Gday fellas.

Having a first go at shortening lines,

Is this the correct method. Step 4 has me stumped

1. Measure back reduced length from connection points and mark with permanent marker
2. Unstitch connectors by hand, i have a picker and stitch remover scissors, pretty sure i can do this.
3. cut lines at mark
4. slide line into connector - this step looks impossible how can i get a tiny folded line all the way to the end of the sleeve and how would i see the mark I,ve made and know the length is correct
5, clamp, hand stitch and then zig zag machine stitch - this I can do.

Cheers

I suspect you need a splicing tool to do step 4? Have a look at Gorgos comment here for more details: (www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Replacing-Kite-lines-2?page=1)


Although why do you want to shorten lines anyway? If its a small difference in length then add some pigtails/extensions rather than trying to cut the old ones. If its a large difference (dropping from 22m to 16m) then consider making a new set of lines rather than reusing worn ones. If it all goes a bit sketchy then at least you have the original lines to fall back to.

Add a second mark, say 15-20cm further down the line, so now even with the first mark covered you will know where it is.

Select to expand quote

weebitbreezy said..
I suspect you need a splicing tool to do step 4? Have a look at Gorgos comment here for more details: (www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Replacing-Kite-lines-2?page=1)


Although why do you want to shorten lines anyway? If its a small difference in length then add some pigtails/extensions rather than trying to cut the old ones. If its a large difference (dropping from 22m to 16m) then consider making a new set of lines rather than reusing worn ones. If it all goes a bit sketchy then at least you have the original lines to fall back to.

From what i've read i wont need to splice to shorten lines. Just cut to length, sleeve (use thin wire or guitar string folded over to pull the kite line through the sleeve), clamp ends, tie knots - fig 8 for knot end lines and sew, thats how they originally came form the manufacturer.
Getting the length exactly the same for both front and then back will be tricky but not impossible.

I guess its a personal preference to shorten them.

Thanks.

Select to expand quote

airsail said..
Add a second mark, say 15-20cm further down the line, so now even with the first mark covered you will know where it is.

Thanks mate, but i didnt want to mark lines that will be under load with a chemical from the permanent marker, this could cause a break point, maybe?

The usual way to set line lengths is to stretch the line out with a 5-10kg weight (you can get near enough by pulling hard with your hand until the line stops stretching. You can see how the mark on the line moves compared to your tape or fixed point or whatever. )

Mark the length. Fold the end over at the mark and make two marks where the line meets down past the ends of where you're going to sew.

The best of all is to have the line pass around a narrow point (a hook or a nail or a thin line of loop) so it passes back on itself under tension. That's easy for bridle lines (a length of timber with nails to set the length). Not so easy with 20+m of kite line.

Use a soft lead pencil if you're worried about the ink.

You can put the sleeving on then fold the line over and match the two marks and sew. Cut off the excess and away you go.

Zigzag sewing lines is hard. Industrial machines have heavy flywheels so they can so slowly with a lot of power. With domestic machines you need to sew with bit of speed to get some momentum. If you sew too slow you'll get tangles (you can reduce tangles by pulling out about 20cm of thread from the top and bottom spools on the right hand-rear side of the sewing). If you sew too fast you'll get a wonky result. It's possible to sew the sleeving and not the line inside. Too many stitches in the same place are bad too.

You can make a jig to hold the lines by cutting a slot into a piece of cardboard so that it holds the line nice and straight and together.

You want to practice a fair bit. It takes a few goes to get the tension and speed and presser foot pressure right.

You also need to think how you're going to start and end the sewing. Self locking stitches usually end up in a tangle. Starting and finishing with a short length of reverse sewing usually works quite well (or you can do a full length down, turn the line around with the needle down then a full length back).

Most manufacturers have gone to spliced lines because it is easier and stronger. They only use sheathing on the ends that pass through the trim bracket.

Pigtails made out of 3mm dyneema at the kite ends gives something soft with increased radius for the line to attach to.

Select to expand quote

Gorgo said..
The usual way to set line lengths is to stretch the line out with a 5-10kg weight (you can get near enough by pulling hard with your hand until the line stops stretching. You can see how the mark on the line moves compared to your tape or fixed point or whatever. )

Mark the length. Fold the end over at the mark and make two marks where the line meets down past the ends of where you're going to sew.

The best of all is to have the line pass around a narrow point (a hook or a nail or a thin line of loop) so it passes back on itself under tension. That's easy for bridle lines (a length of timber with nails to set the length). Not so easy with 20+m of kite line.

Use a soft lead pencil if you're worried about the ink.

You can put the sleeving on then fold the line over and match the two marks and sew. Cut off the excess and away you go.

Zigzag sewing lines is hard. Industrial machines have heavy flywheels so they can so slowly with a lot of power. With domestic machines you need to sew with bit of speed to get some momentum. If you sew too slow you'll get tangles (you can reduce tangles by pulling out about 20cm of thread from the top and bottom spools on the right hand-rear side of the sewing). If you sew too fast you'll get a wonky result. It's possible to sew the sleeving and not the line inside. Too many stitches in the same place are bad too.

You can make a jig to hold the lines by cutting a slot into a piece of cardboard so that it holds the line nice and straight and together.

You want to practice a fair bit. It takes a few goes to get the tension and speed and presser foot pressure right.

You also need to think how you're going to start and end the sewing. Self locking stitches usually end up in a tangle. Starting and finishing with a short length of reverse sewing usually works quite well (or you can do a full length down, turn the line around with the needle down then a full length back).

Most manufacturers have gone to spliced lines because it is easier and stronger. They only use sheathing on the ends that pass through the trim bracket.

Pigtails made out of 3mm dyneema at the kite ends gives something soft with increased radius for the line to attach to.

Good point the tension from machine sewing could change the length unless
done very consistently, might be better to hand sew the sleeves, would take a while but might be more accurate,

thanks mate

Sewing tension is not to do with length. It controls where the lock stitch meets. You want it to meet in the middle of the work with nice neat secure stitches on the outside.

If the tension is wrong you get loops on the top or bottom. At best it looks bad. At worst it can lead to tangles and loose sewing.

You tension the line to measure it because some lines have a lot of slack in the weave at rest. Applying tension pulls the weave taut. Expensive or well used lines are pre-stretched. It's an easy thing to tension the lines and it removes a possible cause of error.

You can tell the difference by putting a mark on the line and lining it up a fixed point or ruler, and slowly applying tension with your hand. The mark will move and move then stop moving once the stretch is taken up.