How to make wind turbine blades from bamboo

Step 1: What you need

-Big bamboo (about 4 inches wide and 4 feet long)
-Measuring tape
-Saw (circular saw recommended)
-Angle grinder with sanding disk (maybe you could use a sanding block)
-About 1 hour per blade.

Step 2: Cut to length

Cut your bamboo to length. In my case I cut it to 4 feet.

Step 3: Cut into Thirds Lengthwise

Divide circumference by 3, and cut.

Step 4: Cut the Leading Edge

This part needs a cut line.

Mark 6 inches (15cm) from the base on one edge (the top edge in this picture).

And mark about 2 inches (6cm) perpendicular to the other edge at the tip (up from the bottom edge in this picture).

Step 5: Sand into shape and you're done!

Now spend some time sanding in an airfoil shape.

First sand the nodes flat. I still had some unevenness on the concave side at each node but whateva'

The leading edge is simple; just round it off

The trailing edge is also simple; sand from the concave side only to give the blade a standard airfoil shape.

The tips can be a bit thinner. I think they will spin faster if the ends are lighter plus they will have less resistance when they are thinner. Also you will notice that your angle of attack is different at the tip than at the base.

Step 6: Nothing Fancy but it Works!

Now fire them onto the front wheel of an abandoned scooter and you're off!

Actually, reinforce the base of the blades with some metal first (see image note).

Concluding thoughts:

I was inspired by some other instructables like this one http://www.instructables.com/id/EDXXV4R4SLEP286NHD/ but PVC is really unhealthy to work with and I didn't like the thinness of the design so I thunk up this here design with a deeper curve at the root.

The point of these blades was to see how little care and how much inaccuracy I could get away with. Word on the street is that a perfect airfoil and a crappy airfoil only differ by about 20%. So you can probably get 80% of the result with only 20% of the effort!

Also bamboo is cheap/free in my neck of the woods so...

And remember to ask me to clarify any points that you don't get.

Posted to Instructables by snotty

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