Differential pulley in collaboration with Richard and George Tangye. According to Richard Tangye's autobiography, the Weston differential pulley evolved from the Chinese windlass, with an endless chain replacing the finite length of rope. He claimed that many engineering firms conceded on the difficulty of efficiently disengaging the chain from the teeth as the pulleys turned, but his firm developed a "pitch" chain which solved the issue. Marketed as "Weston Differential Pulley Blocks with Patent Chain Guides", the pulley had good sales, namely, 3000 sets in 9 months. It was displayed in 5 sizes — from to — at the 1862 International Exhibition
Block and tackle blocks. Frictional losses also mean there is a practical point at which the benefit of adding a further sheave is offset by the incremental increase in friction which would require additional force to be applied in order to lift the load. Too much friction may result in the tackle not allowing the load to be released easily, or by the reduction in force needed to move the load being judged insufficient because undue friction has to be overcome as well. A block which is open or can be opened to engage with a bight, without the necessity to thread the