Flex cable for a newbie

[Azmarine]

So I'm building a 54" drambuie, I was wondering, do I have to prep the end of the flex cable that goes into the collet? Like solder or epoxy so as to provide some rigidity to clamp on to? Ill be using Hughey 1/4" flex

[KartRacer]

Azmarine
I did not prep the cable on my DF Pirate, had an incident and the drive slipped out, by the time I was able to recover the boat, (10 minutes) that huge 1/4 inch hole in the back filled the hull with water. I am finishing the install of the new drive assembly which will include soldering the end of the drive cable, suggested on this forum from one of the very experienced people on here and I will also add a retaining device to the cable between the coupler and stuffing tube. Just some insurance. Good luck with the Drambuie.

[Azmarine]

Sounds good I've got some cable collars on the way already, but how do I solder it with a torch and 15% silver or can it be done with a simple iron and solder?

[KartRacer]

Sounds good I've got some cable collars on the way already, but how do I solder it with a torch and 15% silver or can it be done with a simple iron and solder?

Kind of doubt that an iron will get it hot enough but I will try it first. I used a stained glass iron, I think it's 85 watts.

[Azmarine]

Yeah let me know thanks

[BHChieftain]

I solder the flex end after I cut it, but this is to help keep the cable from unwrapping vs. helping the collet grip... if you are using a clamping collet then it does not need any help. If you are using the type that uses set screws, then it does help.

You have the get the flex cable end really clean and degreased to get the solder to stick, so if you are gonna do it, then do it when the cable is new. I soak/scrub the cable end with dishwashing soap, then acetone. I use a 240W solder gun, but an 85W iron with a wide tip should also work fine. If I have trouble getting the shaft into the collet after the solder, then I sand it down a bit.
Chief

[JonD]

I always file/sand off the solder on the outside of the flex shaft that I have soldered and cut to length, until it is back to the steel of the flex coil. If you leave it so that the motor collet clamps down on the soft solder then it will likely start slipping after a short while as the solder compresses under the clamping force of the collet. Much better for the collet to be gripping against steel than soft solder.

[Azmarine]

So basically making it look like a candy cow tail solder in the center?

[JonD]

So basically making it look like a candy cow tail solder in the center?

Ehhh.....if I'm understanding you right, I think so.

[Azmarine]

They are caramel tubes with creme filling. So solder so its on the inside and out, then file till it shows metal again. So it grips the metal and the metal squeezes the solder? Like a fist pack gripping a roll of dimes, forgive my analogies but I understand things much better visually

[KartRacer]

Excellent point none, thanks for posting!