I neglected to mention that I already do most of that, except the wood sanding block part. I havent tried guiding the router from an external edge, the bit I have is 1/2" HSS with a edge guide that uses the shaft itself. I'm looking for some sort of a bearing arrangement that could clamp over the shaft, and then some sort of sanding device that would work on a rotating shaft. I saw something similar in a Woodenboat, it was a sparmaker using an electric motor and a drum attachment, with an inside out sanding belt. On a smaller scale, perhaps a sanding drum attachment chucked into a hand drill? Then I need some sort of drive to turn the shaft... Like a lathe only without the head chuck? Just rambling...

> Consider cutting the rough shape on a band saw, then round the edges with
> a large-radius rounding-over bit in a router. Something on the order of a
> 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch radius should be a good start. If you are not going
> to use these often, consider cheaper bits made of high speed steel. There
> is such a lot of expensive carbide on a bit with such a large cutting edge
> as this that the expense might not be practical.

> here is a link to Woodcraft, which shows a picture of the bit and the cut
> that it makes. Of course, you would make cuts on all four edges, not just
> the one edge shown, in order to round the shaft.

>
> http//www.woodcraft.com/website/itempg.icl?secid=54&subsecid=274&orderidentifier=ID933395891578395874691D7B61&itmid=10561&dirpage=dir2&eflag=0&curitempos=29&numitems=36&ORDERIDENTIFIER=ID933395891578395874691D7B61

> The URL is a bit long. If it hangs up, try www.woodcraft.com to get you to
> their home page, and you can search for router bits, and then rounding
> over bits.

> Nail a couple of sections of 2 x 4 to your workbench, and lay the paddle
> between them. The 2x4s will act as a solid base for the router to ride on,
> and you can probably set them so that they act as straight guides for the
> router, too. since the 2x4s are probably thicker than the handle of your
> paddle will be, some shims from scrap wood placed under the paddle will
> bring it up to the proper height.

> I'm afraid it is sandpaper after that.

> If you rout a groove in a block of 2x4 and loosely lay a sheet of
> sandpaper over it, you can use this as a sanding block. It will give you
> something to grip. Thumbtack will keep the sandpaper from getting loose,
> and the shape you cut in the block will serve as a pattern for removing
> material from the paddle handle. The exact shape you cut in the 2x4 is not
> going to be too critical if you move the block a bit around the handle a
> bit with each stroke.

> Hope this helps.

> Paul G. Jacobson