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Threading a Cord Lock Pulley  You
can thread the 1.4 mm and 1.8 mm lift cords in the "slot" made
by the guide wire and the plastic housing. Both of these cords are large
enough so that they do not catch in the small space between the roller
bars and the housing. The photograph at the left shows three cords
threaded through the "3-Slots" Cord Lock Pulley. You can use
up to 6 cords (two in each "slot") with these cord locks. This
Cord Lock is not recommended for use with 0.9 mm lift cord since you can
only use the one, internal slot.
The photograph above at the left shows three 1.4 mm cords threaded through the metal guide wires of the "5-Slots" cord lock. You can also thread the 1.4 mm cord through the two outside slots, next to the housing. If this were 0.9 mm lift cord, you could only use the interior slots, since the thinner cord can become caught in the small space between the roller bards and the housing. The photograph above at the right shows ten 1.4 mm lift cords threaded through the cord lock pulley. There are two cords in each slot. This is the maximum number of cords you can have if you are using a cord lock pulley. If you are using 0.9 mm cord, you can have a maximum of nine lift cords (three in each internal slot). Threading a Cord
Lock Pulley First of all, something to NOT do: DON'T REMOVE THE GUIDE WIRES to make it easier to insert the cords. Instruction books for Warm Windows actually suggest that you do this. I have found that once the wires are removed, they tend to come out by themselves over time as you operate the shade. Not a good thing!
Step 2. Thread one lift cord through the Floss Threader. Poke the end of the Floss Threader between the two rollers and through one slot of the cord lock as shown in the schematic below.
It is impossible to
test the cord lock pulley before it is attached to the board and shade.
Tension on the lift cords is required to make it work properly. You may
even have to have the weight rod in the bottom of the shade in order to
unlock the mechanism. There is one big drawback with Cord Lock pulleys. They eventually shred the lift cord. This is due to the nature of how they work. The lift cord is threaded between a smooth plastic wheel and a notched metal wheel. Those little metal teeth bite into the cord to hold the shade up. A loosely woven cord shreds especially fast. The cord I offer for sale is a very tightly woven polyester, but even so, I have found that I have to restring a shade about every two years. It is STRONGLY recommended that you place a "tandem" flat pulley (or a "tandem" screw eye) next to the Cord Lock pulley. Please note that I am NOT trying to sell you one more pulley. I am only telling you what works best. It is a lot easier to pull up a shade when you use the Cord Lock with a tandem pulley. If you don't use a tandem pulley, the last lift cord (pink in the drawing below) will quickly shred. What I really wonder is why the Cord Lock designer didn't add an additional roller bar to provide the function of the tandem pulley.
A caution about using Cord Locks with inside-mount shades. In order to lift the shade, your have to reach behind it (several readers have described this as "fishing for the cord") to grab the lines. To unlock the shade, you may have to lift the shade out of the way so that you can swing the cord towards the center of the shade. Look at the drawing near the top of the previous page. Commercial products such as miniblinds thread the lift cords through grommets (or simple button holes) at the top of the shade so that the cords and Cord Lock are at the front of the shade. This is covered with a small valance. This way it is easy to reach the Cord Lock mechanism, rather than reaching behind the shade. The lift cord hangs in front of the shade. Please note that I DO NOT have instruction on-line for this method. However, you can see great photos sent to me by Doug Millar of South Portland, Maine along with his explanation of how he used grommets to bring the cords to the front of his shades. I have clients that insist on using Cord Locks even on inside-mount shades and seem to have developed a technique that they find comfortable to unlock their shades. As you may have gathered from this discussion, I don't particularly like these devices and much prefer to use a cord cleat. But be assured that the one that I do use and sell on this site are the best available. Troubleshooting
Cord Lock Pulleys Device does not
release cords. My lift cord
is shredding. Trade-Offs for
Cord Lock Pulleys Back to Shop
for Mounting Hardware.
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The
Cord Lock Pulley is attached to the underside of the mounting board, on
the side of the shade that you want the cords to exit. The larger
(metal)
roller should be on the "outside" edge of the shade. In the
drawing, you would use your right hand to raise the shade. This means
that the right side of the shade ends at the right side of the pulley
and the cords enter the Cord Lock pulley from the left side. I have
drawn three cords. When the pulley is
in the position that is drawn (hanging down), there is a gap between the
two rollers.
Trudy
Rucker, a customer from San Rafael, California, sent me a message about using a Dental Floss Threader as a
needle to thread the lift cord through the cord lock. You will receive a
threader with your cord lock.
Step 1.
Thread all cords through the top of the cord lock.
Step 3. Gently pull
the cord through the cord lock.
Step 4. Repeat with
all cords, except guide the Floss Threader through a different slot for
each cord. See the 
It is impossible to test the Cord Lock Pulley before it is attached to
the board and shade. Tension on the cords is required to make it work
properly.