of care. I solder all ends as a matter of principle, because you might not be able to do it later once the end starts to fray, and I never know where I might experiment next. Moreover, after you have practiced, it takes no more time than crimping, and you may start to deem crimping pointless.

You can reduce the blob by gently tapping it all around between two hammers. This also removes residual flux if the sort you use dries hard. I'm not sure why I know that, it must have been a slow day.

A popular YouTuber showed cable end welding recently:

The result actually looked quite good. I never buy double sided cables because single sided have such a smoother end for going through the housing than home cut cables, but this seems like a nice way to get the same as long as you have the equipment.

Personally, I started with crimp on, had them slip off too many times when fiddling with things like removing and replacing the cable anchor nut in my Shimano Nexus roller brake, then moved on to the Yokozuna two piece screw on ends. For whatever reason, even when just hand tight, they seem to stick on the end better for me than crimped ends. Stronger than I can pull off without unscrewing the two pieces.

Entirely possible I crimp wrong, though. I've done it so hard I cut the cable before even though I'm using the crimping hole in my cable cutters, so it's always tough to tell.

If it's (un-)gentle enough to deform the solder, it's un-gentle enough to break the internal bonds between the strands and the solder.

It looked solid, it stayed together. Probably depends on what you use for solder, and no, I don't recall what that was - it was the stuff they used for 753.

Flicking the end of the cable before the solder solidifies gets rid of the excess. I use s screwdriver to deliver a little "whack" to the cable end.

And if it chills before the whack, just re-heat with whatever heat source you used to do the soldering. Job best done with excess cable still waiting to be cut off BTW. Securing those tiny wire filaments first leaves a clean end once excess has been parted from the rest.

I've done this for years, the crimp-on ends weren't something I had access to until a couple years ago. Solder & suitable torch? Since grade school days half a century ago.

I do like the look of this -


- but not enough to justify the expense of yet another single-purpose tool at this point.

As posted earlier, lead-free plumbing solder may or may not be silver-bearing.

Even the cheaper tin+antimony alloy costs more than the old lead+tin alloy but ought to still work on bike cables if used with proper flux. One doesn't need silver alloy to do a decent job of it but it does look pretty once you're done.

Any decent hardware store ought to stock suitable products among their plumbing or metalworking products. Look for metal-repair types; solder meant for electrical work likely uses a different flux that doesn't work as well on non-electrical components.

Expect to pay around US$15 for enough to solder maybe 200 cables, more if you're careful about it. If you don't already own a propane or butane torch, look for the cheap grill lighter things -

- with a trigger and long 'neck' and a small, pencil-tip size flame. Those work just as well for smallish metalworking stuff like this.