My first homemade paddle

[Dana]

This is my first attempt at making a paddle... I have an old beavertail paddle of unknown origin, I like it but it's too long for me. So I copied the basic shape onto a plank we milled from a beetle killed ash tree near the cabin. It's the second best plank I could find; the best became the new gunwales and thwarts for my canoe.

The grain through the shaft is perfectly straight, but there was a knot in the blade area, the extent of which was unclear until I started "carving away everything that didn't look like a paddle." Digging out the soft center left a sizeable void, which I filled epoxy mixed with black mica powder. Hopefully it won't affect the strength too much, but our lake is pretty mellow so it won't be worked too hard.


(The one on the right is the old one I copied.). I did take off a bit too much in the grip area, but it still feels pretty good in my hand. Just gotta do the final sanding and finish it, probably with Watco Teak oil. And maybe make another if I find a perfect plank; we're still cutting and milling dead trees.

 

[Gamma1214]

Looks good. If you're working with a sawmill, have them keep their eyes open for Sassafras. Makes excellent paddles- light & flexible and the smell while working it is terrific.

 

[Patrick Corry]

Great first effort. I like that blade shape. Gamma is correct, Sassafras makes a very nice paddle. Mine is the lighter wood in these pictures; the other paddle is Cherry.

 

[Dana]

Looks good. If you're working with a sawmill, have them keep their eyes open for Sassafras. Makes excellent paddles- light & flexible and the smell while working it is terrific.

The sawmill is our own, or rather, the camp's... we're in a community of about 60 cabins, we bought the mill when we realized we'd have a lot of lumber available from the dead ash trees. It's only appropriate; the cabins were all built from local chestnut salvaged during the blight of the 1920s and by now many are in need of repair. So it's mostly ash with some oak, black walnut, and other things, but my friends know to let me know if there's a sassafras tree in the mix.

The cool pearlescent sparkly look of the mica filled epoxy is sadly lost when sanded flush with the wood, but it comes back to some extent with #000 steel wool. I'm hoping the oil finish will bring out the lustre, we'll see.

 

[scoutergriz]

don't waste the "bad stuff", you can always cut it into strips and laminate it together to get decent widths, you could even get fancy and laminate in some of those strips of oak or walnut, Even your "over exuberant" grip can be rebuilt this way- cut flats near the shaft and add fresh blocks to form a new grip, because you're using blocks and strips you can change the orientation of the grain to stiffen or soften the blades and make super- strong grips...

 

[Dana]

don't waste the "bad stuff", you can always cut it into strips and laminate it together to get decent widths, you could even get fancy and laminate in some of those strips...

I could, but I likely won't; I have far too many projects. This is just an interesting side project that arose out of out of picking wood for the gunwales. Nothing is "wasted", it goes to floors, walls, cabinets, whatever people are making or rebuilding. And the rest is firewood.

Although, shaping this paddle made me think again about the CNC router I've been thinking about building to carve airplane propellers, which would work just as well to quickly shape paddles..

 

[ppine]

One of the great projects for any canoeist is to make a paddle. Easiest to find one you like as a model.
My friend is a wood worker and just gave me some laminated blanks once. Mahogany, walnut and white ash down the middle.
Not the lightest materials but very strong and capable of standing up to rocks in a river.

do not use elm. Very hard to work with.

 

[Dana]

do not use elm. Very hard to work with.

Can you even get elm any more, except as reclaimed lumber?

I've done a fair amount of work with chestnut, as scraps become available during repair or remodeling of our 100 year old cabins. Beautiful and durable wood, but I haven't found a piece suitable for a paddle yet.