St Andrews cross
The St Andrews cross is one of the most common pieces of SM equipment and can be found in virtually every dungeon and club. It is simple to construct, relatively cheap, and very effective in securing the sub. Crosses can be made from either metal or wood and can be free standing or fixed to a wall. All crosses will have attachment points at the extremities for wrist and ankle cuffs, the more sophisticated versions will have adjustable foot rests allowing people of different hight to be bound, waist, arm, and thigh straps are somtimes added to further restrict the sub's movement.
Submissives can be bound either facing the cross, suitable for whipping, or bound facing out, suitable for genital or nipple torture.
The St Andrews cross is a very effective piece of kit. Properly bound the sub will have very little scope for movement. By pulling the arms and legs away from the body the posture becomes very open and exposed, they will be unable to protect themselves from whatever the dominant wants to do to them. For this reason there is a very strong D/s element to any bondage involving a St Andrews cross.
Oh, and for those of you who wonder why it's called that, see Saint Andrew's Cross in Wikipedia for the meaning of this term outside a BDSM context.
