Whoa, you have a ton of knowledge and information my friend. Thanks a lot for the help - all of you who responded.

I'm not nearly so far along as to be cutting coves and beads. Right now, I'm just trying to cut a tongue and groove(?) on the ends of my cedar board and ash tips so I can glue them together and actually start shaping my paddle. And not having any luck whatsoever, I might add. I am a complete woodworking novice and am finding how incredibly difficult it is to make precision cuts in straight lines and have the two pieces fit together snugly in a straight line without gaps without the proper tools. Sigh. Feeling very frustrated and on the verge of giving up.

I won't though. Just need to leave it be for a few days and get over my frustration and then get out there and find someone with the right tools and experience and pester them until they help me out.

Patsy