i don't think there is any way to fill up a 500 yd spool from a 2000 yd cone. there are adapters that will hold the cone so that you can just thread your machine from the cone and use it that way. there are the kind of adapters made specifically for the cone, or you can rig up something. one person said that they used packaging from a set of dvr disks. apparently when the packaging comes apart, the cone sits on a spindle.