Technical question about pulleys

[robdebie]

I'm building the 'Four stroke engine' by Airfix, and I'm puzzled about one small detail: the small pulley on the magneto ignition. It has a small cut-out, as can be seen in this Airfix photo. To me it doesn't make sense, but it's not a molding problem. Does anyone know whether this is a normal feature of pulleys? If yes, what's the purpose? Thanks in advance!

Rob

[tbill]

To wrap the pull rope around, notch holds the end of the rope

[robdebie]

2 hours ago, tbill said:

To wrap the pull rope around, notch holds the end of the rope

Thanks Tom! That makes a lot of sense.

Rob

[dshue76]

Actually, it's to install the belt. This is used when there is no tension adjustment. That notch allows just enough reduction of tension and also grabs the belt to roll it on.

[NOBLNG]

4 hours ago, dshue76 said:

Actually, it's to install the belt. This is used when there is no tension adjustment. That notch allows just enough reduction of tension and also grabs the belt to roll it on.

That makes more sense. Any rope notch I've seen has a much deeper and angled notch.

[robdebie]

16 hours ago, dshue76 said:

Actually, it's to install the belt. This is used when there is no tension adjustment. That notch allows just enough reduction of tension and also grabs the belt to roll it on.

Doug, many thanks!

Rob