: Paul,

: Thanks for taking the time to make such a detailed response. I don't have a
: table saw and the wood is not shaped yet. I tried using a backsaw but
: didn't do a very good job of making the tongue. It ended up being crooked
: and didn't fit in the groove. I cut it off and may try one more time. Part
: of the problem is trying to measure and mark it as the edges of the cedar
: board are not really squared off - a little rounded. Makes it difficult to
: measure in from the edges to find the exact center. Most of the problem is
: me though.

Hold another board against the side of your cedar as a guide. a short scrap is fine. Get a sharp pencil, hold it so it rides along guide board, and it will leave a mark on the end of your cedar board. Move the guide board to the other side of your cedar board and using the same pencil, slide the pencil's side along the guide and draw a second line on the end of the cedar board. Split the distance between these two lines by eye and you'll have a "good enough" centerline. Actually, if you cut along the inside of these two pencil lines you'll probably remove almost all the wood you need to remove for making your "tongue" for the tongue and groove joint. To keep your saw cutting straight along these lines, take that piece of wood you were using as a guide and clamp it to your cedar board. Now use 2 pencils as spacers, setting them on the guide board, and then laying the side of your backsaw on them. These will help keep the backsaw spaced nicely. Those pencil/spacers will slide around a lot, and fall off, so this will be a bit slow, but it will get the job done. You only have to cut in about 3/8th inch after all.

Don't worry if the cut is a bit off center. Your ash piece does not have to line up perfectly with the cedar. You will even things up as you remove the excess wood when you thin the blades. Again, a slightly tapered groove and a slightly tapered tongue will make things fit nicely. Once you get close use sandpaper and take your time.

: I was looking at glues at the hardware store the other day and found Titebond
: II. Is it just a kind of wood glue? It says not to be used for surfaces
: that are going to be submerged. That doesn't sound like the right stuff.

If you are going to cover the blade with glass cloth and epoxy resin then it really doesn't matter what glue you use. For that matter it doesn't matter if you use a tongue and groove joint. A plain butt joint is plenty strong when it is covered with glass cloth and epoxy resin.

If you are finishing the blades with only oils, waxes, varnishes or paints then you will want to use a waterproof glue or epoxy resin. If all you are doing right now is making a paddle, the most economical approach is to get some epoxy glue in the small siamese syringes sold in the supermarket. It's about $3.

Other waterproof glues tend to be kinds that you have to mix. Sometimes it is a powder mixed with water, or two liquids, or a powder mixed with a liquid activator.

As for your joint efforts. If you cna't cut a good tenon with a backsaw, then do it the slower way: whittle it. You don't have to take off a lot of wood, and the cedar is soft, so this shoudl work for you. Use a straight edge and a carpenter's utility knife, or a very sharp pocket knife. Lay the straight edge across your cedar board, 1/4 to 3/8 inch from the end of the board, or about the depth of the groove you have cut in the ash. With several light strokes cut along the edge of the straightedge, severing the grain of the wood and giving you a neat line. If you push hard on the knife it may slip and cut your badly, so just keep going over the cut area with light pressure. After you've made this crosscut, go to the end of the board and carefully cut away shallow chips, working from the end of the board up to the line you have scored. Again, remove very little wood and it will come off easily. If you try to take too much the knife can slip -- something we want to avoid. A

fter you have removed 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch, flip the board over and score a line on the other side which lines up with your first crosscut. Chip away the end on this, working up to the cut.

Flip the board and repeat the process or scoring and chiping away the unwanted wood. When you get close to the size you want, finish up with sandpaper.

Again, you can use a piece of sandpaper wrapped over the cedar to open up the slot in the ash, or you can drop a folded piece of sandpaper into the slot in the ash to help shape the cedar.

Hope this helps.

PGJ