Hi Shawn,

Thanks for your comments. Do you have a suggestion on how much convex curvature is good? You see quite often that the center of the blade has a half round section (shact area), which gives the blade effectively some curvature. The Werner paddles have quite a bit of curvature in addition (http://www.wernerpaddles.com/paddles2.htm).

Where should the blade be mounted with respect to the shaft (How much do you cut away). I thought that is is probaly best to move most of the blade area behind the centerline of the shaft to reduce the grip needed to prevent rotation of the paddle - any additonal thoughts?

Andreas

: No, but I've considered it. It depends if you're really avoiding grain
: runout. If the grain runs off the edge of the plank anyway, you're not
: saving yourself much effort/strength by steaming it. However, if the grain
: runs from end-to-end without much runout, you could probably see some
: strength gains over cutting it.

: I made my first two paddles with 1/2" draft along 18" of curve.

: My vacuum-bagged blades that you saw at the Rendezvous had nearly 1.5"
: along 21" of curve. This is a bit too much curvature. 3/4" or so
: would be nice.

: A slight amount of convex curve perpendicular to the length, or a dihedral,
: will make your blade flutter a bit less.

: I haven't seen any--you mostly have to try different commercial paddles--note
: the ones you like. Build some prototypes and improve upon them.

: Shawn