Bridle Jig

[riffclown]

Not wanting to hijack the other thread I thought I share a little bit of insight into my Jigboards.

Here's about as much as I'm willing to share.  Every mark on this board is for a reason.. I also have a reference chart (covered) for all sizes of bridles I use as well as some critical marks for my Symphony bridles when I make those. and triangle charts for bowtie panel sizes.. Keeps me from having to reinvent the wheel every time I sew, sleeve or knot.  I can tie, and also also do all my bridle measurements without the need for a ruler.

I also have a separate jig board. (still experimental) to tie French bridles from a single piece of line. There is a bit of doubling on those but still it was a personal challenge to do so.

So these two boards are used to create:

• 72" Bridles
• 83" Bridles
• 93" Bridles
• 97" Bridles
• LE Sleeve
• Sleeving Segments
• 2.2.4 Backsplice Marks
• Bowtie panels for all sizes so far
• Winder Templates

 

[makatakam]

Good informative post. I believe a lot of people thought that a tying jig is a complicated, high-tech setup, not realizing that it can be as simple as a pine board with a few pins placed at the distances between knots plus the length of the knot if so desired.

[SHBKF]

Down in the Kite Dungeon I simply place finish nails into the plywood kite work table.  I layout the dimensions with ruler & pencil then tap the nails into the wood just enough to hold firm.  Later, when I am finished, I simply pull the nail out until needed again.  I may  leave small penciled notes for future reference or erase the marks if I decide they did not produce desired results.  Mostly I work in inches but keep metric rulers handy if I am working in centimeters.  It is also a good idea to check kite bridles for symmetry when you have them on the kite table.  SHBKF

here's the kite table with a kite awaiting bridle repair

[SegelFlieger]

The information from these posts inspired me with ideas to create my own Nail Board.  I shared my experience recently in the form of an "instructional" blog as I felt it was too lengthy to post as a reply to this topic.  If you are interested in reading it, here is the link:

I hope you find it useful.

SF

[riffclown]

I seem to have misplaced the bridles I made ahead of time for the 72" "Yonder" so thought I'd set up a camera to show the progression from plain line to a Bridled Kite..Video is sped up for brevity. Total time was about 21 Minutes.

Measurements are not provided in this video.. This is just a quick stab at sharing how I make Bridles for my quad kites.. This is not the end all/be all on the topic but if you have a bridle board, this gives you a good idea on one way to use it..

I usually tie off the center loop for the horizontal legs first and then start my wraps and loops. first with one leg and then the other. I use masking tape to tape down the final strand..

The Vertical legs are almost as straight forward. Point #10 is the small loop that is the attachment point to marry all the parts together.

When marking everything out, I use one color for X's and a contrasting color for O's.. in this case copper for knots and blue for loops.

Once everything is marked I remove from my Bridle Board and start knotting.. I always try very meticulously to make sure the knot marks fall on the same place in the knots. This one step makes the best symmetry for the entire assembly..

I forgot to mark point #10 on the vertical legs which confused me for just a moment. Regardless I had marked the knot points so it was not an issue.

Once the knots are in place I compare the legs to ensure they match. Any issues are easier to fix now than to troubleshoot later. There's two ways to do anything.. Right and Again..

Once the legs are all done, I assemble the Bridle Completely..

Once Assembled, it's ready for the kite.

[John Barresi]

What a treasure trove topic, not much out there on bridle boards - thank you! 👍🏻

[Breezin]

Ahh okay what was step 1 again. Very cool !! I'l be watching that a few times .

[riffclown]

5 minutes ago, Breezin said:

Ahh okay what was step 1 again. Very cool !! I'l be watching that a few times .

@Breezin   Step one is making your bridle board. It isn't that difficult but you do have to measure and plan ahead.  I made my first one because no one was making bridles for B2 sized kites.. Once I started making the 97" LE kites and in-between (83") LE kites I decided it was best to make the bridle board that could do all of those.. This is my second one. the original at the top has been retired to refine the 97" bridles.