Is there anywhere I could find a pattern to make a plydoor?? Thinking I would mostly make it a huge rectangle with rounded corners, and routered edges. But I'm wondering if there better designs? Also what length and width should I shoot for?? Don't think I will do much more than cut it, router the edges and maybe varnish it or some marine clear coat. Gonna toss on the pads, fins and handle off of my latitude blonde just cuz I got them. Is 3/8" plywood too thick or thin??

I can trace my spleene door for you.

This has been posted before.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Plywood-kiteboard/

He recommends 3/8 baltic birch.

I made one that I designed myself after looking at some google images. It is huge and I never really tried it. I have had pretty good luck with my crazyfly. I did use a chunk of hose for a handle which worked well. It works better if it is filled with foam or something to help keep its shape. Good Luck.

that instructable has lots of info, should be able to find baltic birch at the specialty wood shop in town.

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

I can trace my spleens door for you.

Bob that would be very much appreciated. Even to get the rough measurements would be awesome. I want to have fun possibly building a few different designs, once I get it figured out.

Ooh, tucked under edges! Router them so they curve under... and tell us it if makes a different :D

Whoops, meant to add - there was a whole website dedicated to DIY boards but I can't find it now - someone else?

I was a woodworker/shaper/cabinetmaker for an extremely high end company for 12 years so...with that said...I could offer you many suggestions on how to turn out a nice product. I do not kite on the water (yet) and haven't made any boards but...I have made hundreds of templates and used many materials for what you want to achieve...basically I can give you lots of tips on patterns, router bits, and how to make multiple boards with ease.

If you want to talk more in detail you can U2U me and I will get you my contact information...

Also look into West System Epoxy....Great waterproof/bombproof material to coat the plywood with when you are done. It is used a ton in the wooden boat building industry. Smaller kits can be purchased from Lee Valley or for large amounts directly from company based out of MI. (Gougen Bros)

kiteforum.com has a board builder group. Here's a plydoor but there are other designs too.
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2328872&...

Blake was making his own and there are photos and some info in an older thread: http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=16680#pid15...

Blake is still on here once in a while and might share some pointers with you.

Quote: Originally posted by Blake

If any of you have questions regarding the construction or materials I use in my boards feel free to contact me. Blake

I was thinking of building a board a couple years ago, and was looking at a west bagging system. I forgot all about Blake's thread with his boards, and I even messaged him at that time for tips. I don't even have the message in my inbox anymore. The templates on that thread will be good help. Not sure if I want to fibreglass it the first time, just gonna try to go simple so that I can get it figured out. Lots of great help from you guys and I really appreciate it. Now that I'm in a house versus my old tiny townhouse, I have space to do this.

I made a plydoor recently with baltic birch. Modeled it after the Light Wave Wing. I did "tip rocker" which is basically using a planner to make the tips progressively thinner over the course of about 5 inches; it is a totally flat board. Also did rounded down rails. Will post pics later. Haven't used it yet since my trip to hatteras last week had good winds every day except for a late evening but i misjudged the conditions and went out on a small board instead.

I added some fibreglass to the center of the board to increase the stiffness in the center and allow more flex in the tips.

You should plan to dedicate a full day to it since the best way is to do one side at a time and let it "set", flip over, repeat, until the board is done (2-3) layers on each side. Wait until the epoxy sets (a couple of hours or so) before flipping to do the other side or you will get drip marks on the underside of the board (like me). Dont spread it out over many days; you want to get chemical bonds between layers rather than just a physical bond. And you don't have to sand the layers to make them stick or wash the amines off if you do it this way. Some people minimize this requirement saying to just sand the layer to apply the epoxy but the physical bond is nowhere near as strong as the chemical bond.

The fin holes are a little tricky, I poured them on the first layer. Just make sure the "blue" tape you use is very well stuck to the bottom side of the board so it doesn't leak through.

Ordered two 5'x5' sheets of 3/8" Baltic birch plywood at $38 a sheet. Sucks its estimated to be a month for it to get in as its not stock item. Should be enough to knock out a couple different boards. Would it just be strong enough to drill the fin holes and use washers on the top to stop the bolts from pulling through?? For the handle I was just going to use a waterproof adhesive and secure it with screws. The straps I was going to bolt from the Bottom up with round head stove bolts, again using washers on both sides of the board.

Quote: Originally posted by shaggs2riches

Ordered two 5'x5' sheets of 3/8" Baltic birch plywood at $38 a sheet. Sucks its estimated to be a month for it to get in as its not stock item. Should be enough to knock out a couple different boards. Would it just be strong enough to drill the fin holes and use washers on the top to stop the bolts from pulling through?? For the handle I was just going to use a waterproof adhesive and secure it with screws. The straps I was going to bolt from the Bottom up with round head stove bolts, again using washers on both sides of the board.

Look into stainless steel propeller T-nuts...way better then washers...You can pop them into a hole and it will never pull through. You can find them at McMaster Carr...WoodCraft or possibly local hardware store (lowes, TrueValue etc).

those look real nice thanks.

Ace has a good selection of stainless T-nuts... Washers are not necessary. I used 10-24 T nuts for the foot straps and one of these drill bits (I think it was 1/4 inch) to make the fin holes (then poured epoxy to fill the holes with blue tape on the back to hold the epoxy in place). You also use one of these to counter sink the T nuts so they are flush with the bottom of the board. Just scrape off the first layer of plywood or so to make the t nuts fit flushed. Then drill the hole with a normal drill because the pointy part wont come out on the other side wide enough for the T nut to fit correctly.



And get the T nuts with the spikes in them like this:

Depending on the construction if you put the t-nut in the opposite way of pull you do not need to epoxy it in...if you do epoxy things like this in fill the hole with wax from a candle stick...this way epoxy will not get into the threads...A jobber drill bit is all that is needed to put a nut in....spade bit will make too big of a hole.

ex...if you are putting straps on then the flat part of t-nut will be on the underside of the board.

You don't have to use Baltic plywood. Any high grade plywood with no voids should work. Especially if you waterproof it or cover with epoxy or fiberglass/epoxy. Why not build a board with local materials as practice while you're waiting for the Baltic.

Also, you don't have to use plywood. Here's a thread with strip built hollow wood makos and fish. http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2356635 This guy is real artist with wood.

Here's a cedar strip board that's not hollow. Looks really nice:
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2371523&p=71033...
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=107&t=2367286&a...

So board sizing, how much is the length helping in the water? These are the dimensions of the spleene door vs flydoor

Spleene: 150x42 ~ 160x44
Flysurfer: 170 x 50 and 160 x 44cm

My current board being 144x44, makes me think I should go up to 50+cm wide, but does it need to be 170cm? Is there a proportion when building these? My plywood is 152cm so could I leave it that length, cut it 50cm wide and call it good?

Dunno. Slingshot Glider is something mad like 160x40 too... and then there's the Epic Oxygen at 135x47...

Width gives you more planing area for the same number of cm but makes it harder to edge. Apparently... I only have problems with the Flydoors when I need to switch to smaller boards.

I'd make a couple out of different sizes, if I were doing the plywood thing. 170x50 and something smaller and wider, like 150x50 but not square tipped.

You don't have to use Baltic plywood. Any high grade plywood with no voids should work. Especially if you waterproof it or cover with epoxy or fiberglass/epoxy. Why not build a board with local materials as practice while you're waiting for the Baltic.

Also, you don't have to use plywood. Here's a thread with strip built hollow wood makos and fish. http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2356635 This guy is real artist with wood.

Here's a cedar strip board that's not hollow. Looks really nice:
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2371523&p=71033...
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=107&t=2367286&a...

Quote: Originally posted by BEC

Quote: Originally posted by shaggs2riches   Ordered two 5'x5' sheets of 3/8" Baltic birch plywood at $38 a sheet. Sucks its estimated to be a month for it to get in as its not stock item. Should be enough to knock out a couple different boards. Would it just be strong enough to drill the fin holes and use washers on the top to stop the bolts from pulling through?? For the handle I was just going to use a waterproof adhesive and secure it with screws. The straps I was going to bolt from the Bottom up with round head stove bolts, again using washers on both sides of the board. Now don't laugh but.....this is not a joke....Look into a bolt called sex bolts...they have both a male and female post so one fits into the other for a compression fit...This would make another great bolt to hold straps on without pulling through the wood. Look into stainless steel propeller T-nuts...way better then washers...You can pop them into a hole and it will never pull through. You can find them at McMaster Carr...WoodCraft or possibly local hardware store (lowes, TrueValue etc).

Ive been reading up on this too, and think I might start a board next weekend. I have to put together a garden shed this WE.

models

the levitator looks like a good place to start. I wonder if I would really need the fins

Happy Herrentag (Father's Day in Germany)
going to break in my new ride tomorrow: GI Patrol board
lite winds from the south great for riding the runway at Tempelhof

Fins = yes, you need 'em. My Flydoors don't have fins on the toe-side and it's too easy to skip and slide out trying to do heel-to-toeside carves, if you're not real careful with your balance.

I found a video that could really help out. I have dabbled with building a board too and I think I will apply this stuff when I do.

http://youtu.be/uv4hdE4Qk7c

Wahoo!!! Plywood came in looks like I have enough for two or three boards depending on sizes. First board Im trying a 152x50cm :o Giant rectangle with round corners, pads handle and fins. I'm going to router the corners a tad so they are not so sharp.

Quote: Originally posted by Kamikuza

Whoops, meant to add - there was a whole website dedicated to DIY boards but I can't find it now - someone else?

Perhaps this?
http://www.diykiteboard.blogspot.com/

ATB,
Sam

I use to own a high end cabinet shop, and I still fabricate solid surface counter tops. (corian) I read in one of the links above where someone mentioned a piece of solid surface. I "personally" wouldn't recommend it, since it would sink like a rock and sink quickly too, and your prize board would be no more unless you went diving for it at 4lb/sq-ft.

Lexan would not be a good choice either because it will not float at 3lb/sq-ft. I am sure a thin layer of polystyrene/balsa wood sandwiched between two coats of fiber glass, or even carbon fiber would be a great choice of manufacturing a board. I would also believe the polystyrene/balsa wood would create the buoyancy needed to keep it afloat.

Cheers

No, there was a whole site of plans, with a name that was something silly like "Mega OK kewl boards"... I bet it's in my Favourites on the home PC...