> When i am Planing my paddle blank i've encountered a spot of rough wood?
> It's not a Knot in the wood i made sure the wood was very clear,I have
> sharpened my cutter and to no avail the rough spot won't give, I've turned
> the blank around and planed it the opposite direction and no change. The
> wood is Aspen and i am going with the grain.. Can anyone offer some
> assistance?

> Thank you, Johnnie

Hi Johnnie,

When I run into grain problems like that I use a cabinet scraper [not a paint scraper] to clean up the area. The very fine hook [burr] on the scraper removes a very thin shaving. In these fussy areas use many light strokes.

If you don't have a cabinet scraper you can use a sharp knife held at approximately 90 degrees to the wood, skewed 45 degrees to the cut. Use a two handed grip - wrap a bit of tape around the knife tip to protect your fingers. The knife works well as a scraper but the type of edge makes a big difference to how it works - the hardness of the wood is the factor. I can't describe this because it is something you feel - the best I can suggest it to try scraping with a knife on a piece of scrap and see if it works for you. Experiment with using the curve of to blade and the flat area.

"Knife scraping" is a method that I use a lot in making wooden bows. Many times I prefer to scrape a finish instead of hand sanding it - smoother and faster.

There is not a lot of difference between a bow and a paddle ;-)

Hope this helps.

Hank