On Wed, 20 Apr 2016 21:11:53 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 04/20/2016 08:57 PM, Mike Duffy wrote:
It there any danger of the cord winding itself 'the wrong way' and
converting itself into a sort of weed whacker?

If there is, Pained Cow will manage to do it and it will be his weed
that gets whacked.
I've started all kinds of engines with the pull rope, and I can say
with conviction it would take someone of incredible talent to manage
to get the rope to wind backwards.

Someone like the friend of a Newfy I used to know. My friend had an
old ford that was a bit hard to start when cold - so he used to jack
up one rear wheel, and wind a rope around the rear wheel. He'd put his
wife in the driver's seat, with the car in low gear - he'd run down
the driveway pulling the rope and she would pop the clutch - and the
old Ford would star.

His friend was complaining his Dodge didn't start well when cold - so
my friend told him how he stated the Ford. His friend decided to try
it, and after a lot of fussing (and mabee a few "sacre tabernac"s) he
was ready to run the rope down the driveway. When my friend popped the
clutch he looked in the mirror to se his friend coming up behind the
car taking 10 foot steps - and he got his foot on the clutch quickly,
just as his friend took the mirror off the door.

He had trouble getting the rope to stay on the wheel so had tied it
through the "spokes" of the steel artillery style wheel and knotted it
at the center of the tread - and to be sure he didn't let go of the
rope had wrapped it around his hand. By some fluke, the rope actually
wrapped back onto the tire when the car started - and he couldn't let
go. Luckily as he came op close to the car it ran off the tire and
didn't wrap him around the tire!!!.