A couple of new paddles for 2019

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Cruiser
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A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Cruiser »

Finished up a set of paddles, one for me, a pair for a charity auction. They are all cedar shafts and blades with walnut handles, the blades are reinenforced with 2 oz FG and epoxy .... they are light and strong.

This one is for me, I had an idea and I like the results.

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A pair of this style for the auction

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Hanging around geting final varnish coat dry

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I have started oiling the grips, as they feel nicer in the hand .. these have 4 coats of Tung Oil, each coat wet sanded in at 600 grit, they are silky smooth to the touch

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Brian
Last edited by Cruiser on Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jim Dodd
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Jim Dodd »

Nice job on the paddles Brian !

They will compliment your canoes nicely !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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Cruiser
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Cruiser »

Thanks Jim ... you've been scarce for the last bit
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Jim Dodd
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Jim Dodd »

I've been busy with Honey Dos, and Daddy Dos.
I'm enjoying seeing someone building something though !

Keep it up !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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Patricks Dad
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Patricks Dad »

Nice paddles!
Randy Pfeifer
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ID Canoeblder
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by ID Canoeblder »

Brian, you are truly an artist, and it seems that you have way too much time on your hands!! JK

Sure are beautiful. They are inspiring me to try my hand at paddles again. I made two back when I built the White, but following my fashion of overbuilding everything, they weigh about 5 lbs each! Need to make some for Megan's Prospector and now a double-blader for Maddie's Yak. Bring on the sawdust and epoxy!

Greg
When people find out what's really important in life, there's going to be a shortage of canoes.
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Cruiser
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Cruiser »

CanoeBlr .... I didn't post my last batch, but that one included a double blade, I could dig around and find a few pics of what I did ... if you would be interested
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Jim Dodd
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Jim Dodd »

I for one would be game for more !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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ID Canoeblder
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by ID Canoeblder »

Cruiser,
I sure would love to see them. Maddie, who is getting the Yak, is an artist, so I want to do something real nice for her.

Thanks,

Greg
When people find out what's really important in life, there's going to be a shortage of canoes.
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Cruiser
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Cruiser »

Okay, as requested ... this will be a basic "how to" for the Double I made ... feel free to critique, but I will just respond with "it was the first one I made", but to be honest, there isn't much I would change ... a few things, but over all it is light and works really well.

I modeled it after the GreyOwl Tempest 250 cm that I currently own, I picked that up at the factory, within driving distance of my house, they are pretty great folks to deal with. This one is 260 cm, I wanted just a little bit more length. This is not a kayak paddle, but a canoe paddle ... they are not the same, the water entry angles and the lengths are usually significantly different. I say this not to debate the point, but to point out that if you weren't aware, then maybe it is an area you may want to research a bit to satisfy yourself that you know what you want. The outline here is the same regardless of type, the only difference will be the shaft length and shape of the blade ... which is exactly the 2 things all paddles need to have fitted to the user and task.

I picked up the carbon fiber ferrules from Duckworks, they aren't too expensive and are well made.

When making wooden paddles, you can just carve the whole thing from a single piece of wood or build the paddle blank from multiple pieces of wood, I am pretty firmly in the multiple piece camp.

First pic and step one ... I make the shafts from multiple pieces and oppose the grains to make it warp resistant, in this build the shafts are white cedar , the blanks were made of white cedar and western red cedar. The pic is actually from another batch, but turns out it is the only pic of the shaft form I think I have, piled on top are paddle blanks for otter tail paddles. The narrow side (you can see the clear tape) is aligned with the outside edge of the strong back and then screwed into position, this pulls it down to give a flat bottom, the raised piece on this is screwed and glued to the base and has been trimmed in the saw, to give a vertical, flat surface, creating a 2 plane straight edge.

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If you decide to try and make laminated shafts, please take this warning. If you simply glue and clamp strips, they will warp .... you need to use a form that clamps them straight in both directions, hence my form screwed down to the strongback. Doing paddle blanks is straight forward, decide the shape, figure the maximum width of the blank (paddle width - shaft width, divided by 2) ... glue up a blank and resaw it in mirrored halves. Resaw rig for Radial saw .... you get the idea, whatever works for your shop

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Join the halves to the shaft ... there are shims under each blade half to center it on the shaft ... you also mark, on the shaft, where each blade ends to help keep it all aligned .... before you ask, no ... we don't worry about the blade shape yet, just that we have sufficient material for the desired shape.

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This double blade will have a convex shape, so that is the next task ... make up a router setup to give us the shape, a base with the required curve

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A guide plate on the router bottom to allow the router to follow the curve

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I did a test to check that the curve cutting would work as planned ... it seems to

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Clamp in the paddle blank, align ends to balance where the curve ends, so that it is even ... basically, you want the curve to start and end at a specific local on your paddle, adjust it to make that happen ... notice the stops I added on the bottom of the router plate, to keep the router just on the paddle

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Both blades have been "curved" or carved in this pic, although it is after the blade shape was added, pretend they look square ... don't worry about the rough patch at the handle side, that gets smoothed and carved to look pretty .... this worked better than expected and I will definitely use it again

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Take the paddle pattern and trace it on the carved blade .... trim to the outside of the line, then sand to get the final shape (sand to the line), be careful here, the blades have a right and left side, make sure you trace the pattern properly (basically with the blade curve facing up, trace one, flip pattern, trace other)

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I don't have a picture of the next step. The curve has been added to the blade, you need to curve the other side, this involves rasping the front area and rear area to continue the curve parallel to the existing curve we just made ... it is not worth using a power tool as much less material is being removed, this is what the final profile will look like (and you can see how that nasty roughness at the handle join gets carved)

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Add the epoxy tip for protection ... Jim, I won't repeat this here as you just read it in the CanoeTripping forums ... builder, if that interests you, I can post the link

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I will assume you know how to round the shaft, 4 bevels on each corner, bevel those 8 corners to form 16 and almost a round shaft. Sanding strip to get it round.

This is a pic of the fitting of the carbon fiber ferrules for joining the two halves (mmm ... I guess some folks may try a 1 piece, but at 260 cm that isn't practical IMO for this one). I want the OD of the ferrule to match the OD of the paddle shaft, so a step must be created. Getting a smooth step, which is also even isn't always easy ... but this little trick worked really well

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Little cleanup with a chisel and this became a very clean step

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The paddles are sanded out to 120 grit, 2 oz fiber glass is added to the blades and up the shaft for about 4" ... the end of the fiberglass is feathered to the shaft, and a final coat of epoxy added to the entire shaft ( not on the mounting steps). Once this coat is set, add the ferrules, lay the paddle out on a flat surface (strongback comes to mind), saturate the step portion of the paddles and lightly coat inside portion of ferrules (don't go crazy) ... thicken the remainder of the epoxy batch and use it to coat those surfaces and slip the ferrules in place. They should be locked together, in the neutral position (middle, these are 3 position) and the paddle laying flat. This will align the paddle blades and ferrule position.

Pic of finished blades ... when the epoxy is fully cured, put some painters tape on the ferrule, at the shaft/ferrule joint, sand the epoxy with 220 grit, wipe tac and varnish per your preference (mine is 2 gloss, final semigloss)

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Ferrule mounting

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Final finished pic

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Any questions, let me know

Brian
Last edited by Cruiser on Wed Jan 29, 2020 12:26 pm, edited 13 times in total.
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Jim Dodd
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Jim Dodd »

Nice work as Always Brian !

I like the router set up to duplicate the shape !

Jim
Keep your paddle wet and your seat dry!
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ID Canoeblder
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by ID Canoeblder »

Brian,
Great tutorial! Thanks for the work and thought you put into this, gives me a solid idea for how to do the dual paddle. I will heed the note about paddle types and do some more research on that. I think I might borrow your router trick as well: seems like the easiest way to get them symmetrical.

Great!!

Greg
When people find out what's really important in life, there's going to be a shortage of canoes.
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Patricks Dad
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Patricks Dad »

Nice work Brian. And as usual some new good ideas in there. Thanks for taking the time to document the process so well. You're a gem!

What was the final weight of your paddle? Here's a couple pics of the kayak paddle I recently finished....

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Randy Pfeifer
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Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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Cruiser
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Cruiser »

Hey Randy, is that ring around the outside epoxy or wood.

I didn't weigh them TBH, I will do that tomorrow and let you know.
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Patricks Dad
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Re: A couple of new paddles for 2019

Post by Patricks Dad »

It's epoxy.
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
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