Simple Pulley

• 1). Run a wire or rope over a wheel to make a simple pulley. This is the most basic form of a pulley.
  
  
• 2). Attach one end of the rope to the load you want to lift.
  
  
• 3). Pull on the other end of the rope. The pulley has allowed you to use your weight and the fact that you can exert more force in a downwards direction, which makes it easier to lift the load. It also becomes less bulky, as it is easier to pull a rope than physically pick up a box or other load.
  
  

Compound Pulleys

• 1). Run a rope or wire around one wheel, then around another wheel in the opposite direction. Attach the first pulley to a ceiling or bar and the second one to the load itself.
  
  
• 2). Pull on the free end of the rope.
  
  
• 3). Step backwards to gain more force. This is how compound pulleys make lifting loads easier -- instead of pulling down hard, you can simply transfer the force for distance. You will need to be further away to move the load, but you will not have to exert as much force.