suspension cable

B

birdog4

Joined
Jan 21, 2000
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Anyone ever used this for damascus??
7 strand, 5/8" round , individual strands are prit near 1/4".
 

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Is that post tensioning cable?I have a bunch of that stuff it gets pretty hard in an oil quench.
 
I guy used to work has made some knife blades using oil rig cables. they turned into a unique knife!
 
Suspension cable is a great cable to forge, it's equal to about 1070 and should be quenched in a fast oil. (some old #50 quench or even Corn/Vegtable Oil) Dont forget to twist it even more though when you forge it. bring it to a bright cherry, stick it in a vice and use a pipe wrench, channel locks, or vice grips. to twist it even tighter. It's important to twist in the same direction it's already going. This makes a for a denser cable to start with.
 
JS have you ever tried any san mai with it? Weld OK? I thought this would make some great mixed blades.
 
The company just sent an eamail with the analysis and it runs from .86-.89 C. woohoo!
 
Where can suspension cable be purchased from?
 
wow 1085/1090 cable SWEET! I believe thats called XXX Improved Plow Share Cable.
I can honestly say no I havent ever done any san mai anything. Ariel Salveria has though and he would be the guy to talk to. he posts on here quite a bit and he also has a website

I forge it like this... with 5/8's thick I'll use 3 pieces of cable and weld them together in a triangle shape (2 pieces on the bottom and 1 on top) with a stick welder. Bring it up to a bright cherry, twist it, bring it back up to same color twist it again, then forge weld it together into a square shape. Normalize. Now forge it at a much lower temp (bright cherry as opposed to the bright yellow welding temp) forge to shape. normailze and then anneal in vermiculite over night. Once done it should give you a billet about 1/8" - 5/32" thick and 1.5" - 2" wide. Be preared for ALOT of scale especially in a Coal Forge. it'll be easy on your belts though and some time on a Surface Grinder will make it into a nice even billet. Etch for 8-12 hours in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and pure lemon juice. or also if you have it at your local radio shack get some ferric chloride acid. that'll only require about 1 hour in the proper ratio.

Forgot to mention set your cable down in a bucket of clean kerosene for a few days pull it out and be amazed at the grease and junk floating in it. Cable is usually a very dirty product.

JLL346 you can buy it here

Jason
 
This specific cable came off a construction job as scrap. I believe it is imported from Europe.
here is the chemical analysis I found.
C .86-.89
Si .250-260
Mn .620-.670
P.010-.019
S .009-.020
Cr .012-.016
plus trace elements
Mete, any comments on this? Thanks
 
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