My friends were cleaning out their garage the other day and were tossing 2 old tents, easisly enough to make a good number of kites. The floor of the tan tent is dacron, so it would be perfect for a bladder, and the walls are perfect for a skin, I havent made a LEI yet, so I figure I'll give that a shot. I think I can pull a 10m, 7m and 5m out of it.
10m=Dark brown bladder, tan skin:

7m= Dark brown bladder, whitish tan skin:

5m= Dark brown bladder, white and red skin:

Here are the tents:

Rainfly:

Tan tent:


Red tent:

And yes, this fabric is pretty air tight:


Any tips?

Thanks again,
NPW
i
c
k

maybe with the poles and the sheets you could get a kite wing thing going
what a find!

Very resorseful Let me know how they turn out.

That looks really cool man! Good luck with it all I hope they turn out really awesome! I really like that last pic, that cracks me up ahhaahahaha.

Nick just when I think I've got a box that you fit in, you come busting out the side again. Or I guess you usually bust out of the top don't you. You not only have these ideas, you see them through as well. I hope you are able to find a career that uses your resourcefulness and creativity to its max.

hmmm....I do like the kitewing idea though, I will have lots of polytarp from the red tent, and not the crappy $5 tarps, like the good silicone coated tent stuff, I want to use the nylon for kites, but as long as I have extra materials I may as well give it a shot, and then I can go glide with it! :P
Thanks again guys, and beamerbob, I try my best.

Any ideas what to use for bladders?

Thanks,
NPW
o
i
c
k

No LEI kite. You can buy them too cheap now days to spend the time making one.

Scott

Condoms work well! The windpro misquitos used them..............aj

Meh, I like to make stuff, and I can do it for next to free, why not. And aj, I hope your kidding.......:tumble:

Nope i am not. Bladders are made from latex and condoms are made from latex....................aj

What size condoms do you buy.......? I mean like MAYBE for the battens but for the leading edge? My god man!

You may have to buy the leading edge one in Canada EH ! :singing:

Quote:

Originally posted by NPWfever What size condoms do you buy.......? I mean like MAYBE for the battens but for the leading edge? My god man!

Quote:

Originally posted by NPWfever What size condoms do you buy.......? I mean like MAYBE for the battens but for the leading edge? My god man!

You know, the usual size. XL Magnums

Ok, so besides condoms, what can I use for bladders? I mean as much fun as it would be to walk up with a pack of XL Magnums, get a weird look, and try and explain I'm building a kite, IDK how durable they would be. Or how you would seal them, or put a valve in, or form them into a foil shape. I need some type of thin, but durable plastic. Preferably something that is not stretchy.

maybe try clear shower curtain material and heat vulcanize the eges together with a low power soldering iron....
I saw people in the art department make inflatables and THIS!!!!

http://www.geocities.com/reystos/inflatable/

good luck man

DQ

Nick -

You really need to check out the Yahoo Inflatodesign group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Inflatodesign/

There's PDF of how one guy makes bladders using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film by heat sealing with an iron:


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Inflatodesign/files/

go to:
TPU_bladders_how_to_2.0.pdf

BTW, TPU is the stuff most bladders are made from. Latex isn't tough, and it degrades really quick. Some folkstry using sheet poly, but it usually has pinholes. Bladders are made oversize so they don't stretch in the pockets (they should have some wrinkles).

Speleo is right. You actually might find a C kite with decent bladders for what you'd pay for the materials to make a set. Good luck either way.

krumly

Yeah, I know I can, but I like to make stuff, why not. I tried making some test bladders out of weedblocker, but it is a bit thin to really use, I think my best bet is a shower curtain liner, thick, but still fairly light, PVC, and shouldnt have any holes.

I know you said you like to make stuff, but Best Kiteboarding had a bladder blowout sale recently. Many of their bladders were 5 dollars, and full sets were 10 - 15 bux. You might wanna check them out and ask if they still have any for sale. Maybe you could take their bladders and mod them to your liking?

This is possible, or even just design a kite around the bladder, that would make it so much easier on me, wouldn't even need surfplan!

Quote:

Originally posted by BeamerBob Quote: Originally posted by NPWfever What size condoms do you buy.......? I mean like MAYBE for the battens but for the leading edge? My god man! You know, the usual size. XL Magnums

Funny how your T-shirts all come in XXL and yet this company for Americans only makes XL EH !

See bladerunner, as you gain the wait, you ummm....lose the length, its the turtle effect! Ok but this is getting a little of topic, may I suggest kites before the moderator takes action.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bladerunner Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob Quote: Originally posted by NPWfever What size condoms do you buy.......? I mean like MAYBE for the battens but for the leading edge? My god man! You know, the usual size. XL Magnums Funny how your T-shirts all come in XXL and yet this company for Americans only makes XL EH !

Well Bladerunner, it would be like bragging if you actually put XXL on the package like that. Like XL Magnum won't draw some attention at the cash register. Ok, back on topic now for me. :saint:

Hey Nick, if you decide to build a Kitewing, U2U me and I'll send you some detailed layout pics of the sail and frame with measurements, along with any other questions you might have about materials and ideas.

Joe

Here is a shot at a practice bladder, it leaks like no other! AHH!! It'll stay inflated for about 5 minutes. So I am thinking either Vaccum sealing film, or PVC shower curtain liner. Any other ideas?