Handmade Wooden Canoe Paddles

I started these paddles last summer, but finally got around to varnishing them this week.

I started with 3/4" planed poplar boards from Home Depot.
I may try making a set of white ash paddles in the future, but I decided on poplar for my first set since it is inexpensive, readily available, and easy to work with.

Next I sliced one board into long strips 1 1/8" wide, leaving one 3/4" thick and planing the other to 1/2". I then glued the two together so I ended up with a board 1 1/8" square. This would become the shaft of the paddle.
The other I cut into a strip 2 1/2" inches wide for the paddle blades.
I then used Gorilla Glue to glue the pieces together in the general shape of a canoe paddle.


 A coping saw did a good job at further refining my wooden 'blank,' and a 1/2" radius bit on a router made the shaft nearly round.


 I cut the curve into the profile of the handle using a coffee can to draw and arc and the coping saw to do the actual cutting. I then used my Kershaw with a 3" locking blade to whittle the handle down even further before finishing it off with a belt sander and finally lots of hand sanding.
I used a jack plane to shave the paddle down to about 1/2" thick. I kept shaving until the paddle balanced perfectly with my hand where the shaft and blade come together.

 I varnished the whole thing with three coats of Minwax Helmsman Semi-gloss.


The finished product. The shorter paddle is for my wife with a 30' handle. Mine uses a 36" handle.
REI has a good section on their website for determining proper paddle size.
I'll give an update once the weather warms up on how they perform.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 1, 2013 at 3:48 AM

    Wooden paddle is comfortable than plastic or any materials in curb shape rather than flat.
    Roger

    ReplyDelete

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