Unlike joints with fasteners in double shear, those containing fasteners in single shear are nonsymmetrical, which results in local bending of the fastened plates. Thus, even for assemblies loaded in tension, it might be desirable to provide lateral support in the joint region. Therefore, ASTM D 5961 was revised in 2001 to incorporate the laminate bearing lateral support fixture (see Fig. 1). The revised standard still considered only tensile testing of a single- or double-fastener joint and included the option to conduct tests with or without the lateral support fixture. When the fixture was not used, the intent was to simulate an unstabilized joint. When used, it was with the understanding that full stabilization would not be achieved, but rather a condition intermediate between unstabilized single-shear and symmetrical (and thus stable) double-shear loading would be realized.