- any of various windlasses, rotated in a horizontal plane by hand or machinery, for winding in ropes, cables, etc.
- a rotating spindle or shaft, powered by an electric motor, that transports magnetic tape past the heads of a tape recorder at a constant speed.
- a machine with a drum that rotates round a vertical spindle and is turned by a motor or lever, used for hauling in heavy ropes, etc
- any similar device, such as the rotating shaft in a tape recorder that pulls the tape past the head
