How to Make Kite Winders

Kite Winder for Medium to Large Kites

• 1

  Cut the 16-inch wood strip in half, for two 8-inch pieces. Stack these side pieces with their 2-inch sides together, and clamp them securely.

• 2

  Measure 2-inches in from the ends of the stacked pieces. Center and drill a 1/2-inch hole, all the way through both pieces, at each end. Do not enlarge the holes by re-drilling. Remove the stacked pieces from the clamp.

• 3

  Cut the 16-inch dowel into two 8-inch pieces. Using the hammer, tap the wooden dowels into the holes in the side pieces. Adjust the position of all four parts. Allow three to four inches of space between the two side pieces. The top wooden dowel should be flush with the outer surface of left side piece, and extend 2 to 3 inches beyond the outer surface of the right side piece. The bottom wooden dowel should do the opposite: sit flush on the right and extend beyond the outer surface of the left.

• 4

  Apply a bead of glue to the holes. Allow the glue to dry.

• 5

  Tie the end of the kite string to the inside of one of the wooden dowels. Grab one of the extending portions of dowel with each hand and rotate. This winder will hold up to 150 feet of medium-weight kite string. With the string wound around the winder, rotate in either direction to feed out or retrieve the kite string.

Kite Winder for Small Kites

• 6

  Measure a 3-inch by 8-inch section of heavy cardboard. Cut out the piece with a hobby knife. Note that the top and bottom edges of the cardboard are the 3-inch sections.

• 7

  Cut and remove a half-moon section from the top and bottom of the rectangle. Cut a very thin vertical slit, 1/2-inch long, at the halfway point of the half moon on the bottom of the rectangle.

• 8

  Tie a knot in the kite string and slide the string into the slit. Pull the string tight and ensure that the knot does not come through to the other end of the cardboard.

• 9

  Wrap the string around the half-moon sections of the winder. Attach the line to your kite and you are now ready to fly! Rotate the winder to feed out or retrieve the kite string.