Hi guys
I wouldn't mind resurrecting this thread, my UE SF5P cord needs replacing and i'd love to make my own. The crux being the pins, from what
-=Germania=- said it sound like the silver hardened pins are the best option.
I know that
-=Germania=- said 20 AWG was the size of the pins (for FreQ phones?) but i measured my UE pins with vernier calipers and they were 0.72 mm in diameter. These seems to align with 21 AWG (which is 0.7239 mm).
-=Germania=- Also mention 22 AWG in a later post with reference to one of the cables she made.
Now lets say i score some silver of which ever is the correct diameter, do i really need to harden it? The process is quite involved, see below, it basically required the silver to be heated to 750 C then quenched and then heated to 316 C and air cooled. This sounds with in the range of bunsen burner (?) but i assume a diameter change would occur (hence stretching or a loose fitting is risked).
So is silver plated copper wire a good substitute? i've looked around and can see 20 or 22 awg silver plated copper wire everywhere, haven't seen 21 awg though. However all the wire i've seen seems to be flexible stuff. Surely you can't use it for the solid pins of a UE cable?
If i can use the silver plated wire, do i need to harden it? or do you just tin (solder) the ends? seems like you wouldn't want solder conducting your signal?
Also in terms of connecting the cable to which ever pin i choose, is it best to use some sort of crimping device? I read that you don't really want solder to make the join as it's a poor conductor. Can anyone recommend a crimping device? i'm new to diy.
Lastly (sorry) does anyone have any recommendation on a 3.5 mm stereo jack. It would be nice to get a good one.
thanks guys
orfeo
Handy and Harmon describe the process in their "Handy Book of Precious Metals"
as follows:
First heating to 1375-1400F (745-760C) for 15 minutes, then quenching rapidly in
cold water. [[ This results in a structure with larger crystals, and the most
uniform solid solution of the copper in the silver. This is fully annealed, but
with that degree of grain growth which normally one might wish to avoid.]] Now
the silver is heated to 600F (316C) for 30 to 50 minutes, then air cooled. The
resulting hardness is roughly equivalent to what can be obtained by cold working
to a 50% reduction (rolling or drawing, etc.)
It should be assumed that normal precautions against the formation of fire
scale/fire stain will be followed, especially with the initial annealing step.
Remember that hardness obtained by heat treating is not quite the same as that
obtained by work hardening, in terms of the achievable hardness, and the
resulting strength of the metal. The grain growth caused by the initial anneal,
if used, may also have some affect on finishing operations.
Hope that helps.
Peter Rowe
taken from http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.crafts.jewelry/2006-05/msg00022.html
