How to Make a Kite String Winder From 2x4 Scraps

Summers are a great time for flying kites. If you buy a kite, the cheap string winder that comes with it will have some issues. Mainly they pay our super fast and take forever to wind back in.

This homemade kite winder splits the difference and gives you the satisfaction of making a something cool out of scraps someone else would have thrown away.

Also if you flow these instructions you may learn some new woodworking ideas like how to make 'round' dials on a table saw.

What you'll need:

• 2x4 scraps about 24" will do
• Table Saw
• Utility knife
• Hammer
• Don't forget safety glasses

I like the idea of making my projects out of a single 2x4 but some are small enough you can get away with making them out of just some scraps. Her I had a 2x4 that I had ripped in half for one reason or another and never used. I was able to make the kine string winder from about half of the half.

The body of the winder is made from two (2) 1-1/2" x 1/2" x 10" pieces.

I did this by laying my 2x4 flat and ripping off a 1/2" length and then cross cutting the pieces to length.

Since the 2x4 is already 1-1/2" wide there is no more cutting required.

You will be making four (4) round dowels from these pieces, in the end the dowels will short but you need the to be long-ish 2-3' at this point so you can safely run them through the table saw.

So cut your pieces (Ill wait).

• one (1) 1/2" x 1/2" x 24" piece
• one (1) 7/16" x 7/16" x 24" piece

Ok... now set your blade at a 45 degree angle and lob off the corners of those pieces so that you square cross sections turn into octagons. Depending on where your table saw blade pivots you may need to move the fence in towards the blade a little. Experiment

What you're doing by making these different sizes is making one set of dowels that will eventually have a 'sholder' and another set of dowels that is just a tight fit. (you'll see - just cut the pieces)

Spacing of these holes is not critical.

They want to be centered though. I think I made these 3/4" from the edge and 3/4" on center

The fatter of the dowels wants to be 2" long.

The thinner of the dowels wants to be about 6" long.

Now take you short stubby fat dowels and shave the corners off until they feel like the could be hammered into your 1/2" holes.

Take your longer thinner dowels and shave the corners off until they feel like the could be hand pressed into your 1/2" holes.

Remember that hammer we talked about? Use it.

The short stubby dowels go in the 'inside' set of holes.

The longer dowels sick out either side of the 'outside holes'

And you're done now go fly a kite.