Kitebuilder.com - Fly... with a little help from your friends.

[R Moore]

Good ideas Dave. I use dowels occasionally for making smaller kites up to 20 sq ft when testing new designs or making first kites for kids that may not keep them more than a few years. I have a limited budget like most kite builders and it's not always possible to get F/G or carbon tube but I am always able to get dowel at a number of hardware stores near me. I usually accumulate lots of dowel, bamboo and square wood spars. Most of my kites have the spars inside the pockets and are not visible. I must try the bees wax. I wonder if varnish or some other coating would seal the wood. Perhaps epoxy paint. Of course we can make some kites for next to nothing from paper and wood skewers but they may not be very durable. One of my best flying kites was made with 1.8 meter garden bamboo stakes and material grade ripstop. Wouldn't stand up to scrutiny at a kite festival but then I wouldn't enter it in any comps.
It may be interesting to see who can make the cheapest but best looking kite.
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BOB MOORE

[Jeepster]

[mototrev]

I thought this might be relevant to this thread as I have had problems since I learnt to sew on mum's old Singer as an 8 yr. old 40 yr. ago.
The angle of the speed controler just seemed wrong. Yes it does do what its meant to do, its just uncomfotable in opperating it, So here the soloution to unergonomical foot controlers on a seewing machine.

The frame is new as I was sick of chasing the block of wood around the floor of the shed!!



Ahh! much better...



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Trev-(R)

As my wife often says: "Trev- Go fly a kite!

[kiteguy]

Thanks for the photo, Trev(r). And the idea. I have got to figure a way to keep mine from sliding around the slick floor in my Kite Cavern.

Oh, you might think about trying an idea that lots of people use....sewing barefoot. That way you get a better feel for the pedal than just stomping down with the clod hopper.

The cold concrete floor in my KC is not conducive to bare (bear?) feet. So I have a pair of soft leather moccasins that I use instead.
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[

Dave Ellis
Kites + Kids = Education

[pounetbf]

[twelvewinds]

Hi everybody, I've got a request. The spring issue of KITING is going to focus on kitemaking, and I want to include an article with as many tips & tricks as possible. Basically, I want to turn this thread into a magazine article. So can we step it up here? Anything you've got, any little idea that has helped you out, any wacky thought that improves your kites, whether it's related to anything else in this thread or not, whaddaya say you contribute it ASAP? For instance, last year Kevin Shannon showed me how to take edge binding and fold it back on itself, thus reinforcing a corner with two extra layers of fabric (before burning a hole through it). I know you've all got something to say. Can you help me out?

[powder_pig]

[dj2]

On page 1 of this thread Kitesquid tells how to place knots on a specific spot on a cord using a hemostat.

I finally got my hands on a hemostat and tried it. Works great! Thanks for the tip.

[Fore Check]

Use that frustrating Rolled Hem Foot for something worthwhile: Edge Binding

You pre-fold the edge binding and then apply the folded strip to the sail edge in a single pass with zig zag stitching (I use a triple zig-zag. Personally, I play with the width of the stitch to get as much left-to-right coverage of the binding as I safely can to get one side of the zigzag pretty close to the edge of the sail and the other side of the stitch pretty close to the inside edge of the binding strip. Then I lengthen the stitch out so that zigzag angle is 45 degrees or greater; I've seen 60 degrees plus; you just need to hold it on there, really. "That Looks About Right" applies.)

After you pre-fold the binding strip, you feed it into the machine and then feed the sail panel into the crease and hold the sail panel tight against the inside of the crease on the binding. It helps tremendously to have some sort of fence or guide to keep the binding going relatively straight through the needle area and also give you something to push (gently) against to make sure the sail is up in there. It takes some practice to do consistently and quickly, but believe me - I'm all thumbs and I'm comfortable with it.

Here's a series of pics that I took a while back that describes the process. In these photos, I was using a Rolled Hem foot on my sewing machine to provide the Fence/Guide for edge binding - it has a little lip thing on the right-hand-bottom of the foot that works OK for this. Since that time I've found a different foot with an adjustable guide that I like better (It's an Adjustable Blind Hem foot.) I've seen examples of people using a fence made up of multiple strips of masking tape laid on a single line on the sewing machine so that they build up a thickness of 1/8" (ish) to provide the fence.

First, you pre-fold the edging strip and wrap it around the sail edge like this. These pics I'm using a 1" strip of 1.5 oz RSN single-folded on a piece of white 1.5 oz RSN. If you use double folded edging or edging of another material, the method still applies (your edging strip will just look different).
Slide the sail up into the peak of the crease to get started.



Then place the start of the stitch run up in the machine, positioning the outside (folded) edge of the binding up against your fence/guide. Again, the bottom lip on the rolled hem foot is providing the fence for me in this pic.



Here's a little better view showing the edge of the material against the fence on the foot:



Here's where it gets a *little* tricky and it takes practice. The first thing is to tug on the loose threads and make the lock stitch for the start of the run. This requires your hands to not be on the sail, so ONLY apply the lock stitch or get it started and then let off the pedal before re-positioning your hands as shown below.

After the lock stitch is made, I move my left hand to the position shown here. My index finger is gently "pulling" the edging strip to the left against the edge of the sail panel. My thumb is gently "pushing" the sail up into the crease. At the same time, I'm guiding the panel edge straight through and holding the binding crease against the fence on the foot. Not pictured is my right hand, which is guiding the folded edging onto the edge of the sail panel as it feeds forward into the machine. My right hand is just making sure the edging is over the edge of the sail panel, and when it gets to my left hand I'm making sure the two are where they are supposed to be relative to each other before going under the needle. It helps if you can set your machine to stop in the Needle Down position; particularly when I'm doing a long run of binding, I let off the pedal quite a bit and re-position my hands or make sure the binding is going on the edge of the sail correctly and what-not quite a bit (plenty of Stop & Go)




Here's how it came out; I didn't take the time to adjust the stitch length and width for these example pics. With some practice you can pretty well zap it through the machine. Curves aren't that much trouble at all; for the most part, the curve itself helps keep the material pressed up against your fence (easier to understand when you try it)



With a little practice, you can apply consistent binding at about Mach 3. Works great.
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Simon

Discovering Something that Doesn't Exist...

Radix Lecti Rex

[BANSHEE]

I'd like to add something here.When doing a wide zig zag I would suggest that you use a multiple stitch zig zag instead of a straight ZZ. This will keep the stitch from puckering, the multi stitch will give you a flat smooth run.
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Banshee
Go All Blacks

Pete Pumpkin is Da Man

[Pumpkin]

Posted a simple webbing binding guide a little while ago....made from a soft drinks can
Works well with RSN (single Fold) and Dacron as well
http://www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8033
Here is a version for 15mm (5/8" approx) Webbing


Also in the picture is a proprietary double fold binding maker...the type you're supposed to pull the tape through and iron (as Powder Pig showed above with his machine binder)........
I find I can bind n the fly with it..... start the double fold trap it under the pressure foot with the sail edge in the crease and start sewing..... you can pull and fold 3 -4 inches at a time then sew and it works surprisingly well for me.
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Pete
Where did you say the string goes?

[reynolds5520]

Do you use dressmaker's pencils like these?






I used to have a problem sharpening them. A standard pencil sharpener makes a point that is too long and skinny for these (like the top pencil in the picture below.) The soft material in these pencils would often break off in the sharpener before I even got a point. When I did get it sharpened to a point it would then break as soon as I tried to use it.






What is needed is a sharpener with the blunter angle that these pencils came with. Don Tuff turned me on to an inexpensive (~$2.50 US) and readily available sharpener. These eye liner pencil sharpeners are available in most drug stores here in the US.





They cut the correct angle, have what looks to be a good quality blade and are easy to carry with you to workshops.





They also have a clear plastic cover that catches the shavings and is easily emptied.


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.

Kevin R

Recently Completed:
Square Beam No. 3 workshop at U-MAKE

Now on the table:
piles of unrelated stuff
But some of it is chocolate

Next up (if I don't get sidetracked yet again - who am I kidding, I am ALWAYS sidetracked):
Probably a kite workshop somewhere...

[powder_pig]

[nckiter]

Kevin,
What is your solution? Did you find a different type sharpener? I have had the same problems with a regular sharpener so I usually revert back to old carpenters habit of using a sharp knife to sharpen them.
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Kip Clement
Apex, NC
Quads and SLKs

[reynolds5520]

[nckiter]

Thanks Kevin, great tip, I always thought somebody must make a blunt sharpener just didn't know where to look.

Just one thing tho',
Considering the occasional sideways glances I (we) get as I (we) wander among fabrics, perusing ribbons, selecting machine needles, and checking out new quilting rulers, guides, etc.. What kind of looks do you reckon I (we) should expect when we ask for the make up aisle?
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Kip Clement
Apex, NC
Quads and SLKs

[reynolds5520]

[nckiter]

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Kip Clement
Apex, NC
Quads and SLKs

[powder_pig]

[kiteguy]

Actually, I have done applique with a soldering iron. No sewing involved.

Admittedly, it was with plastic, not ripstop nylon. And I have to admit my results were nothing to brag about. However, I have seen others do it, and the results were great. Certainly bragable. (Is there such a word? Surely not.)
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[

Dave Ellis
Kites + Kids = Education