Thread the rope through the hole in the spool, tie a knot and seal it with fire, pull the rope throught the hole until the knot is seated in the pocket. On the spool there is a notch, slide the rope into the notch and let it walk around with the spool as you wind the spool counter clockwise, about 6 turns. Hold it in place with one hand and thread the end of the rope out through the eye in the recoil housing. Slowly let the spool turn as you keep a litlle tension on the rope. It will wind the rope up as it turns. If you need another wind for proper tension just pull the rope out then lift a loop between the spool and eye and give another wind with the rope in the groove. You want ruffly a foot of rope sticking out with the spool recoiled all the way. I hope you understand, my work is usually better than my explanations.