Into, or Thru?

New controversy. I had decided on cable accessories that screw into the posts. To add tension, you tighten the screws. This works because one side is reverse-threaded. 

Swage lag screws look like this

With this system, you can see where the stainless steel receiver has been crimped to hold the wire, and you may even see a bit of the lag screw threads. A pair of swage lag screws is about $3 from many sources.

The controversy is that I've found another product that involves drilling through the 4x4s. You still crimp the wire at both ends, but you use an allen wrench at one end to tension the cable and all that is visible between the posts is the wire. For a clean look, they sell stainless steel sleeves to cover the drilled holes.

The fittings on the left tighten without turning the cable

Muzata sells these for $8 a pair. In addition, however, you want to clean up the holes with a pair of sleeves, which adds $1.60. So, the "invisible" fittings are 320% as expensive as the swage lags.

What is that in real dollars? Well, first, in real effort, the invisible connectors require drilling all the way through the 4x4s at both ends, then drilling again, precisely, for the tensioner. With the two posts at the house, I would have to un-bolt the posts for that second drilling.

I have 9 panels of 8 cables each, so we're talking about 72 pairs of fittings. So, $216 vs. $691.20 or $475.20 more for invisibility.

There's one more option. I could run the cable around the corners. That would mean just 24 pairs of fittings and a few more $0.80 sleeves. About $300, but we'd have cables at the corners.

Cable at the corner, like this

I am leaning toward my original thought--swage lag screws. But I don't want to spend $400+ on cable stuff without considering all the angles.