I finished the harness (well practically finished – the spreader bar still needs its hook machined) for my kiteboard project. it has a formed plastic instert like a commercial harness which gives it camber for back support and distributes the load of the straps effectively. Seems fancy, but you wouldn’t believe how easy that is to make! You can can expect a full build showing how you can make your own from scratch including the buckles and the spreader bar very soon (I need to test it first). It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.
Trying to keep the cost of this project as low as possible I didn’t order standard kiteboarding lines instead going with lines that we’re slightly thicker and drastically less expensive. I was supposed to test out the kite this weekend, but I just received the lines and instead of recieving 1/8″ lines as I ordered, I received 260′ of 3/16″ line (which is quite a large difference) so I have to send them back. They shipped me out new ones today (at least they said that they did) so look for a flight/crash report sometime next week.
Theres the kite that I have been working on so much lately, it is pretty much done. I just have to finish the inflatable bits – all of the white fabric sans the far left and white edges inflate to give the kite a semirigid structure. I am going to finish making the bladders as soon as I am done writing this, so hopefully we’ll have some better glamour shots of it soon. Pretty cool how it matches my site huh? Didn’t even mean to do it – it was the only colors they had. It doesn’t look so cool all depressed and deflated but you just wait until you see it inflated.
If your interested at all check back soon for a complete build article so detailed that even a caveman could do it.
I have been furiously toiling away on the kite for my kiteboard project. In fact between Friday and now I have essentially completed the kite. Because it is inflatable I will still have to make the bladders to hold the air and I will have to make the board and control system but the giant kite (a whole lot bigger than I realized) is done. I’m away from home, but I’ll have pictures up as soon as I can.
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Perhaps you have been wondering where I dissappeared to the past few days. Perhaps not. Either way I have been busy with my new job (research postition, doing stuff with vacuum chambers. Very cool stuff – but more on that later) and more importantly I’ve been busy working on my latest project – kite boarding. I have been doing lots of research to learn everything there is to know about kiteboarding and ordering materials. I’ve already got most of the materials I’ll need and the rest swooping in from different parts of the country thanks to my friends UPS and Fedex. I’m excited about this one so its on the super fasttrack (it will be done soon). Check back or subscribe to my rss to find out how it works out!
Corny image background courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blesk.jpg
Its summer and people go to the beach. People who are extreme or at least pretend to be do things like kiteboard. I have always wanted to kiteboard but have never tried it. Since my wallet is extremely thin, and there seems to be no good writeups for kiteboard kite construction, AND I love a good challenge that seems absolutely destined for failure, I am going to make my own kiteboard and kite. I’ll have an article documenting my success (or failure) as soon as I have the thing built. I’ll also do my best to chart my progress on here. Keep on the lookout.
What is the point of having a beautiful violin if you hide it away in a case 99% of the time. Hang it up for all to see. Even if you just inherited the violin and don’t play it, its still very attractive to hang on a wall. Have your violin hanging for a couple bucks and 30 minutes of work.
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Do you silk screen? Do you hate it when your screens move everywhere and smudge your shirts? Do you hate the idea of paying way too much for simple clamps? If so these are for you. They’re simple cheap DIY screening clamps. You don’t silk screen? You just might after reading my Silk Screening Guide for Beginners which will be up in a couple days.
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For anyone who does a lot of designing/math/engineering problems a whiteboard is indespensibe. However I find that when the whiteboard is on the wall it is awkward to do work on especially if working from notes or a book. When the board is on your lap it is cumbersome and on the floor it hurts your back. This is very simple and I find it to be great. Make your desk into the whiteboard. It really helps for quick sketchstorming and now that I’m used to it I have difficulty doing homework problems elsewhere.
Give it a try.
Have you ever wanted to build a small engine that was quick and almost impossible to mess up? Just getting into machining and want a fun project? If so this is for you. It’s a build article for the small air engine in pieces above. Check out the Link for a complete build log with free plans.
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