Abstract: A wire tightener or puller includes a frame with a shaft journalled between and through holes in the sides of the frame. Projections on the shaft adjacent the inside of the frame maintain the shaft in position and cam strike stops in the frame adjacent the holes cooperate with the projections to act as a ratchet precluding the shaft from rotating in one direction passed the strikes. One wire end is secured to the frame and the other to the shaft with the latter being provided with a squared or flattened end so that it may be rotated in the one direction permitted with a suitable tool to wind one end of the wire on the shaft with the projections camming over the cam strikes. The resilience of the frame permits the sides to separate slightly enabling the projections to cam over such cam strikes.