I made up a wire rope cable to put across a driveway. One end was already
looped with a thimble and ferrule.

On the other end, I was trying to cut the cable with some good bolt cutters,
but couldn't get it good enough to fit through the tight ferrule.

Am I missing something?

Do I need to put solder on the wire rope, then cut it with a grinding wheel
to get a nice enough end to put through the ferrule? I am using the ferrule
that has room for two cables in it, and they fit tight. If there is ANY
frayed wires, it won't go through.

Do I need a better pair of bolt cutters? Mine is American and good, but it
just smashes them down. This is pretty tough cable, and has several strands
around an inner spiraled core strand. It is 1/4".

Suggestions?

Steve