Abstract: A stranding machine for the production of rope from a plurality of strands comprises a rotary tube formed of two or more tube sections coupled end to end to rotate about a common axis. A flexible connector joins adjacent ends of successive ones of the tube sections. In this flexible connector, a pair of spiders have a central mounting hub and spokes whose ends are affixed to the cylindrical wall of the associated tube section. A rigid metal barrel connector has a cylindrical body and radial end flanges. A pair of resilient flexible coupling rings connect respective end flanges of the barrel connector to the spider mounting hubs. This arrangement employing two flexible elements accommodates both angular and parallel misalignment of successive tube sections.