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

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Boot Your PC Directly to Steam Big Picture

How to Replace the Oil Pan in a Subaru Impreza WRX

Gear Review: Aldi Adventuridge Dome Tent