First, I do almost all of my web stuff on a computer in a public library, the post was made with the aid of my neighbour's digital camera, computer and knowledge of html postings and Windows software, I don't like to trouble him too often.

I will try and get my email address to whoever wants it, but expect communications to be a bit erratic, I have to cycle into town and if it's raining, well, that's a day missed.

There are no plans as such, just a drawing. But this drawing was done on a non PC compatable computer, an Acorn, so getting plans would mean printing it off and scanning it into a Windows machine. But, really this is not neccessary, as you will see if I explain why I made the blades.

The blade are made of what I said they where made of -  PVC guttering. Most people on the board want to make what I call large turbines, this it quite understandable as you get more bangs for bucks the larger you can make your wind turbine. So most plastic blades seem to be made from pipe which has a thicker wall. I am more interested in turbines about the size of a Rutland 913, because with me it's a hobby and not a neccessity, I am on mains electicity. The blades I have made are about the length of a Rutland, and I would not advise anybody to go much larger with this type of guttering.

All blades are a compromise between torque and tip speed, and depending on the average wind strength in your area one will win over the other. From what I have seen on the board, and I haven't seen it all, most people who use guttering do not seem to think of shaping it much - and until my blades are properly tested they may have a very good reason doing this. But if you have a wide gutter blade at the tip you will have high wind resistance against the leading edge and slow the blade down. If you shape it the camber of the gutter acts like twisting a carved wooden blade, until at the tip it is almost edge on to the direction it is travelling. And if you sand down the last three or four inches on the front it can be quite thin but with still a slight curve on the back.

I am not an engineer and my blades were not computer designed. They were computer drawn to a shape that I thought seem about right (I know I used the term designed in the posting, but that was because the software I used is called Draw and it may have got a bit confusing). What I am trying to say is that you all have a rough idea of the blade shape I arrived at, and you can adapt it to suit yourselves, I don't know the gutter size in the U.S.A., I tried to find it but without success, for all I know diffent states have different building regs., so it's best to just use a design that you have made youself, if I can do it anybody can, and I will always help if I can, just bear in mind that my response may sometimes be a litle slow.

It's funny how we take things for granted, here in the UK nearly all guttering is PVC, it's light, durable, and makes pretty good blades for small wind turbines. If you go to www.screwfix.com (that's an online DIY store here, not an online brothel)you will be able to see what I am talking about.

I always wondered why PVC pipe was always being used. Guttering is only about 1mm thick so that prohibits its use on large blades, but it is very easy to work.

Perhaps the people at otherpower could import some and cut up some blanks. If they did some research into the best blade shape they could print it on the blanks, and all people would have to do is cut it out. There, that's another fortune made for them.