Show dictionary · Rigging & Staging
Shackle
A shackle is the standard load-rated connector of rigging: a U-shaped bow (or narrower dee) body closed by a removable pin, used to join slings, wire ropes, chains, and hardware. Each carries a stamped working load limit (WLL) that governs its use.
In practice
The screw-pin bow shackle is entertainment’s default handshake: wide enough for multiple slings, quick to make and break. Practice is muscle memory: pin seated fully, moused (secured) where vibration or long-term hangs demand, loaded through the body rather than side-bent.
Ratings are the culture: WLL stamped on the body, design factors baked in by the manufacturer, and no anonymous hardware in the air. A shackle without markings goes in the bin, not in the rig.
How you’ll hear it
"Five-eighths shackles on every point, pins moused on the long hangs over the seats."
Related resources
Part of the eventools.io Show Dictionary, a free glossary of live event production terminology.