ARCHITECTURAL GLOSSARY

Lexco specializes in making cable assemblies. Cable railings are no exception. However, if you want a partially fabricated assembly or would prefer to crimp the assembly yourself, we can supply the materials to accomplish that.

In this product line, you’ll find specialty fasteners such as beveled washers and acorn nuts, which are sometimes needed with cable railings.

The Adjust-A-Body® tensioners have a shorter length in comparison to many other turnbuckles. The crimped ferrule, which hides inside the body, must be machine swaged. Lexco rents a hydraulic tool so customers can machine swage that ferrule in cases where they don’t want a factory-swaged assembly. Adjust-A-Body® tensioners are available with a fixed jaw, a hanger bolt, and machine thread end for tapped post and for internally threaded concrete anchors.

These turnbuckles, inspired by marine rigging turnbuckles, have a body with left and right hand threaded end fittings. The built-in threaded terminal provides the connection point between cable and turnbuckle body. The classic turnbuckle has a closed body, sometimes called a pipe style body. Classic turnbuckles are stainless steel 316. On the post mounting side of the classic turnbuckle, there are different options, including toggle jaw, deck toggle, ball, and button. The deck toggle is pictured to the left. These options accommodate different types of post mounting situations.

The outside diameter of a classic turnbuckle body tapers to a smaller diameter at the ends. In a Decko, there is no taper, which means that the turnbuckle body is one outside diameter for the body length. This turnbuckle is commonly selected based on style preference.

It’s popular to have a non-tensioning (fixed) fitting at one end of a cable railing. Fixed fittings are smaller and more economical than their turnbuckle counterparts. As a general rule of thumb, if the assembly is less than 50 feet long and is not making any bends, then a fixed fitting at one end would be an appropriate option.

Classic fixed end fittings include Toggle Jaw, Button Terminal, Deck Toggle, and Ball Terminal. These terminals are installed opposite of a turnbuckle. This grouping matches with Classic and Decko Turnbuckles.

The Fixed Jaw is the non-tensioning companion of the Adjust-A-Jaw turnbuckle. It can be attached to the cable in two ways: via a machine swaged ferrule or with a clip, which is available on 1/8” and 3/16” cable diameters. Typically, a clip-on fixed jaw is selected on an assembly when the Adjust-A-Jaw is factory swaged and the other end is plain; this is because it will be finished via clip-on fixed jaw (instead of being finished with a swage).

The Radius Ferrule is designed to be paired with a receiver at the opposite end. The head of the fitting matches the head of a receiver. Designed to be machine swaged, it’s a very budget friendly cable railing fitting.

Smooth Line end fittings include Toggle Jaw, Deck Toggle, Button Terminal, and Ball Terminal. This group of fittingsmatches the Smooth Line turnbuckles. Similarly, a crimped ferrule is hidden inside the fitting’s body. The Smooth Line design is great for field crimped installations.

A Stemball Swage, is designed to be hand crimped. The ball portion looks like a half moon. It’s typically used on straight runs, but the radius does give it angle relief. This is a very economical fitting to help keep cable railings on budget.

There are two types of tools: manual hand tools and portable hydraulic tools. Manual hand tools can be used with fittings that are advertised as hand crimp in 1/8 and 3/16 diameters. Lexco sells hand crimp tools to and rents portable hydraulic tools, which are capable of swaging select machine swage cable railing fittings. An example of the machine swage fitting would be an Ultra-Tec ferrule.

If the customer has an architectural or a sailboat application where it’s advantageous to have a higher load rating in comparison to a cable railing assembly, then it would be appropriate to use the marine fittings. Marine fittings are designed for full capacity when properly machine swaged.

A receiver has internal thread and a head, which is used as a bearing point with end posts. Some receivers come in different lengths, allowing them to match the size of the end post. The longer the receiver, the more adjustment it provides. Receivers are used in tandem with threaded terminals; the receiver design hides the threaded terminal’s external thread for a more architectural appearance compared to just using a threaded terminal with nuts.

A shortie turnbuckle is essentially the same as a classic turnbuckle, except it is more compact. In short sections of cable railing such as less than 3 feet long, only limited tensioning is required. In those short situations, it is important not to let the end fittings dominate the appearance. To keep as much cable as possible, a good solution for short sections is to use the shortie turnbuckles.

In terms of turnbuckle aesthetics, a smooth line is cleaner because all the machine thread is hidden inside of the turnbuckle body. There are two common applications for the smooth line turnbuckles. The first is for a customer who doesn’t want to see any visible threads. The second is for when an installer is crimping the cable railing in the field, but they don’t want to see any crimp marks. The crimped ferrule hides inside the turnbuckle body. Smooth line turnbuckle ends are available in the same variety as the classic such as a jaw, a deck toggle, and ball and button.

Typical stainless steel cable railing is 1 × 19 construction. 1 × 19 stainless has minimal stretch, ideal for tensioning. It appears clean and shiny in comparison to other constructions and materials. The most popular diameters are 1/8”, 3/16” and 1/4”. In these three diameters, you’ll find the widest selection of cable railing fittings. We stock inventory in Type 304 and Type 316 SS grades.

A swageless fitting is applied to the cable without crimping. Some swageless fittings are available in stainless steel for cable railing applications. One might use a swageless cable railing fitting for a field installation without access to crimping tools. Some swageless fittings are adjustable and some are fixed. Some are designed to be push or pulled onto the cable, others are designed with a leading wedge in plug onto the cable. Quick Attach™.

Sometimes a village or municipality wants a cable railing, but they are concerned that it will be potentially stolen or tampered with. There are some cable railing jaw fittings that are available with a tamper resistant pin.

The Terminator Turnbuckle is a machine swaged fitting tapped with internal threads on one side. It fastens to the end post via bolt or rod with nut. The Terminator Turnbuckle bolt is customizable to match each unique installation; usually the bolt is hidden inside the post, making this a clean end fitting choice.

A threaded terminal has external thread on one side and a blind hole for the cable on the other side. It is crimped or swaged onto the cable, then fastened to the end post with a hex nut and capped with an acorn nut. A threaded terminal is the simplest cable railing fitting, serving as the inspiration for many other cable railing fittings. It can be installed at one end or both ends of an assembly.