Paddle #1 underway | SouthernPaddler.com

Paddle #1 underway

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
After long thought and deliberation.....about 12.7 minutes.....I took a large plank of Spanish Cedar off the rack and with a precision 1/8" wide magic marker and a yardstick marked off a sort of modified willow-leaf paddle. I took all the good advice you guys offered and cut it off at about the top of the breastbone (assumed) for the future owner. Some bandsaw work, some handsaw work, elec. hand plane, drawknife and spokeshave made a mountain of chips in the back yard and left me with a nice paddle blank. Now, I'll carry it into the violin shop and do some more carving, scraping and sanding and it will be a paddle.

As soon as I can get my lazy carcass in motion I'll post a couple of pics.....or piccies.....for your entertainment.

Piper: Student Paddle-Maker, Expert Shaving-Maker
 

Kayak Jack

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Aug 26, 2003
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islandpiper said:
... I took all the good advice you guys offered and cut it off at about the top of the breastbone (assumed) for the future owner....
Oh my God!! You are supposed to add two inches to that measurement! You haven't already cut it - have you??!!

Chuck, I TOLD you to tell him about those added two inches for waves, high tides, etc. Now he's gone and maybe already ruined that nice piece of wood. And it hadn't done anything wrong!
 

oldsparkey

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Aug 25, 2003
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Kayak Jack said:
islandpiper said:
... I took all the good advice you guys offered and cut it off at about the top of the breastbone (assumed) for the future owner....

Chuck, I TOLD you to tell him about those added two inches for waves, high tides, etc. Now he's gone and maybe already ruined that nice piece of wood. And it hadn't done anything wrong!

Jack

There is no help for the guy , he listens to what we say. That should be a clue to his mental abilities , he believes us. :roll:

"O" Well with some luck it might look like a paddle when he is done with it. Accidents do happen when building boats or paddles , they turn out just right.

Chuck.
 

Ozark

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Oct 23, 2007
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Ozark Mo.
Oh Piper go ahead and get it ready for finish then send it to Sparkey or Jack or me for the repairs needed. We'll return it as soon as they are guarented to be safe for use.
 

Kayak Jack

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Aug 26, 2003
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Gonna be a little short, though, ehh? Piper San, can you kinda scrunch down in the seat when you use this paddle? Maybe that'll make up for the deficiency? (The paddle's, not yours. It's too late for you, old buddy.)
 

oldsparkey

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Aug 25, 2003
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Ozark said:
Oh Piper go ahead and get it ready for finish then send it to Sparkey or Jack or me for the repairs needed. We'll return it as soon as they are guarented to be safe for use.

YEP... We will try it out and then return it a few years later , providing we have not lost your snail mail address. :wink:

Chuck.
PS. Piper , Piper ... WHO :?:
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
As promised, PICCIES..........in spite of the beating I have taken from several of you......(and if this paddle is too short, the young lady I made it for can lower the seat in her canoe by two inches. Or, use it to stir the gumbo)

Here's the real truth: the toughest part of paddlemaking is taking the pics when you are done!!

This is raw, dry wood now and waiting for some sort of finish. Again, I'll be interested in your comments, suggestions. Varnish? Just linseed oil? Epoxy? combination of any two of the above? Let the battle begin.


paddle%201.jpg



paddle%202.jpg



paddle%203.jpg


Piper
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
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Friend piper,

Why iz the blade so narrow?

regards
bearridge

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free. P.J. O'Rourke
 

oldsparkey

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Aug 25, 2003
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Central , Florida
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Personally ... I would put a epoxy and wood flour tip on it for some protection when it hits something that might damage the blade. The same way I did with my redwood one which is posted in this section. Here is a quick look at the bottom edge of the paddle.
A nice solid epoxy tip to protect the wood.

paddle%20008.jpg


Then I would epoxy saturate it , sand it and repeat the process. Now sand it ( Lightly ) and apply a good coat of varnish , or two , not the mid wax crap ... some good varnish as a sun screen for the paddle.


When all of that is done let me know and I will send you my mailing address so it can be field tested and you can get an honest review about how it handles , better send two of them , just in case. :wink:

Chuck.
 

Kayak Jack

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Aug 26, 2003
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Naw, Chuck. Barn paint on the handle, porch paint on the blade, and extra virgin olive oil in between. Have to keep it simple for Piper San.

Can't you see how the guy is struggling to make a paddle here? He isn't as experienced with wood as we are. Poor fella.
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
Bearridge: indigenous peoples the world around have used paddles of the willow leaf sort of patterns for 10,000 years. Here's the deal, a wide blade gives lots of power right from the get-go......nice if you are racing. But, a tapered paddle develops power in an increasing rate as the immersion increases. The advantage is one related to rotator cup wear and tear and energy output. No, these are not racing paddles, but you can paddle all day, and then some.

Look at the blade design of the oars used in the old codfishing dories in the Northeast.....virtually no blade width, and those boys rowed for days on the open ocean.

This young lady is a racer (Nat'l competition two years running in the ASCE Concrete Canoe Design Competition) and this paddle will be different than her other ones.....and variety is the spice of life.

Kayak Jack: your paddle is just about ready to ship, and when those two bushels of fire-pit rocks get here I'll pack it in the same box and sent it back to you.

Piper
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
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way down yonder
islandpiper said:
indigenous peoples the world around have used paddles of the willow leaf sort of patterns for 10,000 years.
Friend piper,

They cut out hearts ta make it rain too. :wink:

regards
bearridge

I spent huge amounts of money on booze, fast cars and beautiful women. The rest I just squandered. George Best
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
Bearridge, Tell the crowd in Atlanta that.......maybe they could just hold off the drug-related shootings for a day or so and do a few heart-ectomies. Atlanta sure could use the rain.

Like I said, if she doesn't like the way it paddles she can stir the gumbo, or apple-butter with it.

Piper
 

bearridge

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2005
3,092
4
way down yonder
islandpiper said:
Like I said, if she doesn't like the way it paddles she can stir the gumbo, or apple-butter with it.
No reason ta git testy. I aint tryin' ta stir the gumbo. :wink: It iz purty, but like Tom Hanks in "Big", I jest dont git it. I dont git the rotater cuff angle either. No offense ta the eskimos 'er the easter island fellas........

respectfully
bearridge

Hell, Will. We ain't bad men no more. Shit, we're farmers. Ned Logan
 

Ozark

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Oct 23, 2007
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Ozark Mo.
Bearridge wrote
I spent huge amounts of money on booze, fast cars and beautiful women. The rest I just squandered.
Where have I heard this before?
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
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Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
islandpiper said:
... indigenous peoples the world around have used paddles of the willow leaf sort of patterns for 10,000 years... a tapered paddle develops power in an increasing rate as the immersion increases...
No archaeologist has ever dug up a laminated paddle from over 20 years ago. Those ancient, ingenuous folks Piper San is talking about used fiberglass and epoxy that self destructed within ten years.

They couldn't find trees that grew in the shape of a paddle; they didn't have access to Shop Smith, Craftsman, or Black & Decker; and all their glues were water soluble. The aforegoing conditions meant that no paddle would ever be wider than a narrow tree (read sapling here) because they could neither add wood to it, nor could they carve away vast amounts of wood from a really thick tree just to find where the paddle was buried inside.

All BS'ing aside - that is one beautiful paddle, Piper San. Ya dun gudd.
 

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
The proof is in the pudding. Next spring when the ice leaves the lakes around Hudson, Wisconsin I'll let you know what she thinks about it.

On second thought, I might save it here and use it to spread butter on really big biscuits........

By the way, that Spanish Cedar is the same stuff Martin and several other bigtime guitar outfits, and lots of smaller ones, use for necks. Makes really nice custom front doors and trim as it is very resistant to decay.

OK, I'll admit it.......I just made an old-style Native American design to turn some cranks here.

And, thank you Jack, for the info re: material-available-design. I could have laminated some width onto this, but, instead chose to use the single billet that I had. There is no glue like God's glue.

Piper