How to Make Full Use of Your Turnbuckles?

A greatly underused tool of wonderful convenience, turnbuckles have the ability to relieve you of a lot of stress during a challenging lift or rig. Primarily, turnbuckles are used when you need to increase or decrease tension in order to make minute adjustments to a load that is sometimes due to an offset center of gravity.

Turnbuckles can be used to make adjustments to help equalize the load and to correct that off-center of gravity. We recommend that when adjusting turnbuckles to use an appropriately-sized wrench instead of using a spud wrench or pry bar placed through the body. The latter tends to cause damage to the turnbuckle and could potentially create dangerous repercussions. Also, turnbuckles are rated for tension, so they can be used in any linear direction.

There are many different configurations of turnbuckles, which have different functions in the application. If you want to make full use of turnbuckles, we must have a good understanding of the characteristics of the following turnbuckles with different configurations.

(1) Designed with a teardrop fitting on the end of turnbuckles (akin to the appearance of a sewing needle eye), this configuration is intended for a shackle to be attached to it with a pin going through the eye. This is how you would attach the rigging to the turnbuckle. You would place a shackle on each end, which generally means you would have a sling, or other approved rigging attachments attached to the shackle and then you would install the turnbuckle.

(2) This configuration is designed with a clevis or jaw end (resembles a “U” shape with a pin through it). These can be used in a few different ways. You can either attach the sling straight onto the end or you can have the clevis or jaw fit over a lifting lug and pinned to the lifting lug. Additionally, you can add a pin to a shackle. This configuration has a little more versatility as to how you can attach it to the load.

(3) You can also configure a jaw and eye together, which gives you more flexibility. However, this configuration isn't as common to do unless you have a fixed point or a lug that's difficult to work on a lift. You have to install that turnbuckle onto a jaw end and shackle the sling or the rigging onto the eye end.

(4) Hook is an additional option that's available to use. Typical uses are generally guy wire applications. Primarily, a worker will use a hook-configured turnbuckle in this application because it's easier to install and tighten, which allows for the addition of a few more inches.

However, hook configurations are far less practical due to the lack of a safety latch, which is a feature of jaw-end and eye-end configurations. Without a safety latch, you increase the risks associated with the lift and there's nothing that can protect your load if or when your load is in danger.

For instance, if you install a jaw-configured turnbuckle onto a wire rope sling, the sling is pinned into the clevis end with a turnbuckle pin. Even if you were hanging it loosely and there was no load attached to it, they will never become separated. If you attach an eye-configured turnbuckle to a sling with a shackle, that shackle is permanently attached to the eye and the sling, so they will never come apart. 

If you install a hook turnbuckle and lay the sling down, the hook could fall off the sling eye because there's nothing to keep attached. Any time there's tension or a load placed on it, the hook will not come loose, but if it's at rest, then it becomes a different matter which needs to be considered.

Turnbuckles and their configurations simply offer a solution to a specific challenging lifting scenario. With any rigging or lifting selection, all the rigging is determined by the pieces of equipment that need to be lifted and by its other factors including headroom challenges, confined spaces, or any restrictions in moving a load or having an offset center of gravity.

The turnbuckles designed and manufactured by TERADA have different types and configurations, which can meet the diverse needs of users to the greatest extent. If you want to know more about turnbuckles after reading the above, you can get a comprehensive solution by contacting us.

With excellent production technology and high-quality service, we have quickly become one of the leading hardware suppliers. Our excellent technology and comprehensive quality control system can provide customers with high-quality and safe products. At the same time, we will provide thoughtful one-stop service and effective solution technology according to the diverse needs of customers. If you are interested in our turnbuckles, please contact us immediately!