The summer of 2015 we were living in Greeley, Colorado. The scenery in Colorado is very beautiful and the view off of our back deck was no exception. The deck overlooked a pond and a golf course. A small view of the Rocky mountains could be seen in the distance. The problem was that that it was hard to see the view through the railing. It was a typical railing of chunky treated pine construction and 1" metal square tubing balusters. The hundreds of balusters needed painting. A task that was daunting considering the balusters were black but the wood railing components were brown.
I decided cable railing was just what I needed for a better view and easier maintenance. The existing 6" x 6" posts were perfect to take the force of the tensioned cables. A quick check on the internet of the cost and appearance of popular brands of cable termination systems was a bit of a shocker. It was clear that the cost of the cable itself is very reasonable, but the cost of the termination hardware was very expensive. From the viewpoint of a engineer, I felt the designs were very basic and it seemed that a more sleek and simple design could be done.
After many iterations and more than a year of R & D efforts, I finally asked myself what was the most basic requirement to terminate and tension a cable. It immediately occurred to me that a lag screw type termination was simple and strong. The lag screw both anchored and tensioned the cable. The problem was that the cable must turn when you screw the lag screw fitting into the post. The solution to that was to put a hole all the way thru the lag screw. The cable could then sit still while the lag screw was turned and screwed into the post. A ferrule attached to the end of the cable would position the cable axially.
By this time I had heard repeatedly from my wife that all of the tensioning termination designs including this one resulted in an uneven exposure when tensioned. In other words the ends did not line up. This uneven exposure outside the post was not aesthetically pleasing. The solution was to hide the ends inside the post.
Many people comment that the tool to turn the stud is as unique as the stud tensioner itself. However, it is just a flat blade screw driver with a slot in the shaft to provide space for the cable. This tool allowed the stud to be turned even though it was completely inside the post. Now that is was inside the post, no more uneven ends showed.
A patent was issued on March 5, 2019 for this concept. I would like to thank Chris Haggerty for his help in getting the patent. I would also like to thank Satch and Brandi Nanda for allowing a demonstration project for the railing around their new pool. Lastly, I would like to thank my wonderful wife for her support for one more idea that takes a lot of resources to turn into a viable product. I have a plaque that reads "Behind every successful rancher is a wife who works in town."
Ed HendersonOwner and Inventor