Dave is bang on, there is a load of crap out there in the shackle line. I was in Machine Mart recently buying a pump and looked at the shackles in passing.

They are stamped, even came with a certificate and yet in each case the thread on the pin was barely formed and rattled loose with a little shake. I took the worst offendors to the counter and pointed out how crap they were and that they could seriously damage someone or something... The manager just shrugged and I guess they went back on the shelf when I left.

The old adage, "you pays yer money and makes yer choice" applies here. We buy ours from an establsihed lifting supplier, but less experienced customers would not realise.
David

Dead Right David

We have chosen to supply Spanset as the quality is excellent.

I was once taken to the Spanset factory in Germany for a few days visit, courtesy of a local supplier. I was very impressed with everything I saw and learned a lot about lashing down loads with various materials and why webbing came out best.

I went back to Foden's with an idea for clamping the round fuel tanks with webbing straps in place of steel as we were having big problems with fuel tank rotation at the time. I think it was a step too far for the engineers as they refused to put my idea onto a test vehicle.

Later of course someone found an easier way of making square section tanks which made life easier.