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Grant L
Kite of the Year 2004
Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 748
Location: USA IN Indianapolis
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 Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2004 10:39 pm Post subject: Tetrahedron Fittings |
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| Quote: | | this post was moved from another thread - stevef |
Hi gduran
I might be off, but if the kite you want to make is a tetrahedron like in the picture, there are easier ways to go about the fittings, (especially for a first kite  ) I sent away for the plans from tetralite and made fittings based on their suggestions. Mine are out of silicon fuel tubing for radio control airplanes, (other tubing would work too,) held together with small electrical ties, ( snugged down really tight) There are a variety of fittings depending on how many spars need to be held togehter at each corner. The spars are 1/8 th inch wooden dowels. This may be different than the kite you are talking about but I thought I would add some options. Good luck and keep us informed on the progress
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gduran
Joined: 03 Mar 2004
Posts: 36
Location: Argentina
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 11:55 am Post subject: Not my first Tetrahedral |
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| Grant L wrote: | Hi gduran
I might be off, but if the kite you want to make is a tetrahedron like in the picture, there are easier ways to go about the fittings, (especially for a first kite )
I sent away for the plans from tetralite and made fittings based on their suggestions. |
Thanks grant!
This would be my second tetrathedral, Ive got a lot of experience from my first, specially from the broken spars made of baloon straws, reinforced with small parts of wood!
By the way is there any way to have the tetralite brief about the fittings constructions?
Thank you again!
Gerardo |
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imagin
Kite Builder I
Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 261
Location: Moncton, NB Canada
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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Two or three years ago I made a small tetrahedral kite from cello wrap and drinking straws. It flew well and it draws a lot of interest from my students. Lately I've been looking around on the net thinking about making a more durable model. It's good to see your pictures of the fittings Grant. If I go for another one I'd like as much as possible to have something that can break down easily and not be a huge pain to put back together on the field. Also, storage is a big concern for a kite like that. I'd be interested in knowing of others experiences with these kites, especially in the aspects I've mentioned i.e. setup, breakdown and storage.
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Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. |
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kiteguy
Kite Builder II
Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 1459
Location: USA - Kansas, Overland Park - Near Kansas City
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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| imagin wrote: | | If I go for another one I'd like as much as possible to have something that can break down easily and not be a huge pain to put back together on the field. Also, storage is a big concern for a kite like that. |
OK, go here [url]http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~anthony/kites/tetra/plan/ [/url] for plans on one that will fold flat. 
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Dave Ellis
Kites + Kids = Education |
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imagin
Kite Builder I
Joined: 22 Oct 2003
Posts: 261
Location: Moncton, NB Canada
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 1:23 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the link, Kiteguy.
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Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. |
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Grant L
Kite of the Year 2004
Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Posts: 748
Location: USA IN Indianapolis
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| Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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| The fittings are similar to the ones shown in the link provided by kiteguty. The spars are 12 inch 1/8th wooden dowels. The fitings are made from silicon tubing as mentioned above. The pieces that will have spars in both ends are about 1 1/4 inch long. The tubes that will connect to only one spar are about 3/4 inch long. They are held together with wire ties. I found it very important to really pull the wire ties tight , ( I used pliers) to make sure that the tubing wont slip out. The tetralite kites also fold flat by removind the back spars. I liked the silicon tubing better than more rigid tubing. The hardest part for me was getting a template that would provide sails that were the right shape. Lots of fiddling around |
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knotronda
Kite Builder II
Joined: 22 Jan 2004
Posts: 804
Location: Lincoln City, OR USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:48 am Post subject: |
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| Grant L wrote: | | They are held together with wire ties. |
They are also called 'Zip Ties' and 'Cable Management Ties'. I build my no-sew kites using them. I really like the variety of colors that are available. Hot colors like lime green, hot pink, and neon yellow are favorites in my kite classes.
knot(ty)ronda |
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Spence602
Joined: 16 Sep 2003
Posts: 475
Location: USA TX Houston
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| Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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I couldn't find any of the small diameter PVC he Mark (TetraLite) describes in his manual. So I used fuel tubing on mine. I sent the idea (and a few pictures) to Mark, probably 3 years ago - did it make it into the manual?
Here's some pictures of the one's I made. That was my old workshop at the old house - a pool table in the garage. My how times have changed...
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Spence
www.kiteshark.org
Air: Refreshing when stirred up and served cool on a hot day. |
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Gary
Kite Builder II
Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 315
Location: Rhode Island, USA
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| Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Grant L wrote: | | They are held together with wire ties. I found it very important to really pull the wire ties tight , ( I used pliers) to make sure that the tubing wont slip out. |
There is a tool that is specifically made just for tightening wire ties (cable ties).
It pulls the 'tail' as it pushes against the cinch clip and there is a neat little nipper at the mouth that snips the tail clean with a twist of the tool.
It is what I used when I made my tetra.
These tools are easily and cheaply available at almost any home improvement or hardware store. If you think it would help, I'll take a pic of mine and post it.
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good heavens;
Gary E |
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gduran
Joined: 03 Mar 2004
Posts: 36
Location: Argentina
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| Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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| imagin wrote: | | ...Lately I've been looking around on the net thinking about making a more durable model. It's good to see your pictures of the fittings Grant... |
Imagin: I am just elaborating some ideas for fittings on my second version of my tetrahedral. Just some ideas: Have a Nylon Ball, or ABS or watever material you could work on easily, and use the ball for fittings whith holes made at the correct angles. A ball allow to put as many spars as you need for fittings on each corner. I am trying to get some small ball to experiment on it. Another way could be to put small sections of pipes into the ball at the specific angles and fit that pieces to the spars. Let say put 1" pipes with an internal diameter of 6 mm and then fit the wooden spars inside that small pieces. This could be a good fitting to assemble and disassemble on field.
What do you think about this? |
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