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Now take one of the diagonal struts. Mark the exact centre. Drill through with a 1/8 in. diameter bit. Place this strut on top of a second, and join them together with a fine-gauge screw. The diameter of the hole is slightly larger than that of the screw, to enable the two struts to open and close freely. Care is needed to avoid splitting the wood. To help prevent this, apply a little light machine oil at the spots where the drilling and screwing take place. The ends of the struts are cut V-shaped, as shown at I (Fig. 19), and are bound round with strong thread, to prevent splitting, when the kite is assembled. Apply a little glue where you bind the strut. This will keep the thread permanently in position.
The best method of inserting the struts is as follows. Get someone to open the kite out, stand it on end, and hold it squarely in place. This will enable you to slide the struts down until they are 5 in. from the ends of the longerons. As the struts were cut slightly oversize, it might be necessary to trim the ends. The thing to aim at is, that when the struts are fixed they will be bowed a little. This will exert maximum pressure on the longerons, and so keep the bands really taut. To prevent the struts slipping out of position, secure small L-shaped blocks to the longerons. Use glue and one fine panel pin for each block (see Fig. 19, J).
The bridle is fastened to one of the longerons in the form of a loop, K. It is 6 in. from either end. Use really strong string. A piece 7 ft. 6 in. in length will be required. In attaching the bridle it is necessary to pierce the bands. In order to strengthen them at these points, glue strips of material to the bands, thus providing a double thickness. The stiffening supplied by the glued strip will prevent tears and fraying.
The kite line is attached to the bridle by means of a reef knot and a bowline knot. The method of tying these is shown in Fig. 19, L. In this way the kite line can be adjusted on the bridle, to suit varying weather conditions. Generally speaking, such adjustments mean that the lighter the wind, the shorter the front line of the bridle will be. In a very strong wind, it might be necessary to tie the kite line directly to the longeron, just behind the front band.
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