Help with cable damascus

[ydduit]

I have searched all of the posts on the about cable damascus but am left with one question unanswered. how do i go about prepairing rusty cable to make damascus? Does all the rust have to be removed before i can forge weld? if so, how do i accomplish this task on the interior of the cable?????Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Y.D.

 

[Allen Blade]

Hello,

Why not just go to a Rigger supply house and Buy some new " Extra Extra Improved Plow Steel Cable" ? Cost is minimal, like a couple bucks a foot or so.

Also this way you know what your getting.

The cable you decribed as RUSTY might not even be a suitable cable to use for Cable Damascus,,,just a thought for you.

To answer your Question,,its hard to do since i always have used Virgin Stock, Cable,Steel bar,ect.. it just Alleviates the Work it usally Takes to prepare pre used material to be acceptable for use.

My .02

Allen

 

[Edward R Schott]

I have used rusty cable and it's worked fine.
I use a mix of borax and water.
just get the water boiling and add borax till the mix wont take any more/ IE wont dissolve.
Heat the cable to a dull red and dip it in the mix.
Don't leave it in to long you want it to dry FAST.
It gets inside and will clean the rust out.
I'M not an expert on cable but this has worked for me.


------------------
Edward Randall Schott
Knifemaker
EdwardRSchott@aol.com

www.angelfire.com/ct/schottknives/

 

[DCK8]

arc weld both ends of the cable put in forge ,get it hot and untwist it, brush out real good you will see the rust fal out,reheat if needed and roll it back up real tight and your ready to weld,this is the way i do it i have had problems in thre past with rusty cable until i started doing this