building basics
2
Starting the Wrap
Not having a cable vise, I made one from a small set of
model 6SP vise grips with the swiveling pads. I drove
out the rivets to remove the pads and then ground
the ends to match the angle of a thimble. Using the
existing holes, I put in a short AN- 3 bolt with washers
on each side of the jaws. This worked well to capture
and center the cable and thimble in the jaws. As seen
in the pictures, I made a small wooden block that fits
the inside profile of the jaws. This acts as a backup to
prevent the thimble from moving back when clamping.
Cut it long and sand it down until the thimble protrudes
a little out the front side of the jaws when securely
clamped with the cable in place.
I tried wrapping using just the cable vise but had
trouble starting the wrap with the loose ends of the cable
being so flexible. I took another set of the miniature
vise grips, ground out the serrations, and ground in two
small recesses to capture and clamp the short end of the
cable to the long. I clamp these on about 3/4 inch out
from the thimble end. This makes for a rigid assembly
and a much easier start to the wrapping process.
Having only some 1917 pictures that I found on the
Internet and Andrew’s advice to guide me, I experimented
with the process. I read a couple of excerpts from newer
articles saying how dangerous these soldered fittings can
be. This raised my engineering hackles a bit. I needed
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