Fork and Spade Terminals

A fork or spade slides in under a screw you only slacken, instead of one you have to take right out. On a crowded terminal block that turns a fiddly job into a quick one, and it makes servicing much faster.

Fork is the plain open tongue. Locking spade adds turned-up lips that catch the screw head so it resists being pulled out sideways — worth having anywhere there is vibration. Flange spade spreads the clamping load where the screw head is small relative to the terminal.

Then choose insulation and barrel as you would for a ring terminal: non-insulated, vinyl, nylon or heat-shrinkable, single or double crimp, and narrow or long tongue.

The trade-off against a ring is simple — a fork is quicker to fit and quicker to service, a ring cannot fall off. For safety earths, use a ring.