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How to make one of these cables?
Wig
Posts: 14,139 Forumite
I have a special grasscutter bm875 ii that has cables like this on it.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bowdenzug-Messerantrieb-passend-AL-KO-Balkenmaher-BM-875-II-407392-/300912806657
The UK list price for this cable is about £37 which is crazy pricing.
BTW Don't buy one of these machines, it cuts the grass, but it has so many design faults I cannot recommend it.
One of the design faults is that you cannot put the cables onto the machine with the adjuster nuts on either side of the bracket so you can't tighten the cable securely onto the bracket in the position you want it in. All you can do is use the 2 nuts at either end and lock them together in a postion on the thread adjuster which gives you the correct tension when the cable is tightened. This means that the ends are loose and subject to fatigue failure. On my machine this has lead to the cable end with the "S shaped bend" shown on the right hand side of the picture...the M5 thread bit has now broken in half. It's still useable but not ideal.
One way to solve the problem would be to cut the gap in the securing bracket bigger so that the M5 bolt can pass through, then the nuts can be on either side of the bracket when fitted.....at the moment the bracket slot is only big enough to pass the cable through (2mm) ... Also the bracket at the "S shaped end" only has a hole 'O' with no slot to pass the cable or the bolt through, so the nuts remain on one side (like I said) so at this end a 5mm slot would have to be cut to meet with the circle.
Another way to solve the problem would be to leave the brackets alone and cut 2mm slot into 4 x M5 nuts. Then 2 nuts can be passesd over the cable (2mm) and then brought down the other side of the bracket at each end to be tightened up. This is what I will be doing.
But I am also trying to come up with an idea of making a new. more robust, cable myself...seeing as how the M5 thread bit has now snapped... but I would need new hollow threaded ends and preferably I would use bigger threads to make it more robust like M7 or M8 threads. I would need some 3mm cable. And I would need to somehow finish the cable ends. This one has bits of metal moulded onto the ends, I can't do that so I would have to fashion some sort of clamp end that screws onto the cable.
So if anyone knows where to find cable kits online...? But will probably be too expensive.
Also I'm looking into ways of doing away with the cable all together. Like using a clamp for this cables function, but that would be tiresome clamping and re-clamping. I'm just looking for the holy grail of simplistic solutions to these darned cables.
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bowdenzug-Messerantrieb-passend-AL-KO-Balkenmaher-BM-875-II-407392-/300912806657
The UK list price for this cable is about £37 which is crazy pricing.
BTW Don't buy one of these machines, it cuts the grass, but it has so many design faults I cannot recommend it.
One of the design faults is that you cannot put the cables onto the machine with the adjuster nuts on either side of the bracket so you can't tighten the cable securely onto the bracket in the position you want it in. All you can do is use the 2 nuts at either end and lock them together in a postion on the thread adjuster which gives you the correct tension when the cable is tightened. This means that the ends are loose and subject to fatigue failure. On my machine this has lead to the cable end with the "S shaped bend" shown on the right hand side of the picture...the M5 thread bit has now broken in half. It's still useable but not ideal.
One way to solve the problem would be to cut the gap in the securing bracket bigger so that the M5 bolt can pass through, then the nuts can be on either side of the bracket when fitted.....at the moment the bracket slot is only big enough to pass the cable through (2mm) ... Also the bracket at the "S shaped end" only has a hole 'O' with no slot to pass the cable or the bolt through, so the nuts remain on one side (like I said) so at this end a 5mm slot would have to be cut to meet with the circle.
Another way to solve the problem would be to leave the brackets alone and cut 2mm slot into 4 x M5 nuts. Then 2 nuts can be passesd over the cable (2mm) and then brought down the other side of the bracket at each end to be tightened up. This is what I will be doing.
But I am also trying to come up with an idea of making a new. more robust, cable myself...seeing as how the M5 thread bit has now snapped... but I would need new hollow threaded ends and preferably I would use bigger threads to make it more robust like M7 or M8 threads. I would need some 3mm cable. And I would need to somehow finish the cable ends. This one has bits of metal moulded onto the ends, I can't do that so I would have to fashion some sort of clamp end that screws onto the cable.
So if anyone knows where to find cable kits online...? But will probably be too expensive.
Also I'm looking into ways of doing away with the cable all together. Like using a clamp for this cables function, but that would be tiresome clamping and re-clamping. I'm just looking for the holy grail of simplistic solutions to these darned cables.
0
Comments
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just buy a normal lawn mower like everyone elseI'm only here while I wait for Corrie to start.
You get no BS from me & if I think you are wrong I WILL tell you.0 -
You're obviously very wise LOL :rotfl:southcoastrgi wrote: »just buy a normal lawn mower like everyone else
My grass is twice as tall as this guy's .... = 1.3m
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AYSxWzJKS00 -
You should be able to find Bowden Cable makers around the Classic Bike /Scooter scene . And probably split adjusters , definitely solderless nipples ( used on the Lambretta gear shift)0
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Just what I was going to say.I can afford anything that I want.
Just so long as I don't want much.0 -
Now I know they're called bowden cables I am halfway to getting what I need. Thankyou.0
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This site looked really promising till I realised they are in California.
http://www.flanderscables.com
I haven't found a UK site as comprehensive as this one yet.0
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