On 01 Jul 2006, Dorothy Bradbury
wrote:

It sounds like you are trying to sheath cables?
o Use expanding nylon braid for around the cables
---- expands as large as you want

Is there some way to stop this braid siding off the joint. It sounds
as if it is in the right ball-park but I don't want it to slide of a
frequently flexed joint such as one I made on my mic cable.

o Use adhesive lined heatshrink for the ends only
---- glue melts into the braiding to stop it coming apart
---- plain heatshrink can slide off the braiding

That will retain flexibility except around the adhesive
lined heatshrink ends which will be a bit rigid. That can
be minimised by using very short pieces of heatshrink,
since it is the glue that seals the nylon braiding together.

SOmeone esle mentioned this too. Where on the net can I see see and
get it from?


Spiral wrap comes in several sizes - small o.d. to large o.d.,
the large o.d. is useful re cables exiting everywhere (5.25").

My need is for a single cable and not to tidily group several cables
together.

Self amalgamating tape is for outside applications really.
It is not really suited here, it can make a right mess.

Try to aim for 3:1 low temp heatshrink vs 2:1 high temp.
Quality heatshrink costs a little more, but is worth it.

Uh oh. This is clever stuff. I havd never though of a ratio of
normal to shrunk dimensions.

Once the heat-shrink has shrunk does it exert a force/tension or does
it shirnk to a new reduced dimension but without any significant
grip? IYSWIM.


Alternatively use...
o More cable ties along the cable to keep wires bundled more
o Velcro cable fasteners to bundle cables up as needed

Most supermarkets carry pk5-6 velcro cable ties for 79-99p.
They work well re not damaging cables, easily undone/redone.

I used to love the velcro ties. Now I prefer those green plastic
plant ties with the long oblong hole which can be undone with a
single tug.


To join wires - spiral-bare-ends-into-one-another vs overlap-twist,
it results in a better connection, less sharp points thro
heatshrink.

Interesting to see you make a distinction. However I can not quite
see the difference between the two methods you decribe. Is "spiral-
bare-ends" where I bare the end of the wire, twist it so the strands
are spiralled together and then, um, how do I do "into one another"?

Presumably "overlap-twist" is where the bared end of the wire are
each not spiralled together to start with. And then I take the two
bared ends and twist them together. Is that correct? Is this with
the insulated portion of the cables side by side or with each
insulated port of cable on opposing sides before the twisting
together?

Note very large heatshrink will readily split on any sharp objects,
and becomes rigidised (shrink increases wall thickness), so it is
far better to use nylon braiding than heatshrink for sleeving.