Madonna Straps

[mikienorth]

I'm trying to find something very simple, that seems to be manufactured and sold to lighting companies and struggling.  

It's a thin webbing strap, with a safety chain type snaphook sewn into it at one end, and it's a loop.  It comes in a couple lengths and is used to choke around looms to make a strain relief point, a point to clip the loom to structures with, and things like that.

It seems to be known across all three lighting companies who've lent me them in the past as a 'Madonna Strap' but google really doesn't return anything like the thing I'm looking for with those keywords, naturally.  

If anyone's any idea what I'm on about, please help!

[sunray]

The only hit under the title is this: https://eleven11box.com/products/madonna-strap-in-pink obviously not the article you are looking for however my instant thought is a luggage strap and a couple of clips

If you don't need the length to be adjustable, buy the webbing and knot a loop each end of your length.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282635707974?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item41ce66a646:g:cWsAAOSwaIRZqsqi&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACkPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSwcmzw5CLtzTE60FqHcnq2CyWKFlVF8A9tUHiyFUIdVCZp9xhPAU4Tg0BxfoDVWLpZHLnESrUiFtSD4FjBrYvdfLUhN7UMVKv7mIqXAoxiQ%2Bh%2BAro47cyVrDn9Q24P89WwLUJeIPxKOcCqURgAydH48bYt%2FVGTgq9RqMERd%2BXtUxZn%2FV7fj7dq9CeTFl%2FGdtYcD3PnTwzXbraCJiYIycyZ3w1BM1ICp1BrdGBl6WHKCSBMM1%2BwvgbwkPg1jB4Xy3TghkVoBXKTmM8My1CBFz2v%2F8e1HjlNw80r8e4ojSAPyt9nHVM93I15w%2FlCgjf1PQYN6Nv4g8wGBVbsPbjtjSmxhwqaASLEGb%2FPCR66fyh2i8%2BbrZvkV5RnBRcM%2FWUiQrWf1nXs3Ol4SRuvLpe7vK6l7qSe7TWTo4DvT3yG%2FMjBeafwFbtaGyex6uWMEal2VVuRFCopbvL4EhB0Ij08WGcglLLegAmPQTxi0YBgKnoyw72Urs4QlHrZyWrcjVTISzmSX%2FqLu3rbxgHBjuPChpTjSkMUIymUoK2bYJXcDkgaqapDeTCwuU6BaBSzD%2Fhrv89RWszXd046yGOh9M8XVF244LqLTVUU6fmqLb3ilrgd5jtuOQ7b%2FjqbHsQOiiC7V5MNqY4Bo18sz77KjI%2BExAjlfG1OySdApLHgxwPnUWkT9lg06njrapwN5%2B0xAFgqKlodPt1weBZuZgGUfuGSslbpN5TnmMJWts0BCwnVUvMqSsKWUJXH76%2FL0mF0D3vsAODl2Rk8jxAoA2dxPHHjAaa%2Bw9YUT6ZccvfKkredUGxvrOrjzw6%2Fi04b%2F26%2BORpyEEN|clp%3A2334524|tkp%3ABFBMwqf_ieNf

 

Sorry not focussed but this gives the idea:

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by sunray

[sunray]

I've just read your description again, why not just make them:

Personally I use mostly elasticated luggage straps and these

Edited February 20, 2022 by sunray

[mikienorth]

That isn't a bad idea, but time and having to prep a show by remote narrows my options, but you have totally nailed the strap design there, from a description I was expecting to be told to 'provide a photo' instead to.  Which I would but all the ones I've got are the other side of the Atlantic on a system just now.

[sunray]

7 minutes ago, mikienorth said:

That isn't a bad idea, but time and having to prep a show by remote narrows my options, but you have totally nailed the strap design there, from a description I was expecting to be told to 'provide a photo' instead to.  Which I would but all the ones I've got are the other side of the Atlantic on a system just now.

The webbing is available in loads of colours and of course you can make them any size you wish, both webbing width and loop length. Also consider rope such as paracord.

Edited February 20, 2022 by sunray
If you have access to someone with an industrial sewing machine they could produce a truly professional product

[Dave m]

I remember working with a Chinese company years ago and they had simple slings that consisted of a loop of cord going to the centre of a dowel/stick. It was very fast to deploy or undo as a quick “over and under” ended up with a loop and a toggle. 
it held firm until turned through 90°

[sunray]

3 minutes ago, Dave m said:

I remember working with a Chinese company years ago and they had simple slings that consisted of a loop of cord going to the centre of a dowel/stick. It was very fast to deploy or undo as a quick “over and under” ended up with a loop and a toggle. 
it held firm until turned through 90°

Similar to marquee  and plastic tarpaulin uses, well reminded.

[david.elsbury]

Just use a spanset and shackle?

[sunray]

2 hours ago, david.elsbury said:

Just use a spanset and shackle?

I've heard of the company spanset but I don't know the term as an item.

[IRW]

3 minutes ago, sunray said:

I've heard of the company spanset but I don't know the term as an item.

Otherwise known as a roundsling. The Hoover of the rigging world...

[sunray]

1 minute ago, IRW said:

Otherwise known as a roundsling. The Hoover of the rigging world...

Thankyou, that's a term I know well.

[dje]

The Madonna (in strap terms) is made by TAIT Towers. It goes on a chain slider (for cable management) since the TAIT chain slider doesn't incorporate any kind of swivel mechanism, so the polyester strap permits the cable to rotate freely (whereas when people use cable ties with sliders they have a tendency to snap under the rotation of the cable). The clip on the end is for quickly attaching the sling to the chain slider. The idea being that the chain sliders live on the motor chain, and the Madonnas live on the cable loom - we tended to choke them onto the cable and then wrap them in tape so they didn't move in the box once the load was off.

I believe that the Madonna is named as such because it was first made by TT for the Madonna tour. They are genuinely pretty good, if a little fiddly.

I have one on my suitcase (I use it for keeping the zips together!) , if you send me a PM with your email address I'll email you a picture of and Jacqui at Rope and Rigging will almost certainly manufacture them for you. It's only a piece of half-inch polyester webbing sewn into a loop, with a snaphook sewn into the end - something they can easily manufacture affordably. You could obviously ask TAIT to supply them but unless you're buying the rest of the system from them as well, I suspect they'll take Jacqui's price and put a zero on the end.

If 25mm isn't too wide, Flints Flat Web Slings are quite a nice pre-made option: https://shop.flints.co.uk/Product-Details/All/FHSFWB

Edited February 21, 2022 by dje

[dje]

11 hours ago, david.elsbury said:

Just use a spanset and shackle?

Way too big in the application that Madonnas are used for. They're for attaching single cables or small looms to stuff like motor chain sliders or catenaries... not for strain relieving large feeder looms.

[sunray]

The only problem (if it is a problem) arises when different trades/different regions use a company name in a different way.

For example to me spanset has always related to safety harnesses.

Similarly Zarges was always a staging board, often spanning across a pair of ladders. The first time a lighting guy spoke about using a Zarges I thought he was advocating placing a staging board between a scaff tower and a roof RSJ, whereas he was suggesting a combination ladder to make fixtures to the RSJ.

In the building trade 'come off' means 'fix to' whereas in the night club talking about record decks 'come off' means 'isolation from'.

[dje]

44 minutes ago, sunray said:

Zarges was always a staging board, often spanning across a pair of ladders

Are you sure? Zarges, AFAIK, never made staging boards.

If we're referring to the 'Hoover' way of naming things, staging boards are often referred to "Youngmans" which may be what you're thinking of... since that is indeed what Youngman actually make.