How the Pulleys were made.
On this page I will be discuss how we made our pulleys. First of all the pulleys were made to act as a guide for the horses and to allow the pullers to run at 90 degrees from the horses. This allows the field to be shorter. The pulleys can be made of any material. The first pulleys were made with a wooden base and the hub of a wheel mounted to it. The important thing to remember is the pulley should turn freely. The more drag you have on it the more effort the pullers will have to put out. Another important part is that the pulley height should be approximately the same height as were the rope attaches to the horse.
Materials Construction
To construct this pulley you will need a welder and something to cut metal with. The pulley frame is constructed from 4"x 1 1/2" steel channel. First the frame has to be constructed as shown in the diagram. Once the frame is constructed double-check the measurement on the inside of the frame (were the pulley goes). Cut the 1 inch bar stock to this measurement. Now determine the correct placement of the flanged pillow block ball bearing. It should be centered in the opening and on the metal. Drill the bolt holes for the bearing. Slide the pulley and the bearing on to the shaft, then bolt the bearing onto the frame. Position the pulley the proper height for your horse and tighten it down. (NOTE: If the pulley you have has a pulley built in then you can use a locking ring to position the pulley and weld the shaft to the frame). Now to construct the rope guide we used a piece of pipe welded to apiece steel bent 90 degrees. The piece is then welded or bolted to the frame aligning the pipe with the pulley. An eyebolt is attached on the opposite side of the pulley to keep the rope on the pulley when there is no tension on the rope. Now you need to drill holes to steak the pulley to the ground. We used three stakes on each side six steaks total per pulley.
Conclusion
As stated above the pulley doesn't have to be constructed as ours. Only make sure that the pulley rolls freely, the pulley is aligned with the horses and it can be staked down. If I was going to use wood I would go no smaller than a 2"x6" frame or even larger.
