# craftsman cable



## cansnow1 (Jan 6, 2016)

So after the first time I use my Craftsman 14.5 / 27 inch, in the first snow fall , the snow chute deflector cable broke.
I ordered a new one from sears.
My question is can the wire be welded back onto the end piece (which I believe is made of lead) ??
At $ 40 each per cable I don't want to be buying many of these.
It looks to me that the end piece should have hade a better engineered linkage system to the handle.
In the pic you can see that the end piece broke off.

Your thoughts?


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

Maybe. Might want to look this over.


----------



## nt40lanman (Dec 31, 2012)

I assume this isn't brand new and under warranty?

This is why I like old blowers.


----------



## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

I used the drill a hole in wood and solder method for a window regulator on a car and it worked well.

I also replaced a lawnmower cable by drilling a hole in a bolt and then clamping the cable in that hole with the nut.

Home Depot sells the steel cable for about 22 cents per foot if your sheathing is still in tact.


----------



## cansnow1 (Jan 6, 2016)

Kiss4aFrog said:


> Maybe. Might want to look this over.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-gY27LTU2c


Awesome thanks , I will try it. :hope:
For some reason I thought it would be a lot more complicated.


----------



## CO Snow (Dec 8, 2011)

Where did you get the price on the cable? Sears Parts Direct tends to be very expensive. Use that website if needed to get the part number and the use it for an Internet search and make sure to check Amazon and EBay. I bet you'll find it for less.


----------



## dbert (Aug 25, 2013)

When you get it repaired or replaced make sure the adjustments and geometry are correct. If something gets twisted or out of line the cable strands get all the stress instead of the crimped terminal.


----------



## cansnow1 (Jan 6, 2016)

dbert said:


> When you get it repaired or replaced make sure the adjustments and geometry are correct. If something gets twisted or out of line the cable strands get all the stress instead of the crimped terminal.


Yes thank-you. I understand the concept because,I believe, that is what happened.
Unfortunately sears sent me the wrong cable ( as I told her she would).
User manual says part #428273 ... it is the wrong one. 
It doesn't have the right ends to it and it's too short (my piece is aprox. 57 inches long). Her piece has 2 " T " ends to it and is 47 inches long.
She has to speak to some experts to find out what piece goes on my machine. I sent her photos.
I saw a part on repairclinic.com that looks similar but the gentleman I spoke to wasn't sure it would fit ( Part #585271601) from a Husqvarna.
Or part # 1750623 (repair clinic# 2125499 )
The part I need controls the deflector " weldmont ".
I hope I can get the part before the next snowfall :facepalm_zpsdj194qh


----------



## cansnow1 (Jan 6, 2016)

Sooo , the part # 428273 has been replaced by # 585271601 ... This is for my Craftsman model # 944.520661 . It is a Canadian model.
The replacement was fairly easy but a couple too many screws holding the plastic above the lever made it long.
works like new.


----------



## snow2345ffs (Dec 20, 2015)

I saw that donnyboy soldering wire video before, I wouldn't do that but that guy knows his stuff otherwise I'd say. Learned a bunch from him. 

if you own a bunch of machines besides the snowblower, I would maybe invest in a swagger crimper. Mine was $20 from lowes and paid for itself in one repair. True, some of these wires are only like $6 shipped on ebay but I have machines that have specialty wires that have to be made from crimping with ~$3 worth of parts of they have to be bought for like $35 is all I can find. I.e those kinds that have an inline screw type adjuster to adjust the tension. With that, all I have to do is splice the broken wire to new wire with a double sleeve ferrule and I can save the $30 inline screw tensioner, as long as there's a few inches of wire left to work with on the screw tensioner. A few other types of wires I have are not the standard ~$6 free shipping kinds. And I can fix it immediately instead of waiting for delivery. 

Lowes and home depot have wire rope by the foot, costs like $1 or something for a 5 foot piece of what I needed and the ferrules were like 10 for a dollar. 

Usually the wire breaks inside the black outer tubing and you can save the outer black tubing. Sometimes you don't really even need the black outer tubing. Bring the tube to the store and buy the thickest wire that slides freely though it. Grease the wire before putting it in so it's less likely to rust out. Moisture just sits inside the tube. I also seal the ends of the black tubing with a dab of grease to keep water out. if it's a new or used machine I get and the wire's not broken, I dribble oil down the wire and then grease the end to prolong rust occurring.


they also have ones like someone mentioned you can screw down to tighten. These are nice because you can reuse them and adjust them. 


When you crimp it, sometimes you have to lay the new wire near the old broken one and crimp at the same exact length if the machine doesn't have some way to adjust that wire tension once installed. Crimping with a swagger gives you %90 the actual strength of the wire. With the screw-down kinds, if you over tighten them, you compromise the wire strength. or they may slip if you don't tighten them enough. The swagger tool has a slot for each size ferrule to take the guessing out of that. Some people crimp a ferrule with a tool not made specifically for crimping like you see some people do on youtube by hammering them and using pliers etc. Not recommended. 


These are a bit overpriced for a little piece of metal made in china probably at 3 million units per hour or something, but I haven't found them cheap anywhere
Help Dorman 03338 Wire Stops 3 32" Wire Diameter 2 per Auction | eBay
And then it's more for the kind like this that aren't cylindrical like the above version so you can put pliers on it to tighten
02 098 Wire Swivel Stop w Screw 7 03933 7 03934 B1SB267 219 295 295 295 287 | eBay

I had one of the screw downs holding one of my car's throttle wire together before I bought the swagger. Worked great. I bought a length of wire and snaked it from the gas pedal to the engine. The throttle wire originally decided to break while I was driving.


----------



## cansnow1 (Jan 6, 2016)

Thanks fore the info snow234ffs.
I will definitely try this when I get some time , as I paid $80 for the new piece.


----------



## Kiss4aFrog (Nov 3, 2013)

$20 at home depot.
Wish they made a set of slip in jaws for those of us that already own the bolt cutter :huh:

Lehigh Swaging Tool-ST18S - The Home Depot


----------



## snow2345ffs (Dec 20, 2015)

$80 for a cable, ouch. 

I don't think they convert a bolt cutter to a swagger.


I just found my receipt for the one I got at lowes. There was a discrepancy with the item number and price. Webpage showed a ~$20 one and a larger ~$35 one. The item number for the large one in the store was the same as the online ~$35 one but there was no price tag on it, they were like tucked away on the shelf in an unlabeled box. I bought it with intent to use it once and return it and maybe get the $20 later but it rang up as $17. 

I was going to return it because it's kind of taking up space and also whenever I need a cable, I stop by the store to match the correct cable thickness instead of buying a whole bunch of wire to keep on hand because some cables are thicker/thinner I need. And then I can just repeat the cycle and buy and return the swagger as I need it. But I just kept it. I can always return it without a receipt years from now if I want store credit granted the UPC code doesn't become invalid. It will stay looking brand new and the UPC label is heavy plastic.

Worth mentioning though is not all ferrules (the crimp parts) are the same size possibly. I got 1/16" blue hawk ferrules from lowe's "for use with a 1/16" cable". Crimped it in the 1/16 slot on the swagger and it over crimps it but it's still good enough for this application, just a little flattened where the excess metal oozed out the side. I will get a different brand ferrule next time and if it still over crimps it then I know it's the red swagger tool, but I have read nothing about this in the reviews so I'm thinking maybe the blue hawk ferrules are slightly oversized.


----------



## Bob Cat (Jul 15, 2014)

In a pinch you can get a piece of aircraft cable /wire rope or whatever you want to call it and two small Crosby clamps and join them together.


----------



## SweetD (Dec 6, 2013)

Man Donyboy knows his stuff. That was a cool video!

Good luck OP with your fix.


----------



## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

For missing ends, you can check this out: 
McMaster-Carr

I bought a couple of them to have on hand and they do look good. You need a clean cut on the end to add them.


----------

