Darts and Nose Ties
Do the darts and the parachute
cord at the top of the kite together. Fold the dart over and hot cut it first. Make
sure the fold ends up on the backside of the sail. The top is opposite what it
seems. Remember the nose folds over and TOWARDS you in flight!! Be careful when
you handle the sail taking it to the sewing machine as the hot-cut darts may
come loose before you sew them... you might do one at a time on this kite 'til
you get used to it. Carefully press the seam flat, and make a few wide zig-zag
stitches in place (tacking) for strength at the beginning of the stitch run.
Sew down to the other end using a very wide zig-zag stitch, and tack the end of
the run.
When I connect the Nose ties, I add 1/2" to the length of each. Fray
the ends of each ¼”. To attach, melt one
end with a lighter a little bit and with a WET finger, press the melted end of
the loop into place on the sail (BE CAREFUL HERE AS YOU MIGHT GET BURNED. I
HAVE TOUGH SKIN AND CALLOUSES, SO I CAN GET AWAY WITH IT. YOU MIGHT USE THE
FLAT END OF A SCREWDRIVE OR SOME OTHER METAL OBJECT), and then zig-zag sew it
in place. Attach the “T” ties to the TOP,
or edge of the sail first. Zero out the forward
feed for the next step. Tack the “welded”
end of the tie, lifting the foot a bit to move it back and forth to cover the
whole end of the tie with stitches. Don't be afraid to do 20-30 stitches if
that's what it takes. Tack all the ties
into place at the edge of the sail.
Now
melt the other ends and attach them to the sail, and sew ‘em up like before. This method uses up that extra half inch of
frayed end you made. Check the pix and
you will see what I mean…. I haven't had one come loose yet, nor have any torn
through a sail… even the first NPW9b using a soft suiting, and it didn’t even
have the leech lines behind them.
The
lower left pic shows the “T” attachment at the bottom of the "A-1"
position. Next is at the top edge at one
of the middle ties.
Below is another shot of an edge
connection. To the right is after I finished
sewing the bottom of one of the center ties.
Be sure the needle pounces OVER the melted cord as it’s very hard to
penetrate and can break a needle.
Much
of what I do is very unconventional, but it works and is a lot easier for me.
(Like hot-cutting the panels together first, serging the edges with the leech
line, and sewing a second time to lay the seams down flat.) Fast? ~ Yes, very
fast! Quick & Easy? Dirty and unappealing? Perhaps so, but I want to get in the air the
next day, and I can beat anybody using this system over the conventional one!!
The photos above are somewhat
redundant, but each shows specific references to what I am trying to show…
Good Luck..
Don't hesitate to email me if you've any questions.
Bill Painter, Phx. Az. NPWBill@cox.net