Funny, I was just looking into this. Suggest you poke around the Web site
http://www.csjohnson.com and find their "catalog request" page where you can
download their architectural hardware catalog as PDF. In there they explain in
great detail all about small wire rope and it's end fittings.

It should have been swaged on using a roller die.

You can buy mechanical fittings that go on with regular hand tools. These are
more expensive, but they develop 100% of the wire rope strength. Or, you can
have McMaster-Carr make you up your assembly.

GWE

Robert Latest wrote:
Hi folks,

I'm having to fix a steel cable (1/8" dia) to a small metal ball (1/4")
in order to hook the cable into a slot. This is a replacement part for a
device I've been using, but due to overload the original factory-made
connection went -- the cable progressively slipped out of the ball.

I had a local workshop make a replacement -- they stuck the cable
through a brass ball, jammed a conical piece of steel into the center of
the open end of the cable, and liberally bathed the whole thing in
solder. Upon my first trial, the joint snapped with a loud pang when it
wasn't even loaded with half of its intended strength (max force in
normal use will be about 700lbs).

My question is: How is this done professionally? Of course I could just
order the original replacement part, but with overseas shipping and all
I'd like to save some time by having this made locally.

The design of the unit, regrettably, doesn't allow any other way of
fixing the cable to the rest.

Thanks,
robert