Cable rail options

I'm not an expert, but I have watched a lot of YouTube videos.—This quote from yesterday's post still applies. I have seen a bunch of different ways to approach cable rail.

It's been exactly a month since I wrote about cable rail. Let's consider various aspects.

• What kind of cable and what spacing?
• Continuous cable or three panels?
• How to anchor one end of the cable, and
• How to tension the other end?
• Do I need specialized tools (cutter, crimper)?
• Do I need caps to cover the attachments?

Cable and spacing

Basic 1/8" stainless steel 1x19, 316 marine grade, high corrosion-resistant cable. One YouTuber installed galvanized steel and regretted it--it rusted out in a year. I live within a half-mile of the Puget Sound. Amazon sells Ingpro 7x7 (not 1x19) for around .23¢/foot and BestEquip 1x19 for .24¢/foot (if you buy 500').

Update: I've now seen a video all about the difference between 7x7 and 1x19. 7x7 isn't bad, but it's a bundle of bundles, so it looks more braided. It also reflects less light, unexpectedly, so it doesn't look as shiny. So, 7x7 okay, but 1x19 preferred.

The railing design calls for 8 cables at 3.5" spacing.

I'm pretty sure the cables will go through the two 2x4 center supports, but it's not clear that we have to drill the 4x4s. Muzata sells left and right threaded lag screws that I was sure I didn't want the first time I saw them in a video, but the idea is growing on me. They're just $2.75/pair. Continuous cable: 8 pairs ($22). Three panels: 24 pairs ($66).

Continuous cable or three panels?

We went with two 4x4 posts at the corners, thinking that we would use continuous cables, but we spaced the posts 4" apart so that we don't have to.

Mockup at Dunn Lumber

Wrapping a single cable around would, in theory, add strength to the railings. You could hit the west railing hard enough to make it fail, but the cable would hold it in place.

Using a single cable reduces the anchor and tension fittings needed to one per cable. We would need 4 grommets per cable to protect the 4x4s from wear.

Despite these two positives, I don't like the look--it's like a trussed up turkey ready for roasting.

Depending on the anchor and tension hardware, however, doing three panels might look cool, or it might look really ugly. If we use turnbuckles, for example, now we have three times as many to look at. No doubt, three panels means three anchors and three tensioners per cable.

Another point is that the handrail (and the subrail below it) are continuous. They aren't three panels, so why should the cable be?

Muzata, by the way, sells stainless steel grommets (protector sleeves) for .67¢ each (in packs of 80).

How to anchor one end of the cable

There are various ways to attach the fixed end of the cable, but most involve swaging (SWAY-jing). That's a new word to me, but it just means crimping metal to hold our cable. If we drill through the 4x4 at the anchor end, there is hardware available with which you feed the cable through, crimp it to the hardware, then pull it taut, leaving only the hardware visible on the non-cable side of the post.

Muzata CKE system. $5.75 per cable

The cheaper way to do it is a fitting that screws on the cable side of the post. The Muzata system at the right mounts with exposed stainless steel screws, but the design allows the cable to run at an angle, say in a stair railing. In this system, you jam the cable in at the anchor (top of the photo), then crimp it twice.

Muzata also sells a system of lag screws, one side threaded right and the other side threaded left. You add tension by rotating the cable.

How to tension the other end

Affordable Stair Parts has a system where the swage the anchor to the cable for you, more to come.

You can loop the cable end and crimp a connector on it.

Specialized tools

Crimper and cutter by Muzata: $106. Amazon sells a no-name version in a yellow box for $77.

Muzata has lots of stuff on Amazon.

Caps to cover the attachments

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