These homemade pulleys work great as long as they glide freely over the coat hanger wire (meaning that if you give them a spin, they keep spinning for a few more seconds). You can adjust the amount of friction in the pulley by adjusting the where the metal wire bends after it emerges from the pulley.
[am4show have='p8;p9;p11;p38;p92;p14;p41;p88;' guest_error='Guest error message' user_error='User error message' ] All you need is a wire coathanger, a thread spool, and a pair of vice grips... and the video below.
Download Student Worksheet
Cut a wire coat-hanger at the lower points (at the base of the triangular shape) and use the hook section to make your pulley. Thread both straight ends through a thread spool, crossing in the middle, and bend wire downwards to secure spool in place. Be sure the spool turns freely. Use hook for easy attachment. (These pulleys work well for the return-pulley system experiment in this section.)
If you still have trouble, you can purchase pulleys from the hardware store, or more inexpensively, from a farm supply store. (We get ours from the chicken coup section – no kidding!) If you really want to go hog-wild with pulleys, get a bunch and clip them onto climbing-rated carabineer. [/am4show]
[am4show have='p8;p9;p11;p38;p92;p14;p41;p88;' guest_error='Guest error message' user_error='User error message' ] All you need is a wire coathanger, a thread spool, and a pair of vice grips... and the video below.
Download Student Worksheet
Cut a wire coat-hanger at the lower points (at the base of the triangular shape) and use the hook section to make your pulley. Thread both straight ends through a thread spool, crossing in the middle, and bend wire downwards to secure spool in place. Be sure the spool turns freely. Use hook for easy attachment. (These pulleys work well for the return-pulley system experiment in this section.)
If you still have trouble, you can purchase pulleys from the hardware store, or more inexpensively, from a farm supply store. (We get ours from the chicken coup section – no kidding!) If you really want to go hog-wild with pulleys, get a bunch and clip them onto climbing-rated carabineer. [/am4show]
Continue with the lessons in this section, and you’ll see more information on pulleys.
This shows how to make a pulley, but where do you describe what a pulley is actually used for?