Never mind that the instructions say it's not for lifting, I bought this winch so my wife could raise and lower a 50# purple martin house on a 18' pole. For a 50# load, it is overkill. And the 600lb winch is way over-built and heavy duty for its rating. It's basically the same material as the higher rated winches, but with a smaller spindle and shorter handle. It works well on the martin house. I haven't tried it on anything heavier, but I think she could easily pull a boat onto a trailer. The assembly instructions, which I found in a box for a larger winch, are minimal, no pictures, and there were no instructions in any of the 600# winch boxes. From what I remember, the pins, rod and sleeve are for attaching a wide nylon strap to the spool. The sleeve goes through a loop in the end of the strap. The rod goes through the sleeve and through the slots (not the round holes) in the sides of the spool. The cotter pins hold it together. There were no washers to keep the pins from slipping back through the slots. Good luck there. The round holes are in one side only, so there's no chance the rod could go through two round holes. To attach a cable or rope, run it through all the round holes in the side of the spindle. There is a threaded hole on the side of the spool, but my box didn't include a screw or retaining washer that would hold the cable end on the outside of the spool. Lacking these, I'd suggest putting the cable or rope's end back through all the loops between holes on the outside of the spool. TS didn't have the 3/32 stainless steel cable I wanted, so I'm using a rope looped through the holes in the side of the spool. I gave it 4 stars because of lack of attention to details. They could have printed the instructions on the inside of the box, with a note on the outside to look there. Add some pictures, two or three washers and maybe a screw and it would be a 6. How expensive could that be??

I purchased this winch today and found no information on how to attach the cable to the body. This is fustrating for someone not familiar with winches as to how to anchore the cable to the winding spool and keep it from comming loose. All the winches were sold without cable. There was a pin and cotter pin enclosed with the winch without any informatio as to what it is for. Without help available I believe I will be returning it for another brand.