Kitebuilder.com

[Steve D]

Mornin' Y'all and Merry Almost-Christmas!

After taking a way-too-long kitebuilding hiatus I've got that itch again. Have a few things in mind to build but I think the first is going be a mini-train inspired by Al H's thread in the Plans forum.

I was digging around in our kitchen 'junk drawer' looking for something the other night when a package of thin bamboo skewers caught my eye. Suddenly the little 'kitebuilder alert light' went off in my head as I realized I'd found some great framing material for something small...and even better....there were a bunch of skewers in the package...meaning I could make a bunch of something.

I thought about it for a little bit and mentally reviewed my kitebuilding materials inventory (OK, that didn't take long!) and came to the conclusion that a couple of rolls of clearphane along with the skewers and some ribbon swiped from Connie's giftwrap box (Shhhhhh, don't tell her!! ) could be used to make a nice mini-eddy train.

The skewers are about 10 inches long with the pointy tip removed and are about 2.5 mm in diameter. I was wondering what might be the best way to bend the spreaders...heat them with dry heat (heat gun, over the stove, against the shaft of my hot cutter) or with wet heat - i.e. soaking them in hot water....than placing them in a bending jig to let them cool.

Thoughts and/or ideas?

[Progcraft]

Hi Steve.
1 1/2 weeks ago I went through exactly what your doing now. I found those bamboo skewers did not bend well at all. They have a coating of some sort applied to them. Remember, these skewers are made to be put in a BBQ, so they resists heat well. I never did manage to bend one of them without burning or breaking or splintering it badly.

Bamboo chopsticks on the other hand work great. http://www.kitebuilder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1630

HTH
P
_________________
There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

[Steve D]

I'd be surprised if the skewers have a coating - don't think that'd be a good thing when there's food and heat involved! (of course I could be completely wrong!). Most of the time you soak them in water for a while before you use them on the grill.

Did you try soaking them in hot water before trying to bend 'em?

[Progcraft]

I swear there is a varnish of somekind or something on the skewers cause the outside is quite different from the inside (I split a few thinking that might help)
No, I didn't soak them. Might be a good idea. Does bamboo soak??

P.
_________________
There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

[Steve D]

Any chance you might have been seeing the enamel side of the bamboo? I'm looking at the one I have on my desk and can see a remnant of the enamel side.

They'll definitely soak in some water - will give it a try tonight and see what happens. Need to make a bending jig too.....

If the bamboo doesn't pan out I'll just make bigger (18") eddys with the dowels I got from Steve.....

[Steve D]

Hot water didn't work either.

Time to switch to dowels

[Progcraft]

I was hopeing you'd figure out a way to bend the skewers.
Next time your out and about and happen by a dollar store, go in and find those packages of bamboo chopsticks. They work wonderfuly. They can be split into quarters, and if you carefull, each quarter can be split yet again. And, they're easily bendable with heat and very stiff after bending.
Be sure to post a few pics of whatever you do Steve

Cheers,
P.
_________________
There is no box.
Children of the Wind Kite Festival
http://www.windykids.ca/

[Steve D]

I'm going to give hot water another try - maybe let them soak an hour or so.....

[wdrwilson]

Another idea might be to try the bamboo window blinds. You can find them cheap at WalMart sometimes.

Good luck,
Bill

[Steve D]

Thats a possibility. I was just trying to use skewers because they were already about the size and shape I wanted. No splitting or other shaping (other than cutting off the pointy end) necessary....