> in reading both pages ( yours and Doug Alderson's) I don't find any
> reference to the thickness of the stock cut to laminate ..

> also have you experimented with doing fewer laminations (say two or three)
> to speed up the building if you aren't doing a feathered shaft ?

> addison

One should try to get a shaft that is roughly 1 1/2" thick (perpendicular to the paddle face and 1 1/8" in the other direction (some use 1 1/4") this is then shaped to a comfortable oval shape. Leaving the sides slightly flat isn't bad as our finger aren't circular anyway.

Since you are going to do laminated wood anyway why not expand the idea and laminate the spoons from wood also? My paddle of red and yellow cedar strips weighs 2lbs 4 oz. The spoons are edged in 1/4" white oak for abuse resistance.

If you bother to stagger the laminations in the spoons vertically a feathered paddle could also be created. I haven't done this yet but maybe after my Greenland is done.

Bram