Stainless or Glavanized Wire Clamps Edson Steering Wire

[Joyride]

Gang,

I'm doing a bunch of projects with the aft water tank out running some chaser wires for solar, gadgets, a transom shower, and also inspecting the steering cables.  Everything looks great but the PO had galvanized wire clamps on the steering wire and they've gotten pretty rusty.  I bought stainless 3/16" wire clamps at WM and noticed that they are a #10 U-bolt vs the 1/4" on the galvanized clamps that are sold in the store and also the ones that are on the boat.  #10 just seems really small but it looks like the saddle is too big if you go the next size up on the stainless wire clamps.

Is there some reason that they would go galvanized instead of stainless, am I over complicating the issue with the smaller bolt diameter on these stainless clamps? 

I also sent the same question in to Edson I'll let you know what they say.  They sell the clamps too but hoping to get this done in the next day or so and don't want to pay double and wait too. 

[KWKloeber]

Harbor freight has 1/4" stainless u bolt clamps; "wire rope clips" that I have used for other purposes.  They are very good quality. I used them to string 3 fenders on a line across a friend's slip and used the clamps to keep them centered and squished together tightly so the bow wouldn't separate two when he played bumper boat. I was impressed with the uncharacteristically good quality for a HF fatener.

kk

[Ken Krawford]

Ken, that's the first time I've seen the words "Harbor Freight" and "good quality" in the same sentence !   

[KWKloeber]

 Ken,

A screw up obviously!!
sure hope the poor buyer didn't lose his\her job over this?!#!

2.99 4a pk/2.

Ken

[lazybone]

I'm not sure how you can judge metal quality by just looking at it?  It was probably cast in somebody's backyard foundry next to the family chickens.

[KWKloeber]

Compared to the usual look of the typical HF fastener not-fully-formed threads and crappy fit of the nuts they were superb.  I cranked em tight and lo and behold they didn't strip. 
Besides I have metallurgical calibrated fingers but only on my left hand.

[lazybone]

Excuse my rant.  I recently (Dec.) bought a 20 ton press from Horror freight  What could possibly go wrong, its just dumb metal and a bottle jack?  I've got a bottle jack that my father owned that must be at least 60 yrs.old.  I went to use the press thing for the first time on Saturday and it puked hydrologic fluid all over the floor.  Now I have disassemble and haul the heavy piece of sh!t back there.

[Joyride]

Alright thread hi-jackers.  Anybody have anything on the difference in size between galvanized and ss wire clamps or should I just go with the SS even thought the u-bolt is a smaller #10 vs the 1/4 for the galvanized 3/16" wire rope clamp?

[KWKloeber]

Alright thread hi-jackers.  Anybody have anything on the difference in size between galvanized and ss wire clamps or should I just go with the SS even thought the u-bolt is a smaller #10 vs the 1/4 for the galvanized 3/16" wire rope clamp?

Use what was ON THERE.  As I said --- 1/4" s/s u-bolt clamps at HF for 1.50 each, pk of two.

Or have your WM store order them in at 3x the cost -- $4.60 each, sku 272104.  My WM stocks them.

[Noah]

I'll just throw in this observation: "they don't make stainless fastners the way they used to!" If they do, I haven't found them in the usual off the shelf retail setting, such as West Marine. They do work, but they seem to have gotten weaker/softer over the years, with the ones I buy retail today stripping out easier than those made decades ago. Apparently, as I have gotten weaker so have the fasteners.  LOL!

[lazybone]

McMaster-Carr.

[Ron Hill]

 Guys : What is a "wire clamp" ?

I know what a wire tie and a hose clamp is.

[KWKloeber]

Guys : What is a "wire clamp" ?

I know what a wire tie and a hose clamp is.

A "wire rope clamp", ie. a clamp you use on wire rope. :-)

[David Sanner]

One more thing to check while you're working on the steering cables is the ends connected to the steering chain. 

Years back (in the middle of a race) my steering failed at that connection point.  The wire rope thimble had cracked and the sharp cornered shackles that Edison used to connect to the steering chain had eaten through the wire rope (after first cracking the thimble).

One would think that since Edison specializes in steering systems they would have used a forged shackle... but this was 1988 - not sure what they do on their newer systems.

Anyway while you're in there take a peak... (clean lube as well).  Edison has a video on replacing the cable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0XozwM3lEo
Not much to see though they do use tracers to help feed the wire back through the pedestal when reassembling.

[Noah]

Dave- did you end up using the emergency tiller, if so how did that work out?