dmcneil Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Spine poked through the nose today. One too many lawn darts I suppose. Any repair suggestions? Thinking of just sewing it closed. Any particular stitch, reinforcing, etc.? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainbob Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Dayhiker and I were discussing this last week in the chat room, and he said that he has repaired the nose on kites by just sewing the nose with some good strong thread. I imagine he will see this post and tell you exactly what he used, and how he did it. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 I have repaired my 4D nose twice. The first time was a quick few stitches to get flying again & the second was after a few more encounters with asphalt in various mall parking lots. I will describe the second repair which has held up for quite some time now. Maybe I am a little easier on my kite now too. It is probably my most flown dualie. First I had to decide that it did not matter what it looked like as I am not a seamstress it just needed to be practical. The nose is very light material & easy to pierce with a medium size sewing needle. I used a thimble to force it through the layers. I threaded my needle with black polyester thread that happened to be in the sewing basket. It was a common weight like you would use to sew on a button. If you don't have black just use a black Sharpie to color it when you're done sewing. I used the thread doubled to get twice as much thread with each stitch. After removing the spine I sewed the hole closed with little looping stitches through the single layer leaving the pocket open in it's original shape as best I could. Then I started adding stitches through whole nose to build up the fabric. I added some mass to the nose but probably no more than had been rubbed off. Before I put the spine back into the pocket I put an extra vinyl end cap on it to make it larger. That way it would not be so likely to poke through so easily again. After my sewing was done I then painted the nose with black Plasti Dip to further reinforce the fabric & new threads. This is what I came up with. It is not professional or clever but it worked. From the end of the lines it looks perfect. I have since done a much more extensive repair on a used HQ Shadow & a Wala. There are some real experts on this forum who undoubtedly have much more experience & sound advice. Here's a picture of the repaired nose on the HQ Shadow. The spine tip came through on this one too. Also shown is a trailing edge repair to the the Shadow using exotic ultra high molecular weight polyethylene tape. Tape & Plasti Dip can be ordered from McMaster Carr. They also have a huge selection of vinyl end caps. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcneil Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks for the replies. I will try sewing for now and if I can find some kind of fabric to line it even better. If it happens again I will have to get more creative (like plasti-dip or something similar). The wind came up a bit and I didn't have my Hypnotist handy. Should have packed up but haven't flown in a while. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcneil Posted April 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 All better. For now. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHBKF Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 That looks great & nice granite too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcneil Posted April 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 Granite, I wish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chonkyfire9 Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 After sewing many noses, many times I looked for a different solution. I have found a solution that is so strong I don't think it will ever poke through. I took the seatbelts out of my van a while back, which has now gone to the scrapyard. I cut a small rectangle of the seatbelt and superglued it directly to the nose of the kite. I did it in three passes, allowing the two materials to actually melt to each other. I put some glue on one end of the rectangle and stuck it to one side of the kite. I allowed it to bond real good. You could feel the heat of the bonding coming through the material. I then added more glue to the center of the rectangle and folded it over the tip where the hole was, then let that set. Last, I applied some more glue to the last section of the rectangle and folded it over the other side of the kite. The whole piece of seatbelt was maybe one ince by two inches, or perhaps one by three. Super light, super strong, and NO sewing. I don't think it will ever poke through it again. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcneil Posted April 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 Nice. Seat belts last forever. We got my mother in law a pocket book made from seat belts because she destroys them. Next time I go by the salvage yard I may have to pick up a length. I doubt Jo Ann's fabrics carries it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainbob Posted April 26, 2014 Report Share Posted April 26, 2014 I am surprised that someone hasn't marketed something to reinforce the nose of Dualies, like a kit, with a piece of seatbelt or rubber type material and some instructions on how to glue in on the nose. Seems to be a weak point for some dualies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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