I know what you mean 4100,some think its haywire.I find with smaller lines 1/2" or 5/8" welding is best ive done like you say with the torch to ,cable is good steel and it welds nicely.I but my ends together and weld them ,they pass easily thru the sheaves.
I was on a job once where we being harassed by those who were "Much" smarter than us tradesmen ,we had the crane on a sectional barge with very limited room .We had to change a hammerline so we boomed down on the river bank welded the new line to the old one .One of the Profesionals came along with his camera and asked what we were doing ,I said our hammer line was to short so we were adding some more to it.You can do that he says?Sure I said piledrivers do this all the time.Pictures were taken,safety people informed,major poop storm developed,before I clued them in on what we were really up to.We had a good laugh over it,some relief to the frustration of being pestered on a job by people like that.