: . . . So my proposal/question is why not use a carbon shaft(for light weight and
: stiffness) and hardwood blades epoxied to the shaft.Perhaps by drilling
: out a blade or cutting of an inch of shaft I can get 4 paddles out of one
: carbon shaft.The only source I know of for carbon shafts is Zeravel( any
: others?).

Your biggest problem will be getting the blades to fit securely on the ends of the rod. If you shape the blades first then you must cut corresponding curves on the ends of the rods and fit the blades in. This is unlike working with wood, where you can make an oversized blank and carve away what you don't want.

It is not an insurmountable problem, just a tedious one. You may find it necessary to make some unique jigs to hold the pieces in place while they are measured and machined.

: The hardest question is how to do a non-wobble ferrule.I have no idea how to
: do one of the spring loaded buttons like in a commercial shaft. One way to
: do a non wobble shaft is a bolt and a speed nut (Veritas, very ugly). Any
: sugestions?

Actually, this is easier and faster to answer.

The ferrule is a sleeve that fits over the matching ends of two rods. The ends of the rods have to match, but they do not have to be cut square, or at 90 degrees to the length. Cut them at a matching taper, like a scarf joint, but maybe make that taper 3 to 4 inces long. When the handle is assembled, a gentle tap causes the pieces to nest together very tightly. The wedge action produced by a tapering cut pushes out against the inside of the ferrule, which should hold things pretty well.

If your handle is a hollow carbon rod, find ( or make) a solid dowel rod that fits snuggly inside the rod. It only needs to go 4 or 5 inches into each end of the rod. So, from outside to inside, a cross section of the handle at the cneter would show: Ferrule, rod (with the ends cut diagonally), dowel. Glue the dowel into the end of one rod. This can be either the rod you have the ferrule glued onto, or the othr one. Taper the first inch of that dowel with a bit of sandpaper so it starts easily.

Stainless steel radiator clamps are ugly looking, but very effective. Glue one end of the ferrule to one rod, when the glue has hardened, slit the remaining end of the ferrule with a saw for a distance of 2 inches from the free end of the ferrule. The kerf from the sawblade will allow that end of the ferrule to compress against the other rod when it is inserted into the ferrule. A stainless steel radiator clamp will tighten the ferrule down like a vise.

Carefully selecting the size of the clamp being used will keep you from having a lot of excess metal poking you.

To use the spring loaded buttons is easy if your handle is hollow. Glue the ferrule to one half of the handle. When the glue sets shove in the other half of the handle and align the blades as you wish them to be while you are paddling. Carefully drill a hole slightly smaller than the size of the button you are going to use, going through the ungled end of the ferrule, and into the center of the hollow rod that is inserted into it.

With a reamer, or sandpaper wound around a dowel, carefully open up the hols until the button can fit in. Slide the spring of the button down the hollow tube, aligning the botton so it pops out of the rod. Insert the rod gently into the ferrule and when the button is aligned with the hole, mark the ferrule with a pencil. remove the rod end, and at your mark you want to use sandpaper on the inside of the ferrule to create a small tapered areathat will eventually push against the button, and ride over it, compressing it so that it can travel up to the hole in the ferrule, where it will pop out and lock things in place.

Hope this helps.

PGj