The invention relates to a winding drum for a chain stand, which can be mounted by means of a supporting device in a support frame so as to be rotatable relative to the device. The winding drum has a central winding shaft and lateral butting rings. Each butting ring has a receptacle formed therein which receives a one end of a plug. Each plug has a shaped end of which is inserted within a support opening of a support device, the support device preventing rotation of the plug. The drum is supported by the plugs and support device and is rotatable with respect to the plug.
Winding drums of the above type are used when chains are sold. Usually several such winding drums hang together in a support frame and different chains are generally wound onto them. The winding drums are generally suspended on the support frame by means of rods passed through their hollow winding shaft. The external diameter of these rods is normally much smaller than the internal diameter of the winding shaft, so as, on the one hand, to avoid fitting problems between the winding shaft and the passed-through rod and, on the other hand, to ensure easy removal of the chain from the drum. This free rotation, however, suffers from the disadvantage that, on pulling on the chain for unwinding it, the winding drum continues to rotate due to its own mass moment of inertia and its filling when the pull on the winding drum is ended. This results in the unwinding of a longer than desired chain portion. This can even lead to the unwound chain dropping onto the floor, where it may become dirty or intermeshed with the chain of the adjacent drum in the support frame. In any case the extra chain length unwound must be rewound onto the winding drum. This is practically unavoidable in the case of conventional winding drums and the risk of dirtying or damage is considerable.