Museo Galileo
italiano
Virtual Museum
In-depth
Tackle / polyspaston [line block]

Weight-lifting machine typically composed of a pair of pulley-blocks (one fixed, one mobile) housing sheaves, with a rope running in their grooves. The polyspaston performs the same function as the tackle, but the sheaves are arranged end-to-end in two parallel rows instead of rotating on a common axle as in a standard block.