Both hands are frequently needed to haul in string quickly enough to bring a kite around into the wind, or to handle it when it pulls very strong, and then there is nothing to do but drop the hand reel upon the ground, unless you have an assistant to give it to. This is where the advantage of
Fig. 31.—A Body Kite-reel.
Fig. 32.—Detail of Axle Support.
Fig. 33.—Detail of Crank.
A Body Kite-reel comes in. With it strapped about the waist, it will go wherever you go, and always be within easy reach. [Figure 31] shows one simple to make. The spool of this is made similar to that of the hand reel shown in [Fig. 28]. If, however, you wish a larger winding-spool, you can use a larger can than the baking-powder can—a tomato can or syrup can—and increase the diameter of the wooden flanges accordingly. Instead of the spool turning upon the broom-handle axle, the axle turns with the spool, so the spool must be fastened to the axle.
The axle supports A ([Figs. 31] and [32]) should be about 7 inches long, 4 inches wide at the wide end, and 2 inches wide at the narrow end. Cut the holes to receive the axle ends a trifle large so the axle will turn easily. Cut the connecting crosspieces B of the right length so there will be about ¼ inch between the ends of the spool and supports A.
Cut the crank stick C as shown in [Fig. 33], bore a hole for the axle end to fit in, bore another hole in the edge for a set-screw to hold the stick in place on the axle end, and pivot a spool in place for a handle. If the hole in the spool is too large for the head of the nail used for pivoting, slip a small iron or leather washer over the nail.
An old belt or shawl-strap should be used for strapping the kite-reel to your body. Fasten this to the ends of the axle supports A by nailing the strips D to them as shown in [Fig. 32].