Building Laminated Canoe Paddles

[Marc Ornstein]

I finally got a chance to finish the "recycled" paddle, made from repurposed western red cedar (from old utility poles) and hard maple (from salvaged flooring). It's a SHALLOW WATER SPECIAL. LOA is 51". Since I have no personal need for it, it will become one of the few "stock" paddles that I occasionally have available. (Note: Shallow water specials are generally sized approximately 4" shorter LOA than the paddler generally uses."

 

[kona]

DOGPADDLE CANOE AND WOODWORKS
The paddle blank is glued up and I've run it through the planer. I've marked it from my pattern (this blade will be a shallow water special) and am cutting it out on the bandsaw.View attachment 150988

Hi there. I was interested to see this photo as it shows a block glued on for the tip. Most other builds I’ve seen photos of use thin veneers over the tip, which is an extension of the primary blade lamination, presumably to improve durability and minimize seam splitting.

Uninformed question just curious if you’d be able to comment on your approach and long term outcomes. Thanks!

 

[Marc Ornstein]

Hi there. I was interested to see this photo as it shows a block glued on for the tip. Most other builds I’ve seen photos of use thin veneers over the tip, which is an extension of the primary blade lamination, presumably to improve durability and minimize seam splitting.

Uninformed question just curious if you’d be able to comment on your approach and long term outcomes. Thanks!

Interesting questions. As to the method: The entire blade is sheathed with epoxy saturated fiberglass. As such, the various wood laminations are fully protected from the water. The very tip of the blade is an epoxy compound with various fillers, so even a chip in the tip, would not result in moisture penetration. As for long term outcomes, I've been using this and similar methods for 40+- years and too many paddles to count. I've never had or been informed of a failure.

 

[kona]

Interesting questions. As to the method: The entire blade is sheathed with epoxy saturated fiberglass. As such, the various wood laminations are fully protected from the water. The very tip of the blade is an epoxy compound with various fillers, so even a chip in the tip, would not result in moisture penetration. As for long term outcomes, I've been using this and similar methods for 40+- years and too many paddles to count. I've never had or been informed of a failure.

Awesome. Thanks for the rapid response! Cool and interesting. The whitewater specific paddles I have from Backlund and Snyder and Silver Creek, as well as those from Quimby use the veneer approach. Other flatwater paddles from those like Moore, Ibis, Cricket do not, at least for the sticks in my pile.

At one of his memorial gatherings, I got to handle the paddle you made for Dan Cooke a few years ago. It was lovely. Hoping to check out one or two more that I understand might be in Minnesota!

 

[Marc Ornstein]

Yesterday I found a local hardwoods supplier, in a nearby town. Nice fellow with a small sawmill. He has contacts and imports logs from all over the country and some from abroad. He saw, planes, dries and stores his inventory, inside. Long story short, I purchased one, expensive, though I think fairly priced, maple board. It is nicely figured and will, when re-milled provide book matched blade faces for 6-8 display paddles. As in the past, I'll post progress photos.

 

[dutchlennart]

Lovely peice of wood. Glad you 2 have met. Now there will be some very happy new paddle owners

 

[Marc Ornstein]

The 1st step was isolating the best grain patterns and sectioning the board into lengths, suitable for paddle blades. Each piece was cut to half of the finished width, as they will each be resawn and milled into book-matched halves which will then be glued together, with mirror image grain. For those not familiar with the book-matching process, perhaps the photos will help.
The 1st photo shows a stack of nominally, 2" x 5" x 20" slabs. Each will be resawn/split and milled into two, nominally 1" x 5" x 20" book-matched pieces which are then glued together to form mirror imaged pieces.
The 2nd photo shows a glued up, book-matched/mirror imaged blade blank.
The grain will be much more pronounced once the blade is shaped and finished.

 

[ppine]

The wider blades are good for rivers. A friend made me some blanks of laminated white ash, cherry, mahogany, and walnut. I cut the shape with a jig saw and then used hand tools, mostly rasps and planes for the shaping. I finished with a strip of epoxy and cloth on the bottom of the blade and varnished the rest. My favorite has been in a lot of eddies. It sits in my bedroom so I can look at it and remember all of those good paddling days.