Last night, I transformed a quarter-sawn cedar "two by" into something that's the basic shape of a greenland paddle (thank you Chuck Holst). After roughing it out I put one end on the floor and gave it a flex test. I was surprised how flexible it is. There were no creaks or cracks, but I'm a bit concerned that it's strength may be suspect. I still have to finish the blades and loom (step 4), so I'll be removing a bit more material. The loom is 1 3/8" x 1 1/4" x 20", so it seems like it should be strong enough.

Is it worth adding a strip of 'glass or additional wood strips along the major axis of the loom in order to stiffen/strengthen it?

BTW, the 2x4 blank weighed 83 ounces when cut to length (90") and is now down to 37 ounces, and falling slightly as it dries a bit.

Hmmm, I wonder if the lumber yard will take back the 55% that I sawed/planed off? ;-)

One last question. I picked up three 2x4's at the same time and two of them started to split on the ends (within a day) as they dried. I cut off the split sections (one became the aforementioned paddle) and that seemed to do the trick, but I'm curious if this is typical of cedar and if there is anything that can be done to prevent it. I've only found one local source for raw stock and it tends to be a bit damp as it comes out of the pile. I plan to seal the ends of the blades with epoxy (2"-3") and oil finish the rest (Watco). Hopefully, that will eliminate any splitting problems in use.