Fittings
What is a spigot?
A spigot is a connector that locates one tube or standard into another end to end. On system scaffold it is usually integral to the component; on tube and fitting it is a loose fitting.
Use this diagram+
Free to use on your own site, in training material or in a course handout, as long as the credit link stays on it. Paste this where you want the diagram to appear.
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<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/spigot/diagram.svg" alt="spigot — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/spigot">What is a spigot?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>The word covers two related things. On a system scaffold, the spigot is the spun or welded projection on the end of a standard that the next standard drops onto. On tube and fitting, a loose spigot does the same job between two tubes.
Loose spigots and plain base plates share a standard, BS EN 74 Part 3, because both are about locating a tube rather than clamping it.
A spigot locates; it does not by itself resist the two tubes being pulled apart. Where uplift is a consideration, the connection needs more than a spigot sitting in a bore.
What goes wrong on site
- Relying on a spigot alone where the joint could be subject to uplift.
- Mixing system components whose spigots are not designed to interface.
- Spigots not fully seated, leaving a gap at the joint.