: Kurt,

: Can you tell us a little more about how you did the paddle? Do you glass the
: whole paddle at once or do the blades separate from the loom. How many
: layers? Are the layers of glass in sheets or tape wrapped around the
: blank.

: Inquiring minds want to know!

: Jack

Jack, The first effort was a learning experience. I took pictures that I can add to my website. Likely won't have time tonight, but I'll make a post when the pictures are added. I made a core of pink building foam. It is very easy to cut and sand to shape. The paddle I was attempting to vacuum bag is the Aleut Helsinki Museum paddle that can be downloaded from a webpage. Do a search and you should be able to find it. I don't have the URL handy. The shape is fairly complex. I used visquine as the bag, shelf paper with holes added as the peelply and papertowels as the absorbant breather layer. I attached my dust collector with plastic tubing from Home Depot. I used one layer of 6oz. glass cut to shape and wrapped around the whole paddle. The glass was wet out by hand. The flat areas of the paddle came out ok, but the glass wasn't drawn tight along the edges. I have a better vacuum now and will give it another shot. If the experiment would have worked out, I would have added more glass and carbon fiber. Didn't want to waste material on a failed attempt.

Kurt