A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of rope

Rope

A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...

s, cable

Cable

A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...

s, tie rod

Tie rod

A tie rod is a slender structural unit used as a tie and capable of carrying tensile loads only.- Subtypes and examples of applications :* In airplane structures, tie rods are sometimes used in the fuselage or wings....

s, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded

Screw thread

A screw thread, often shortened to thread, is a helical structure used to convert between rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a straight thread and the latter called a tapered thread...

 eyelets, one screw

Screw (simple machine)

A screw is a mechanism that converts rotational motion to linear motion, and a torque to a linear force. It is one of the six classical simple machines. The most common form consists of a cylindrical shaft with helical grooves or ridges called threads around the outside...

ed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a right-hand thread. The tension

Tension (mechanics)

In physics, tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar object on another object. It is the opposite of compression. As tension is the magnitude of a force, it is measured in newtons and is always measured parallel to the string on which it applies...

 can be adjusted by rotating the frame, which causes both eyelets to be screwed in or out simultaneously, without twisting the eyelets or attached cables.

Uses

Turnbuckles are most commonly used in applications which require a great deal of tension; they can range in mass from about ten gram

Gram

The gram is a metric system unit of mass....

s for thin cable used in a garden fence

Fence

A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...

, to thousands of kilogram

Kilogram

The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...

s for structural elements in buildings and suspension bridge

Suspension bridge

A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...

s.

Aircraft

Turnbuckles are widely used in aircraft. Biplanes may use turnbuckles to adjust the tension on structural wires bracing their wings. Turnbuckles are also widely used on flexible cables in flight control systems. In both cases they are secured with lockwire or specifically designed wire clips to prevent them from losing tension.

Shipping

Turnbuckles are used for tensioning a ship's rigging

Rigging

Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...

 and lashings. This device is also known as a bottlescrew in this context.

Sports

Turnbuckles find a popular use for tensioning the ropes in professional

Professional wrestling

Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 wrestling ring

Wrestling ring

A wrestling ring is the ring stage on which professional wrestlers wrestle.-Configuration and construction:The configuration and construction of the "traditional" ring is very similar to that of a boxing ring, though the wrestling version has three ring ropes...

s and boxing ring

Boxing ring

A boxing ring is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner to which four parallel rows of ropes are attached with a turnbuckle...

s, where they serve as the attachment between the ring ropes and ring posts. The turnbuckles in these rings are covered with padding in order to protect the competitors. The turnbuckles come into particular play in professional wrestling where they are often put to use by participants as part of their offensive

Professional wrestling attacks

Attacking maneuvers are offensive moves in professional wrestling, used to set up an opponent for a submission hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of attacking moves in pro wrestling, and many moves are known by several different names. Professional wrestlers frequently give their...

 repertoire.

Entertainment Industry

Turnbuckles are used in nearly all rigging performed in the entertainment industry, including theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

, film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, and live concert performances. In entertainment rigging

Rigging

Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...

, turnbuckles are more commonly used to make small adjustments in line lengths. This is generally to make a flown unit sit parallel to the stage.

External links

• Turnbuckle at Townley Drop Forge