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 The making of this kite reel was inspired by a similar model I saw at a kite festival in Scheveningen, a couple of weeks ago. But in stead of building it from plywood I chose polypropylene, or polypropene - PP for short. It's a thermoplastic polymer that is easy to cut, saw and file and it is insensitive to moisture.
The sides are 25 cm in diameter and about 9 mm thick. They are made from kitchen cutting boards that I purchased at a local general store for about € 3 a piece.
In the left side plate I cut a hole with a diameter of 14,5 cm, to stick my hand through. Both side plates have three elongated gaps, to save weight and to function as an attachement for a carabiner. These holes also make the reel visually more attractive, IMHO.
I used a fretsaw for all the holes because it gives me more control than a jigsaw. A bandsaw would probably the most conveniet and time-saving, but I don't own one.
In the middle of the right side plate I attached a wheel from an inline skate: these have ball bearings for smooth operation and they offer a good handhold. The wheel is kept at a small distance from the right side plate with a little piece of aluminium pipe that goes over the attachment bolt.
New inline skate wheels are not cheap, so I bought a pair of second hand skates on the internet, for € 10,-. Plenty of wheels and bearings for future projects!
The side plates are kept 7 cm apart by means of 12 bolts that go through aluminium spacers made of 8x6 mm aluminium pipe I got at a hardware store.
All bolts are M6 and they have self-locking nuts. 
To operate the reel I attached a pair of handles to the right side plate. You definitely want two, not one, to keep the balance when giving out line at high speed. I cut the handles from surplus PP.
 The problem with PP is that it cannot be glued. At least, not with consumer glues. So to attach the two parts of each handle to each other I had to melt them together, using a hot air paint stripper.
Be very careful with these paint strippers: make sure you don't overheat the PP or anything else on your work area. Ensure there's enough ventilation and wear appropriate safety gear. I placed the PP parts on a piece of flat stone and slowly heated them up, testing now and then with a long nail if the surface was already becoming soft. When it was soft enough I put the paint stripper away and carefully and quickly, not burning my fingers, pressed both parts together. Afterwards I used a file to smooth the handles and for rounding of the edges.
Tip: before you start on the carefully cut-out parts for your handles, try the paint stripper on some left-over pieces to get a feel for the heating process.
Here's a parts list:
- two plates of kitchen cutting board
- 12 bolts M6x10
- 2 bolts M6x40 for the handles
- 1 bolt M6x50 for the wheel
- 15 self-locking nuts M6
- 19 washers M6
- ca. 120 cm of 8x6 aluminium pipe
- 1 old skeeler wheel
Tools that I used for this project:
- drafting compass
- triangle ruler
- pencil
- fret saw or similar
- pipe cutter or metal saw, to cut the aluminium pipe
- metal drill bit 6 mm, to drill the bolt holes and free up the alu pipe after cutting it
- spade drill bit 16 mm, to drill thr beginning of the elongated holes
- spanner, pliers
- hot air paint stripper
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