How To Make A Diamond Kite

Complete Instructions For The MBK Dowel Diamond

This set of instructions on how to make a Diamond kite assumes you know absolutely nothing about kite making. You might already have some of the simple tools and materials required. Anything you don't have is easily bought. If not exactly what I used, then at least something pretty similar!

The instructions on how to make a Diamond kite might look awfully long, but that's because they are so detailed. For those who like pictures, every detail is illustrated with photographs too. Just quickly work your way through from top to bottom, skimming over any detail that you don't need.

The MBK Dowel Diamond Kite is a large tail-less Diamond, inspired by the famous Eddy design. The Dowel Diamond is a good light-to-moderate wind flier and can cope with moderately gusty and fresh winds. The kite is designed to roll up into a slim cylindrical package like a Sled, thanks to the top and bottom detachable corners of the sail and the toggle-linked bow line. Setting up on the flying field takes just a minute or 2. Of course, if you have room, you can always leave this Diamond ready-to-fly!

Now's the time to read up on the kite making tools and materials required for making a Dowel Diamond, if you haven't already.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Sail

The template shown above represents one side of the kite sail. You will now transfer these measurements to the sail plastic as follows...

• Firstly, take a large bag that will fit the entire Template shape within one side, and lay it flat on the floor.
• Mark dots on the plastic, corressponding to the corners of the Template. There is no need to use a T-square, since any small error will be duplicated on the other side of the sail.
• Using the marking pen, rule lines between the dots, as in the photo. For lines longer than the ruler, just add a few extra dots using one of the dowel spars as a ruler! Then it's easy to connect the dots. It's probably best not to rule the whole line with the dowel, since it bends easily.

• Flip the plastic bag over, and trace over all the black lines using your marker pen and ruler.
• Cut out a rectangular section of the bag containing the kite sail, open it out and lay it flat on the floor - you can now see the complete sail outline, as in the photo.

When doing the following, most of the width of the tape should be inside the kite's outline. Use a single length of tape for each line. Hold it out straight, touch it down to the plastic at one end, then at the other end, dab it down in the middle, then press down all along its length.

• Lay clear sticking tape along all the lines, letting it overlap at the corners.
• With scissors, cut along all the black lines. This will leave most of the width of the sticking tape inside the sail outline. See the top photo.
• Add a corner strap to the top corner of the sail. This strap, with a length of 0.25DL (300mm, 12"), is much longer than in the example. See the middle photo.
• The bottom corner of the sail requires a pocket. The dimensions don't have to be exact, so just copy what you see in the bottom photo. First you cut out a triangular shape from some spare sail plastic, and lay it down on the sail corner.
• Next, cut off 2 short pieces of insulation tape, to cover the side edges of the pocket. Fold around and under the sail plastic.
• Then cut a square pice of insulation tape and fold it right over the point of the corner. This will prevent the spar poking through there.
• Lay another piece of tape across the top edge of the pocket, and fold under the sail where necessary. The corner should now look like the photo.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Spars

For this Diamond, you need 2 long lengths of 5mm (3/16") wooden dowel. At least 1.0DL (1200mm, 48") each. They are easily cut to the length required with a small hack saw.

• Lay down a dowel over the center crease of the plastic. Mark it at the extact height of the sail, and cut off at the mark. Round off the tips with a wood file. This is the vertical spar.
• Cut off a very short length of dowel, 0.01DL (12mm, 1/2") in length. Round off the tips with a wood file. You can use thinner dowel than this if you have some laying around. This will be used as the bow-line toggle. I use 4mm dowel for toggles.
• Lay down some more dowel across the left and right corners of the sail, mark it at the exact width and cut off at the mark. Also make an easily-seen mark around the dowel where it touches the center-crease of the sail.
• Round off the tips with a wood file then add a bow-line so the depth of the bow is 0.08DL (96mm, 3 3/4"). With the kite flat on the ground, that's how far the tips should be off the grass. This is the horizontal spar. The photo above shows it with the toggle unattached, plus the vertical spar.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Attachment Ties

The vertical spar will have a shoe-lace tie attached to it, which will be used to lash it to the horizontal spar before flying.

• Firstly, lay down the vertical spar, then the horizontal spar over the sail. Carefully line up the tips of the horizontal spar with the sail corners. (Tip: Find the exact center of the vertical spar, then balance it at that point to find which is the heavier end. Putting the heavier end at the bottom will make the kite more stable.)
• Make marks on the vertical spar, showing where the horizontal spar crosses. Then remove the horizontal spar.
• Measure and cut off a 0.16DL (192mm, 7 ¾") length of shoe-lace. To prevent the cut ends from fraying, just tie a Simple Knot near the end.
• Measure and cut off a length of insulation tape that is long enough to go all the way around the dowel, plus a little more.
• Attach the tie at the spar-crossing point which you marked on the vertical spar. The red tape wraps around the dowel, attaching the middle of the shoe-lace to the dowel, as in the photo.

• Prepare 4 lengths of electrical insulation tape, each one about 4 times longer than it is wide. Stick them by a corner onto something handy like a table edge. You can remove them one at a time as needed.
• Spread out the sail, with the edge tape facing upwards.
• Lay down the horizontal spar over the sail, so it would bow away from the sail if you attached the toggle. With the toggle un-attached, line up the tips of the spar with the left and right corners of the sail.
• Cap one tip of the spar with tape, by sticking tape down on the dowel and plastic, then folding it around the tip and under the plastic to stick on the other side. A bit tricky, take your time!
• For added strength, put another piece of tape at right-angles to the first. See the completed cap in the photo.
• Now do the other tip of the spar similarly, using another 2 pieces of tape.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Bridle

• Cut off some 50 pound bridle line to a length of 0.75DL (900mm, 36"), and tie a very small Loop Knot near each end.
• Poke 2 holes in the plastic, over the horizontal spar, where indicated by the small yellow circles in the photo. One on either side of the mark. That's 0.15DL (180mm, 7 ¼") on either side of the vertical spar.
• Tie each end of the line to the dowel, through the holes. Use a Slip Knot, feeding the line around the dowel twice, and pull tight against the knot of the small loop. This is the bridle loop.
• Insert the vertical spar under the horizontal spar, and into its pocket at the bottom corner of the sail. Do up the shoe-lace tie.
• Measure up 0.3DL (360mm, 14 ½") from the bottom tip of the vertical spar, and make a hole in the sail at that point.
• Cut off some flying line to a length of 1.5DL (1800mm, 72"). Attach one end to the center of the bridle loop with a shiftable knot such as the Prusik Knot. Tie the other end to the vertical spar, through the hole in the sail. We'll call this the bridle line.

Finally, take a length of flying line about 0.2DL (240mm, 9 1/2") long, and tie one end to the bridle line with a Prusik knot. Tie a small Double Loop Knot into the other end, just to get a large knot. There's a photo of this further down, in the section titled Before The First Flight.

At this point, you've pretty much finished making the Dowel Diamond! However, there is a short Setup procedure to go through before it will fly...

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Setting Up

1. Unroll the sail and insert the top tip of the vertical spar between the sail and the horizontal spar.
2. Locate the bottom tip of the vertical spar in the pocket at the bottom corner of the sail.
3. Locate the top tip of the vertical spar in the corner strap of the sail.
4. Tie the top corner strap of the sail to the center of the horizontal spar, and then secure the spars together with the shoe-lace tie. Experiment with leaving the corner strap done up, to save time! In that case, you just slip the tip of the spar in sideways.
5. Attach the bow-line of the horizontal spar by feeding the toggle through the loop.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Breaking Down

I don't mean breaking down in grief because your flying session has come to an end - I mean getting the kite packed up ready for transport or storage!

1. Slip the bow-line toggle out of its loop.
2. Undo the top corner strap - or just slip the tip of the vertical spar out sideways.
3. Undo the shoe-lace tie where the spars cross.
4. Remove the vertical spar, pulling some bridle line through the hole in the sail. Lay the spar beside the horizontal spar, on the sail.
5. Roll up the sail, starting from the top corner.
6. Finally, wrap the bridle line around the kite a few times to prevent it un-rolling. There it is in the photo, taking up no more space than a Sled kite.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Before The First Flight

Make up a flying line and attach it to the bridle with a Lark's Head Knot. See the photo over there, where the Lark's Head has been left loose.

Suspend the kite from the Double Loop Knot. Shift the Prusik Knot along the bridle line until the kite hangs at around a 20 degree angle from the horizontal. To lock the Prusik in place, take the 2 bridle lines in one hand, the flying line in the other, and pull tight. To unlock it, you just pull the bridle line straight, with the knot in the middle.

Check all the bridle line slip knots on the spars. Tighten them up and add a drop of wood glue to each. If you use enough glue, this secures the knot and prevents it slipping along the spar.

Finally, drop the rigged kite so it floats face-down towards the floor. If it tends to drop its nose and glide forward, keep adding insulation tape around the bottom corner pocket until the kite just sinks straight down.

How To Make A Diamond Kite - Flying!

Firstly, if it's very windy outside, stay home! This is a light-wind kite and won't like being launched in a gale.

The Prusik knot on the bridle line can loosen off a little over time. If necessary, pull on all the lines to tighten the knot up before a flying session.

Assuming there is some breeze outside, just dangle the kite at arm's length until the wind catches it. As long as you feel the kite pulling, let out line slowly by taking loop after loop off the winder. Be cautious about letting line slip through your fingers. If a big gust hits the kite, the line could burn you! For any kite this big or bigger, it's a good idea to wear a glove of some sort.

Another approach is to get a helper to hold the kite up and let it go, on the end of maybe 10 or 20 meters of line. This way, the kite soon gets high enough to make it easy to let more line out.

The picture shows the Dowel Diamond on its first outing, hovering at around tree-top height in a dying late-evening breeze. Have fun flying, and I hope you've enjoyed learning how to make a Diamond kite!

The Dowel Diamond Kite eBook is a neat compilation of all this site's info on this specific kite. Plus there is general info to help you towards kite-flying success.

Last updated: 12 Aug 2010