: I remember reading somewhere that there are some
: tricks to getting the cable length right but now I can't find the info and
: searching the archives here didn't turn it up.

If your supplier doesn't cut to length for you (or, like me, you just buy
enough cable for half a dozen replacements over the years...) you do need
to make a neat cut, otherwise you can trash the control tube threading the
cable through, and risk kinking your new cable. The best way to cut the
cable is to connect two pairs of mole wrenches to a welding transformer
with beefy copper wire, attach the mole wrenches to the wire either side
of the point you want to cut, making sure they don't touch each other -
hold the wrenches with welders gloves - and power on. The wire glows red,
then white, then comes apart, leaving welded ends which will not fray. I
used to cut bicycle brake and gear cables this way with just a car battery
(my dad's !), but this isn't beefy enough for the thicker cable. Oh, do it
somewhere well-ventilated and with no firehazards - you may get some gobs of
white-hot steel dropping off and you will get a small cloud of iron-oxide
smoke which is not especially good to breathe.

Remember when buying wire that you want the stiff stuff intended for
standing rigging (7 strands of thick wire in the cable) not the flexible
stuff intended for running rigging (7 sub-cables each of 7 strands). It
must be stainless steel - galvanised will corrode within days.

Andy