Making A Box Kite

Step-by-Step - Page 1 of 3

MBK Dowel Box (mod. winds)

This set of instructions on making a Box kite assumes you know absolutely nothing about kite building. 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!

Making a box kite is a rewarding exercise.

MBK Dowel Box
(moderate winds)

The instructions on how to make a Box kite might look quite long, but each step is simple to do. Just quickly work your way through from top to bottom, skimming over any detail that you don't need.

The Dowel Box (moderate wind version) is a 1.2 meter (4 feet) long design which is very similar to the traditional Box. This design flies best in moderate winds, but will also stay in the air in wind strengths below and slightly above this range.

The Dowel Box is designed to roll up into a slim cylindrical package like a Sled, thanks to the detachable cross-pieces. Setting up on the flying field takes a few minutes at first, but gets quicker with practice.

Also, it's handy to set up in a spot that is sheltered from the wind. Of course, if you have room, you can always leave this Box ready-to-fly.

I have chosen to make '1 Dowel Length' equal to 120cm for every kite in the Dowel series. If you are in North America, 48" of 3/16" dowel is close enough to 120cm of 5mm dowel. This will result in a kite with similar flying characteristics to my original. Make sure to find a hard-wood type for your dowel.

On this site, there's more kite-making info than you can poke a stick at :-)

Want to know the most convenient way of using it all?

The Big MBK E-book Bundle is a collection of downloads - printable PDF files which provide step-by-step instructions for many kites large and small...

Every kite in every MBK series.

Making A Box Kite
Sail

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

Like to see a video clip? Just scroll down to near the end...

The Dowel Box - cells marked on plastic.

The Template represents one cell of the kite, laid flat. That's so it can be cut from a single, large plastic bag. Now transfer the measurements to the sail plastic as follows...

Firstly, take a large light plastic bag and lay it flat on the table. I use cheap orange garden bag plastic – the more expensive bags are usually 2 or 3-ply, which are more durable but somewhat heavier.
Measure and mark the outline of the whole cell first, with your black marking pen and ruler. If the bag isn't long enough, do the template shape in 2 halves, using 2 bags if necessary.
Now measure and mark the fold lines. There's my template marked out in the photo – just 1 bag was enough.

The Dowel Box - edge taping and reinforcements.

Flip the bag(s) over and trace over all the lines.
Cut where necessary to open the bag(s) out flat, so it lays out as a single thickness of plastic.
Cut around all the rectangular outlines, one at a time. Don't attempt to cut both thicknesses of plastic at once, since the bottom one will tend to slip out of position, causing an inaccurate cut.
If you halved the template shape, join the halves together using clear sticky tape on both sides. Do not overlap the plastic, just butt the edges together.
Lay down lengths of clear sticky tape, along all the long edges of the 2 cells. See below, left. You can just see the tape on the right edge.
Add extra lengths of sticky tape, at the right hand end of every fold-line. See the close-up photo on the right.

As mentioned earlier, there's more kite-making on this site than you can poke a stick at :-)