Flag Pole Hardware

Written By Rachel Novak

Ready to wave a white flag to winter?

With spring right around the corner it’s time to celebrate the change of the season (or for some of us in New England celebrate that winter is over). What better than to fly a flag? Perhaps, it’s patriotism you want to display or maybe you’re dusting off an Open flag for your farm stand; whatever it may be, you’ll need to have the right hardware and installation to ensure your flag flies high all season.

 

A: Canton
B: Heading
C: Grommet
D: Truck
E: Finial
F: Snap Hooks
G: Cleat
H: Halyard
I: Flash Collar
J: Foundation Tube

Let’s get acquainted with flag hardware. The image (courtesy of Outdoor Flagstore) visual identifies the hardware listed below.

You’ll certainly need to be able to identify the grommet(s) on your flag. The grommets are the brass rings or eyelet for mounting outdoor flags. One of the grommets of the flag is identified in the image as “C”.

The snap hooks are next. Snap hooks are hardware made of brass or steel to attach the flag (via the grommets) to the halyard rope. The snap hooks are depicted as “F” in the image above. Speaking of haylard: the halyard is the rope or cable used to raise and lower the flag on the pole (depicted as “H” above). The haylard can be external and tied to a cleat, or internal. The cleat is the device used to secure the bottom of the flagpole halyard. Shown above as “G”.

Not labeled above but very important is the flagpole: A flag is most often attached to an object of support such as a flagpole, staff or flagstaff, or mast. In general, when a flag is flown outdoors, if flies from a flagpole. When a flag is carried in a parade or displayed indoors, it is attached to a staff. On a boat or ship, a flag may be attached to a mast.

Other parts of the flagpole include the truck (“D”) which is the device at the top of an outdoor pole which houses the pulley wheel. The truck may have holes to attach pulleys to raise and lower a flag.

The flash collar (“I”) of the flag is generally the round cover at the base of the flagpole used to protect and hide the ground mount. Just below that you’d find the the foundation tube (“J”) which is the cylindrical tube used to form the flagpole base or sleeve in the ground.

Some flags have a finial (“E”). The finial is a decorative topper for a flagpole. Commonly an eagle, spear or ball.

Other flag terminology you may come across:

Canton (“A”) – Blue field, white stars. Also known as Field or Jack. By definition, it is the “top inner corner of a flag.” Flags with cantons include the United States flag, the Georgia flag, the Hawaii flag and the Mississippi flag.

Heading (“B”) – Heavy fabric used to secure the flag to the halyard line, usually made of canvas, cotton or other durable synthetic fabric. Also referred to as the header.

Hoist: Hoist is used to describe the height of the flag while flying. The term also refers to the edge of the flag that is attached to the flagpole or staff. You may hear the term “hoist end” to refer to this part of a flag.

Fly: Fly can refer to several things that of the length of the flag as measured from the attachment to the farthest point, as well as the distance from the end of the canton to the free end of the flag. Fly also means the width (length) of an extended flag.

Fly End: The fly end is the part of the flag that flaps in the wind and is not the end that is attached to the system using hardware discussed above.

Field: The section of the flag between the hoist and the fly ends is called the field or, sometimes, the ground. It does not include the canton.

For more information about hardware mentioned about check out our Brass Swivel Snaps

 

0 Comments